The non-binding document, known as the Delhi Declaration on Combating the Use of New and Developing Technologies for Terrorism, was adopted in the Indian capital on Saturday, following a series of The conference was attended by representatives of Member States, United Nations officials, civil society organisations, the private sector and researchers.
The statement aims to address key concerns around drone abuse, social media platforms, and crowdfunding, and create guidelines that will help address them. growing problem.
“The Delhi Declaration lays the groundwork for the road ahead,” said David Scharia from the Counterterrorism Executive Committee. “It speaks to the importance of human rights, public-private partnerships, civil society engagement, and how we collectively address this challenge. It also invites CTED [the Secretariat for the Committee] to develop a set of guiding principles, which will be the result of deep thought with all partners. “
Core human rights
Respect for human rights is emphasized in the document and in the debates. UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, stressed that “concrete measures must be taken to minimize these gaps while committing to protecting all human rights in the digital sphere.”
In a video message, Mr Guterres added that human rights can only be achieved through multilateralism and effective international cooperation, with responses aligned with the values and obligations of the Charter of the United Nations. country and Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man.
Representing the Office for Human Rights, Scott Campbell, who leads the digital technology team, echoed the Secretary-General’s words, explaining that “respecting the rights of counterterrorism is fundamental to ensuring efforts are made. sustainable and effective to protect our security.”
“Approaches that cross these important boundaries not only violate the law, but also undermine counterterrorism efforts by eroding trust, networks, and communities that are critical to the fight,” he said. necessary for successful prevention and response.
Mr. Campbell said that international law and human rights offer many answers to this, reiterating that Member States have an obligation to protect the security of their people and to ensure that their rights do not infringe on any person’s rights.
Regulation and censorship
He also stressed that companies and States should exercise caution when filtering and blocking content on social networks, as it can “affect minorities and journalists in disproportionate ways.”
To overcome this problem, Mr. Campbell suggested that restrictions should be based on precise and tightly regulated laws, and should not encourage censorship of legitimate expressions. They should have transparent processes, truly independent and objective watchdogs, civil society and experts should be involved in the development, evaluation and implementation of regulations, he said.
In the closing session of the meeting, the Chairman of the Commission, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj of India, stated that the resulting document noted the challenges and suggested “practical, operational and tactical possibilities to address the opportunities and threats posed by the use of new and emerging technology for terrorist purposes.”
She added that the global policy-making community “must be agile, forward-thinking and collaborative” to meet the changing needs of States facing new challenges from digital terrorism. digital.
