On 13 February 2025, Assistant Secretary-General Natalia Gherman, CTED Executive Director, delivered a lead statement at the ministerial segment of the 4th ¡°No Money for Terror¡± (NMFT) conference held in Munich, Germany.
Hosted by Germany, the conference addressed key topics such as innovative approaches to multilateral cooperation, digital channels of terrorist financing, the importance of financial inclusion and the risk-based approach, and the nexus between organized crime and terrorism financing.
Speaking during the Ministerial Session on Digital Channels of Terrorist Financing, ASG Natalia Gherman recalled that the United Nations Security Council has repeatedly recognized both the benefits and the risks represented by innovations in financial products and services in the context of terrorism financing. The Council called on Member States to assess and address potential terrorism financing risks associated with the new financial instruments, as well as to make full use of new technologies to bolster financial inclusion, and to contribute to the effective implementation of measures to counter the financing of terrorism.
¡°I am pleased to announce that as mandated by the Delhi Declaration, the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the Security Council has adopted the non-binding guiding principles on preventing, detecting and disrupting the use of new and emerging financial technologies for terrorist purposes, also known as the ¡°Algeria Guiding Principles¡±. The non-binding guiding principles have been prepared with the support of CTED¡± ¨C noted ASG Natalia Gherman.
Preceding the ministerial session, CTED¡¯s Coordinator for Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) took part in the roundtable experts¡¯ discussion on the same topic. Experts from national supervisory and law enforcement agencies, the Financial Action Task Force, CTED, and private sector reflected on the emerging risks and new challenges posed by the digital channels. Experts acknowledged that the scale of terrorist use of digital channels varies considerably depending on context, available means, and the targets set by terrorists in terms of their financing tactics. In this regard, CTED noted that such misuse is expected to become even more pervasive and significant as these technologies become accessible and mainstream for the general public use, while still lacking effective regulation and supervision. Experts also discussed which additional policy, operational, technological, and collaborative mechanisms should be adopted to ensure more effective responses.
Overall, the conference provided a platform to exchange best practices, set political priorities, and foster collaboration between public and private sector actors, to enhance a joint response to the financing of terrorism. Its close alignment with the Munich Security Conference (MSC) highlighted the critical importance of the NMFT dialogue in addressing global security challenges.
Full statement of ASG Natalia Gherman