Director General/Executive Director
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
My thanks to the government of the Republic of Belarus and the OSCE for organizing this conference on an urgent challenge facing the international community.
The need for cross-border cooperation to prevent and counter the global threats of terrorism is abundantly clear, even more so in view of the capabilities afforded by advanced technologies and the internet.
The internet and social media provide vast outlets for propagating violent extremist ideology and potentially recruiting new fighters or encouraging terrorist attacks.
Encryption and other technologies can enable terrorists, including returning terrorist fighters, to share operational data and instructions, fundraise and carry out financial transactions.
Terrorists can use the darknet to connect with criminal networks selling illicit firearms or other services.
With UNODC's mandates covering transnational organized crime, terrorism, drugs and corruption, our Office is well placed to provide integrated assistance to counter these interlinked threats, while promoting synergies and information exchange.
In close coordination with UN system partners, including the Office of Counter-Terrorism, we are helping countries implement international counter-terrorism instruments through criminal justice responses founded on the rule of law, due process and human rights.
UNODC, together with UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate and the International Association of Prosecutors, has developed a Practical Guide for Requesting and Gathering Electronic Evidence across Borders.
The guide addresses the collection, preservation, request and provision of digital evidence for investigations and prosecutions in terrorism-related cases. It also provides country-specific resources on frameworks, requirements for mutual legal assistance and contacts.
In more general terms, UNODC is assisting in building law enforcement capacities to combat cybercrime, with a particular focus on supporting developing countries.
We have held courses on conducting darknet investigations in Member States on three continents, and we are delivering regular cryptocurrency investigation training.
Terrorism financing involves a complex network of channels, and the use of cryptocurrencies to launder crime proceeds and as a covert payment method presents additional challenges to tracing and disrupting flows.
It is, therefore, essential that supervisory authorities, financial intelligence units, law enforcement entities and intelligence services of Member States improve their understanding on cryptocurrencies regulation, supervision and investigation.
UNODC has developed a practical cryptocurrency investigation course to build skills of national agencies. This is complemented by an e-learning course in seven languages, which more than nine thousand participants have used since 2016.
UNODC has also partnered with the OSCE to deliver regional cryptocurrencies training for South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, as well as for the Financial Investigations Department of the State Control Committee of the Republic of Belarus.
The OSCE, as a regional platform for action, remains a crucial partner for UNODC in promoting the coordination and exchange of information necessary to prevent and counter terrorism in the digital age.
We look forward to continuing and strengthening our tradition of cooperation to enhance comprehensive security.
We need to urgently step up capacity building to counter the terrorism-organized crime nexus in cyber space.
As we have seen, there are a number of synergies with the preventive measures and investigative capacities needed to tackle both terrorism and organized crime.
Forensic equipment and methods can be used to target both groups. Law enforcement, prosecutors and judges will be able to obtain and assess digital evidence regardless of the crime type.
Successful joint operations involving darknet markets in Europe have demonstrated the value of international cooperation, and UNODC is ready to advance such collaboration, also in coordination with regional partners including the OSCE.
At the same time, we also need to do more to reach out to all stakeholders.
Civil society organizations play an important role in engaging communities to prevent terrorism.
The private sector, most of all tech companies, is an indispensable ally in this fight.
Cybercrime and terrorist use of the Internet cannot be effectively prosecuted and prevented without the involvement of business, and such cooperation is critical for the collecting and sharing of digital evidence in terrorism-related cases.
UNODC has carried out a number of successful projects in cooperation with business, including initiatives to combat online sexual child exploitation, and we are well placed to serve as a convening forum to foster effective public-private partnerships.
While terrorists and criminals are exploiting the Internet and encryption, we must also keep in mind that tech must be part of any sustainable solution.
In closing, I would like to thank the Government of Belarus and the OSCE once again for holding this important discussion, and I look forward to hearing the results.
Thank you.