Statement by the Deputy Permanent Representative Ms. Maria Zabolotskaya at the UNOCT-Pakistan Joint Event on New and Emerging Trends in Terrorism
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Mr. Under-Secretary-General,
On behalf of the Russian Federation I would like to thank Pakistan and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism for organizing this timely event.
Terrorism is a complex and volatile phenomenon. Terrorists are increasingly using new and emerging technologies to facilitate financing and planning of their activities thereby combining conventional methods with hybrid digital approaches. Anonymous payments and cryptocurrency are ever more frequently used by terrorists. Unmanned aircraft systems and improvised explosive devices are becoming widespread means for committing attacks. Critical infrastructure and banking systems face constant cyberthreats. The terrorist propaganda in the Internet and through encrypted channels facilitates radicalization, recruitment of terrorists and planning of strikes. The surge of terrorism incited by xenophobia, racism and intolerance also linked to far-right and neo-nazi ideologies is observed.
Ambassador Asim Iftikar Ahmad challenged us with the question what is the answer to all these challenges. My answer is trite, but I think the only possible. We must step up international cooperation free from any political interference and double standards. The most important asset terrorists use is divisions between Member States, rejecting of cooperation on political grounds.
This requires international legal framework for countering the use of information and communications technologies and unmanned aircraft systems for terrorist purposes, improved exchange of operative and intelligence information, efficient provision of mutual legal assistance, as well as enhanced preventive measures against terrorist financing, in particular involving virtual assets, and sharing of good practices.
Here we must recall the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime; Strengthening International Cooperation for Combatting Certain Crimes Committed by Means of Information and Communications Technology Systems and for the Sharing of Evidence in Electronic Form of Serious Crimes that was opened for signature in October 2025. Indeed, it is important to universalize the Convention and to work on ways and means of its effective implementation. The mechanism of Sharing of Evidence in Electronic Form established by the Convention can become a significant tool of countering terrorist activities on-line.
When we talk about terrorism incited by xenophobia, racism and intolerance also linked to far-right and Neo-Nazi ideologies, we must recall that we already have legal obligations to fight it. The International Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination in article 4 prescribes to condemn all propaganda based on ideas or theories of superiority of one race or group of persons of one color, ethnic origin, or attempt to justify them, and undertake to adopt measures designed to eradicate all incitement to acts of such discrimination and declare illegal propaganda activities, which promote and incite racial discrimination.
I would also echo Ambassador Fu Cong’s statement regarding the contribution of regional organizations, such as Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Commonwealth of Independent States Anti-Terrorism Centre.
The Russian Federation is a reliable donor of the relevant UNOCT projects, including those centered on providing technical assistance to UN Member States, in particular in Africa and Central Asia, in the implementation of resolution 2370, promoting compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism standards, specifically, with regard to virtual assets, in the Eurasian region, and sharing good practices on preventing and countering extremism.
The Russian Federation is committed to engaging in a constructive manner in the work aimed at enhancing international counter-terrorist pillar of the United Nations led by UNOCT and is looking forward to discussions on reflecting these new trends in the outcome document of the current review of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
Thank you.
