Terrorism remains a global menace and an affront to humanity that knows no border, nationality or religion. The United Nations Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, the 19 International Treaties against terrorism and other international legal acts form the basis for Member States to build a solid response against terrorism. Parliaments are a crucial branch of the State in implementing these international obligations and standards, including those binding in Security Council resolutions. In many Member States, parliaments are also at the forefront of policymaking and legislation related to or relevant to counter-terrorism. The unanimous adoption by the Security Council of Resolution 1373 (2001) marked a defining moment in recognizing the importance of global cooperation to counter the scourge of terrorism. This resolution provides the basis for an international framework that enables Member States to work together in areas such as intelligence-sharing, law enforcement, judicial cooperation and countering the financing of terrorism, while the response and collaboration between Member States must adapt to the development of information and communication technologies (ICT). The UN Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001) imposes binding legal obligations on all Member States, requiring them to adopt appropriate legislative measures, while parliamentarians need to monitor and oversight the actions taken by the executive branch in the implementation of the resolution, ensures accountability when it comes to adherence to the rule of law, fosters mechanisms for international cooperation and allocate necessary financial resources. In recent years, ICT has taken up an increasingly more significant role in the global arena, impacting international and national security. Terrorist groups exploit new information and communication technologies to facilitate their activities, including propaganda, incitement, radicalization, recruitment, planning and preparation of terrorist acts, communication and financing. To address these threats, the United Nations has adopted several resolutions that guide the work of Member States. At the core of the international response, the UN Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) calls on Member States to intensify and accelerate the exchange of operational information concerning the use of new technologies by terrorist groups. Member States must ensure that considerations, prohibitions and measures cited in the resolution are applied to rules and laws governing the use of new technologies by persons under their jurisdiction. Furthermore, Member States must ensure that their law enforcement agencies have the requisite human and technical capacities to monitor the potential abuse of these technologies by illicit actors and that the country has the capacity and legal framework to enable cross-border cooperation with other Member States on crimes that make use of these technologies. To support parliamentarians in fulfilling their role, the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) Programme Office on Parliamentary Engagement in Preventing and Countering Terrorism, in close consultation with the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), recently launched a new Handbook for parliamentarians on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001). The Handbook highlights the significant role of parliamentarians worldwide in implementing these resolutions through their legislative, budgetary and oversight functions. It introduces parliamentarians to the obligations in relevant Security Council resolutions and provides insights on how best to approach their domestication in national law. The Launch and Award Session aims to facilitate dialogue and raise awareness about the role of parliamentarians in addressing the challenges and opportunities posed by information and communication technologies in preventing and countering terrorism, guided by UN Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001), which provides a comprehensive framework for Member States to ensure that national counterterrorism measures are holistic, inclusive, human rights-compliant, gender-sensitive, and effective. The 2024 IGF will be a hybrid event, meaning that people should be able to participate fully, whether onsite or online. The IGF Secretariat and the Host Country will provide the technical tools to support this. It is vital that workshop organizers are aware of this and that providing for hybrid accessibility and interactive engagement is central to all session planning. Organizers should make every effort to ensure that any session speakers or organizers participating online have sufficient connectivity to participate in a hybrid session.
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