NO MONEY FOR TERROR (NMFT)
1. Context
India will host the Third No Money for Terror (NMFT) Conference on November 18-19. Delegates from 75 countries and international bodies are expected to attend the event, which will take up ways to combat global terrorist financing.
2. No Money for Terror
- The NMFT started in 2018 as an initiative of the French government which had, in 1989, laid the foundation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the international body at the forefront of combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
- Just like the FATF, which earlier focused only on money laundering but expanded to include terrorist financing after the 9/11 attacks, the continuing activities of the Islamic state and Al Qaeda, despite territorial defeats in Syria-Iraq and Afghanisthan respectively, necessitated the NMFT conference.
- The 2018 event was titled " International conference on combating the financing of Daesh and Al-Qaeda.
3. The 2018 Conference
- France had invited delegations from some 70 countries and the leaders of almost 20 agencies.
- The Conference agreed on " fully criminalizing terrorism financing even in the absence of a link to a specific terrorist act", and "enhancing the traceability and transparency of financial flows" by developing frameworks to tackle the risks associated with the use of cash, informal remittance systems (Including hawalas), prepaid cards, anonymous means of payments, and by promoting digital transactions.
- It also raised a red flag on the new financial instrument being misused and committed to " implement the FATF standards as they apply to crypto-assets", urging the FATF "to advance global implementation".
4. The 2019 Conference
The 2019 conference was hosted by Australia with participation from 65 delegations, including 23 Ministers and representatives from 15 international bodies.
The Conference identified "kidnapping for ransom" and " emerging technologies" such as digital and cryptocurrencies, stored value cards, online payment systems, and crowdfunding platforms as new channels through which terrorism may be financed.
5. The Indian Experience
- India has largely articulated its "Zero tolerance approach" towards terrorism in these conferences and tried to attract attention to the cross-border terrorism from Pakistan.
- In the 2019 conference, India called for a "United global effort against all those who support terror or help generate finances for terror". India pointed out how terror groups are active on social media and that undermines any ban the United Nations (UN) might place.
- It called on nations to expedite the finalization of a comprehensive convention on International Terrorism under the UN and asked for FATF standards to be effectively enforced. Given its experience of China blocking its push for sanctions against Pakistan-based terror groups and terrorists, it called for UN listing and FATF to not be politicized.
- It also asked the international community to initiate a discussion on 'Countering Financing of Radicalisation (CFR)', which would prevent radicalization, an essential prerequisite of terrorism.
6. UNSC-Counter-Terrorism Committee: (Delhi Declaration)
Adopted the Delhi Declaration on countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes.
Three Themes: Continue working on recommendations on the three themes of the Special meeting. 1. Terror Financing 2.Cyberthreats 3. Use of Drones
Non-binding principles: Develop a set of non-binding guiding principles to assist Member States to counter the threat posed by the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes.
7. International efforts to tackle terror financing:
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 1989: bringing order and implementing standards to the monetary system in the world about terror finance and money laundering.
UNSCR resolution 1267 in 1999 and UNSCR resolution 1373 in 2001: They formed the bedrock of the financial sanctions regime for terrorist organizations.
8. Methods used by FATF:
Risk: It has developed its entire paradigm around the world risk.
UNSC sanctions: It uses the United Nations Security Council sanctions against terrorists and terrorist organizations.
Key reasons for Pakistan being placed on the FATF Grey List from 2018 to 2022: Open defiance of those designations.
9. Agenda for 2022 Terror Conference
- India was supposed to host the conference in 2020, but it was postponed due to the pandemic. The agenda for the NMFT 2022 includes the use of virtual assets and crowdfunding platforms by terrorist entities, their use of the dark web, the links between terror financing and legitimate economic activities, and payment intermediaries.
- It is largely a build-up on concerns raised during the Interpol Conference and UN General Assembly's Counter-Terrorism Committee Conference held in Delhi recently.
- India will also focus on " the challenges faced by investigation agencies while probing terror financing crimes, the sharing of information among financial intelligence units, and recent trends in combating terror financing/money laundering risks".
For Prelims & Mains
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For Prelims: No Money for Terror (NMFT), Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Countering Financing of Radicalisation (CFR), UNSCR resolution 1267, UNSCR resolution 1373
For Mains: 1. What is meant by no money for terror (NMFT) and explain the International efforts to tackle terror financing in the light of the growth of terrorists and criminal organizations.
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Source: The Indian Express
