The Counter-Terrorism Committee held an open meeting on “Countering terrorist narratives and preventing the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes” at United Nations Headquarters, New York, on 24 March 2022.
“Over the past two years, terrorists have exploited pandemic-related and other grievances through conspiracy theories, the spread of misinformation, and disinformation campaigns, thereby continuing to fuel societal divisions, a rise in sectarian hatred and anti-democratic movements and distrust in Governments and State institutions”, said H. E. Mr. T. S. Tirumurti, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, in his capacity as Chair of the Committee.
“In this changing landscape, understanding the links between online narratives and offline effects remains a priority, because only with strong evidence-based findings that inform interventions can we effectively counter the narratives of these terrorist groups”, he added.
May 2022 will mark the fifth anniversary of the Security Council’s adoption of resolution 2354 (2017), in which the Council set out its recommendations for effectively countering terrorist narratives, including those contained in the Committee’s “Comprehensive International Framework to Counter Terrorist Narratives” (S/2017/375). It was in accordance with this resolution that the Committee, with the support of its Executive Directorate (CTED), organized its third open meeting to review global developments in the area.
In his remarks, Mr. Weixiong Chen, Acting Executive Director of CTED, recalled that, while rejecting calls for terrorist violence was essential, it was also essential to develop positive narratives that offered hope and a vision of a better future and that addressed grievances by promoting legitimate pathways for social development. Governments would benefit if they sought to establish strong partnerships with other social actors.
The panellists included representatives of international and regional organizations from various regions of the world, as well as representatives of civil society and private-sector actors, including the CTED-initiated public-private partnership Tech Against Terrorism and the industry-led Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT). Within the framework of two sessions — on “Trends and developments in terrorist narratives and possible responses” and “Whole-of-society approaches to countering terrorist narratives and incitement”, respectively — participants discussed the many related challenges faced by States (including with respect to gaming), as well as the opportunities, and called for more research in this constantly evolving area.
The background note for the open meeting can be found here.
The agenda (which includes the names, titles, and affiliations of all panellists) is available here.
Photographs from the open meeting are accessible here.
The webcast of the proceedings is available here.
Remarks and presentations shared by invited speakers:
Opening session
- H. E. Mr. T. S. Tirumurti, Chair, Counter-Terrorism Committee
- Mr. Weixiong Chen, Acting Executive Director, Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED)
Session I: Trends and developments in terrorist narratives and possible responses
- Ms. Sarah Pollack, Interim Chief of Staff and Head of Communication, Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT)
- H.E. Ahmed Al Qasimi, Executive Director, Hedayah (virtual participation)
- Dr. Ajai Sahni, Founding Member and Executive Director, Institute for Conflict Management (virtual participation)
- Mr. Adam Hadley, Executive Director, Tech Against Terrorism
Session II: Whole-of-society approaches to countering terrorist narratives and incitement
- Mr. Atif Rashid, Journalist, A Change of Heart Podcast / UNOCT/UNCCT-UNAOC Empowering Dialogue and Interfaith Networks (EDIN) Project
- Mr. Galen Lamphere-Englund, Convener, Extremism and Gaming Research Network (EGRN)
- Mr. Asrul Daniel Ahmed, Acting Director, Digital Strategic Communications Division, Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-- Terrorism (SEARCCT) (virtual participation)
- Ms. Grace Omondi, PhD Candidate in Visual Communication, Leeds Beckett University; former Head of Strategic Communication, IGAD Centre of Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (ICEPCVE) (virtual participation)