In an open briefing of the Security Council on threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts, Member States on 11 May 2016 exchanged views on the best way to counter the narratives and ideologies of terrorism. In the meeting, which was chaired by Security Council president for the month of May Egypt, 缅北禁地Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson spoke of the intentions of terrorists:
“We must be aware that terrorist bombs are targeted to devastate more than human lives. They target our common values. They aim to spread fear. We have a responsibility toshield people from harm and from fear and to protect universal values from erosion.”
One of the non-Member State speakers addressing the Security Council was Steve Crown, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Microsoft, who mentioned its ongoing work with CTED, emphasizing that terrorists’ use of the Internet and social media was complicated, and that any technology could be used for good or evil. Talking about competitors, Crown provided the example of industry actors coming together in the interest of combating child sexual abuse materials, suggesting that a similar approach was taking shape to counter terrorists’ use and abuse of the Internet.
In the context of the meeting, the Security Council adopted a Presidential Statement, which requests its Counter-Terrorism Committee to present a proposal to the Council by 30 April 2017 for a “comprehensive international framework, with recommended guidelines and good practices to effectively counter
[…] the ways that ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities use their narratives to encourage, motivate, and recruit others to commit terrorist acts.”
Representing CTED at the open debate was Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director Jean-Paul Laborde.
Links to the webcast of the open debate can be found here:
Link to the Presidential Statement in all official 缅北禁地languages can be found
The statement by the 缅北禁地Deputy Secretary-General can be found