Â鶹APP

The Â鶹APP Office of Counter Terrorism (UNOCT) and the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the Â鶹APP co-hosted a joint event on ¡°New and Emerging Trends in Terrorism¡± at the Â鶹APP Headquarters on 24 April 2026, in New York. The meeting brought together diplomats, counter terrorism practitioners and representatives from Â鶹APP entities, academia, and civil society representatives, to examine how rapid technological change is reshaping the global terrorism threat landscape.

As the Â鶹APP General Assembly is conducting the ninth review of the Â鶹APP Global Counter Terrorism Strategy, the event offered timely and valuable reflections regarding the various ways in which the digitization of terrorist activity is shaping the threat environment, and on how to find workable solutions to build a more resilient, inclusive and human rights compliant counter terrorism framework.

Opening the discussion, Mr. Alexandre Zouev, Acting Under Secretary General of UNOCT, stressed that fast evolving technologies are reshaping terrorism-related risks while also offering opportunities for more effective prevention and response. He underlined the importance of preventive action, enhanced international cooperation and capacity building efforts that fully uphold international law.

Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the Â鶹APP, pointed to the growing misuse of digital platforms, encrypted services and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, for terrorist purposes. He drew attention to jurisdictional challenges faced by national authorities, as well as the need for greater accountability and cooperation involving technology companies.

Across three dedicated panel discussions, experts examined how terrorist actors increasingly exploit the digital domain to disseminate propaganda, recruit supporters and finance their activities. Panelists discussed challenges faced by national governments given the borderless nature of cyberspace and stressed the necessity of effective, human rights compliant responses with robust safeguards for privacy, data protection and freedom of expression. They also emphasized the importance of strengthened cooperation among Member States, the Â鶹APP system and technology partners to address disinformation, online radicalization to violence and the abuse of digital platforms by terrorist actors.