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On 6 January 2025, the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee adopted the ¡°,¡± to be known and referred to as the ¡°Algeria Guiding Principles.¡± The ¡°Algeria Guiding Principles¡± were prepared with the support of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) in accordance with the ¡°Delhi Declaration¡± on countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes in a manner consistent with international law.
As recognized by the Security Council in its resolution , innovations in financial technologies may offer significant economic opportunities, but may also present a risk of being misused, including for terrorist purposes. The growing scale of such misuse has been highlighted in several reports of the United Nations, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and FATF-style regional bodies, as well as by members of CTED¡¯s Global Research Network and private sector partners. The scale and types of abuses vary considerably depending on regional and economic context, available means, and the targets set by terrorists in terms of their financing sources and methods.
Although cash and hawala-type systems remain the prevalent methods used to move money for terrorist purposes; there is an increase in their use in combination with new technologies and payment methods. Mobile payment systems, virtual assets, online exchanges and wallets, and crowdfunding platforms are among those technologies that have been abused for terrorist purposes, and such misuse is expected to become even more pervasive and significant as these technologies become more accessible, popular, and mainstream.
The ¡°Algeria Guiding Principles¡± highlight the importance of a comprehensive and risk-based approach to countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) to mitigate a plethora of terrorist financing vulnerabilities.
Structured in four pillars, the ¡°Algeria Guiding Principles¡± aim to support Member States in their efforts to (i) enhance evidence-based understanding of the terrorism-financing risks associated with new and emerging financial technologies and fundraising methods; (ii) develop and implement risk-based proportionate regulation, monitoring and supervision to prevent the abuse of new technologies for terrorism-financing purposes; (iii) effectively detect and disrupt such abuses; and (iv) evaluate the effectiveness and any unintended consequences of the measures set up to counter the financing of terrorism related to new technologies.
The ¡°Algeria Guiding Principles¡± also highlight how new and emerging financial and regulatory technologies can be used to contribute to the effective implementation of anti-money laundering (AML)/CFT measures, in compliance with international law. As highlighted by the work of the FATF, new technologies also have the potential to make AML/CFT measures in both the public and private sectors faster, cheaper, more transparent, and more inclusive, while maintaining their safety and security. When used responsibly and proportionally, technology can facilitate data collection, processing and analysis and help actors to identify and manage terrorist financing risks more effectively and closer to real time.
To facilitate the development of these non-binding guiding principles, CTED undertook a comprehensive consultative process with relevant experts from United Nations agencies and international and regional organization partners, as well as a range of relevant stakeholders from the private sector, academia, and civil society.
The purpose and focus of these non-binding guiding principles is to assist Member States in enhancing relevant national CFT measures and strengthening international cooperation. The non-binding guiding principles do not purport to impose any legal obligations upon States.
The non-binding guiding principles developed pursuant to the ¡°Delhi Declaration¡±, including the ¡°Algeria Guiding Principles¡± and the ¡°¡± related to threats posed by the use of unmanned aircraft systems for terrorist purposes, are intended to complement other materials in order to guide Member States and the work of the Counter-Terrorism Committee and CTED to support States in their implementation of Security Council resolutions , , , , , , and other relevant Council documents on counter-terrorism.
The ¡°Algeria Guiding Principles¡± are available here:
- Algeria Guiding Principles [AR]
- Algeria Guiding Principles [CH]
- Algeria Guiding Principles [EN]
- Algeria Guiding Principles [ES]
- Algeria Guiding Principles [FR]
- Algeria Guiding Principles [RU]