UAE: Counterterrorism Regulations and Policies Are Not Keeping Pace with Terrorist Threats

Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, said that counterterrorism regulatory frameworks and policy discussions are not advancing at the same pace as terrorist threats around the world. Minister Al Hashimy expressed the United Arab Emirates’ view in a statement delivered at a Special Meeting of the United Nations Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee in New Delhi, India. 

“Technology is becoming a force multiplier of terrorism on our watch,” said HE Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation. “It remains absolutely imperative for all of us to unite our efforts and work diligently together to tackle the root causes of all forms of extremism.”

Minister Al Hashimy noted that terrorist groups are exploiting advances in commercial drone technology to carry out deadlier and stealthier attacks. She noted that drones enhanced the capacity of terrorist groups to undertake activities across borders and underlined that this represented a cross-regional challenge. 

She also called for the strengthening of regulatory and legislative frameworks to prevent the Internet from enabling terrorists, noting that extremist content remains on the Internet despite advances in tools used to detect it. 

Moreover, Minister Al Hashimy expressed the need to develop new financial instruments to curb terrorism financing. She noted that the UAE is fully committed to implementing anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism (AML/CFT) financing regulations and also works to strengthen the structure and frameworks for confronting such crimes.