‘No Money for Terror’ (NMFT) Ministerial Conference

In News

• The Prime Minister recently addressed the ‘No Money for Terror’ (NMFT) Ministerial Conference on Counter-Terrorism Financing.

India’s stand at the Conference

• Standing against Nations using terrorism as a tool of foreign policy:
  • Prime Minister strongly asked to avoid any ambiguity in dealing with terrorism and also warned against nations that use terrorism as a tool of foreign policy.
    • He emphasised that “Only a uniform,  unified  and zero-tolerance approach  can defeat terrorism.”
  • State support of terrorism:
    • The Prime Minister highlighted state support as one of the major sources of political, ideological and financial support to terrorism.
• Terror financing:
  • Throwing light on the difference between fighting a terrorist and fighting terrorism, the Prime Minister said that a terrorist may be neutralised with weapons and immediate tactical responses but these tactical gains will soon be lost without a larger strategy aimed at hurting their finances. 
• Organised crime:
  • The Prime Minister underlined organised crime as another source of terror funding 
  • He emphasised deep links between criminal gangs and terrorist outfits.
• Global institutions against terrorism:
  • Highlighting the complex environment, the Prime Minister stressed that the United Nations Security Council,  Financial Action Task Force, Financial Intelligence Units, and the Egmont Group, are boosting cooperation in the prevention, detection and prosecution of illegal fund flow. 
  • PM also highlighted that the framework is helping the war against terror in multiple ways over the past two decades. 
• Impacts on the local economy:
  • He said that the long-term impact of terrorism is particularly hard on the poor and the local economy, be it tourism or trade.

Terrorism

• About:
• An offence to intimidate a population or to compel a government or an international organisation to do or abstain from doing any act, which causes:

• Death or serious bodily injury to any person.
• Serious damage to public or private property, including a place of public use, a State or government facility, a public transportation system, an infrastructure facility or the environment.
• Damage to property, places, facilities, or systems resulting in or likely to result in a major economic loss.
• It encompasses a range of complex threats like organized terrorism in conflict zones, foreign terrorist fighters, radicalised ‘lone wolves’, etc.

• Factors Responsible for the Growth of Terrorism:
  • State-sponsorship and safe havens.
  • State-of-the-art communication systems.
  • Access to advanced technology.
  • Networking of terrorist groups with the criminal underworld.
• Impacts:
  • It poses a major threat to international peace and security and undermines the core values of humanity, peace and growth.
  • In addition to the devastating human cost of terrorism, in terms of lives lost or permanently altered, terrorist acts destabilise governments and undermine economic and social development.
  • Terrorist acts often defy national borders.
  • Terrorist attacks using CBRNE materials (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives) have catastrophic consequences on communities and infrastructure.

India’s efforts in combating terrorism

• Constitutional backing:
  • India has been at the forefront of global action against terrorism and has always played an active role in the global promotion and protection of human rights.
  • Terrorism is a crime against humanity and violates most Fundamental Human Right, namely the Right to Life (Article 21).
• Acts & agencies:
  • Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System: 
    • It vastly improves the capability of Border Security Force (BSF) in detecting and controlling the cross border crimes like illegal infiltration, smuggling of contraband goods, human trafficking and cross border terrorism, etc.
  • Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967: 
    • It enables more effective prevention of certain unlawful activities of individuals and associations and for dealing with terrorist activities, and other related matters.
  • National Investigation Agency: 
    • It is India’s counter-terrorist task force and is empowered to deal with terror-related crimes across states without special permission from the states.
  • Policy of Zero-Tolerance Against Terrorism: 
    • India calls for zero-tolerance against terrorism and focuses on developing a common strategy to curb it.
• India’s action plan at UNSC:
  • In January 2021, at the 20th anniversary of the UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1373, India presented an eight-point action plan to deal with the scourge of terrorism.
    • Summoning the political will to unhesitatingly combat terrorism.
    • Decrying double standards in the fight against terrorism.
    • Reform of the working methods of the Committees dealing with Sanctions and Counter-Terrorism.
    • Firmly discouraging exclusivist thinking that divides the world and harms the social fabric.
    • Enlisting and delisting individuals and entities under the UN sanctions regimes objectively not for political or religious considerations.
    • Fully recognising and addressing the link between terrorism and transnational organized crime.
    • Combating terrorist financing.
    • Immediate attention to adequate funding to UN Counter-Terrorism bodies from the UN regular budget.

Source: TH