New York – Information Office - October 07

HE Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani co-chaired alongside Under-Secretary-General of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) Vladimir Voronkov a virtual meeting of the International Expert Group Meeting on Vulnerable Targets and Unmanned Aircraft Systems convened by the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism with the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), the UN Alliance of Civilizations, the United States, the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and in consultation with INTERPOL.

The two-day meeting comes within the context of the follow-up and development of the strategies of the Global Programme on Countering Terrorist Threats against Vulnerable Targets, which was launched early 2021, and funded by the State of Qatar as part of its commitment to support the strategic priorities of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism.

At the beginning of the meeting, HE Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani expressed in her speech Qatar's readiness to contribute to strengthening international cooperation and building capacities to confront terrorist acts against targets at risk, stressing that continuous efforts are being made to mitigate all risks against soft and easy targets.

Her Excellency added that vital infrastructures and open public spaces or the so-called "soft" targets are uniquely vulnerable to terrorist attacks, and deserve continuous efforts to mitigate all risks, stressing the need for international cooperation and partnerships between a wide range of actors.

Her Excellency said, "the State of Qatar has taken this matter into consideration within the framework of its partnership with international partners such as the UNOCT and INTERPOL. It has developed expertise and capabilities in this field."

"The United Nations, in specific the UNOCT, has an important role to play in coordinating efforts to protect vulnerable targets, identify best practices and gaps, and support capacity building," She added.

Her Excellency called for effective and necessary preventive measures to be taken with regard to the targets at risk, stressing the need for a better understanding of the various and new threats against them, including unmanned aerial systems (UAS), which provide a means for collecting intelligence information, conducting surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as carrying out attacks.

"Terrorists have wasted no time in exploiting these opportunities to carry out their reprehensible agenda, as they have with other new technologies. But although UAS technology is relatively new, it has proven accessible to actors with limited resources, which makes is especially dangerous," HE stressed.

She added, "the open nature of so-called "soft" targets is cause for special concern in this regard as it makes them prime targets. Therefore, there is a need for specific measures to protect them, and to anticipate and thwart misuse of drones by terrorist groups."

"But while UAS can be a threat in the wrong hands, this versatile technology can be harnessed by Member States and the United Nations in the context of security and as a useful addition to the Counter Terrorism toolkit. This includes intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, border security and management, and protection of vulnerable targets," she said.

A panel of experts, representatives from Member States, local authorities, international, regional and non-regional organizations, the private sector and civil society participated in the meeting to raise awareness and identify good practices to address the threat posed by terrorists against vulnerable targets.