Some Regional, Western Countries Use ICT to Undermine Others’ Security and Economy: Al-Jaafari

NEW YORK, (ST)- Syria’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations Bashar Al-Jaafari has stressed that some regional and western countries have been using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to undermine the security as well as the economies and societies of other countries.

During the meeting of the Working Group on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the context of International Security, al-Jaafari said that “the countries, which develop their capabilities to destructively use the electronic space and ICTs think that they will be safe against cyber attacks, but, in fact, they are wrong. Thus, we affirm the need to succeed in our debates to reach an agreement on a binding law in this regard.”

He made it clear that what happened in Syria is major evidence on the destructive behavior of the governments of some regional and western countries which host certain satellite channels that promote takfiri fatwas and incite terrorism in a flagrant violation of Security Council resolutions.

 Electronic space and ICTs contribute to the development of societies, but at the same time they pose serious threat to international security and peace when they are used destructively, al-Jaaafri said.

“What is worse than that is permitting the existence of websites for blacklisted terrorist organizations like Daesh and Jabhat al-Nusra  and al-Qaeda on the internet including on social media and allowing them to address the public opinion,” al-Jaafari went on to say, pointing out that “giving permissions for such terrorist organizations is in itself a destructive use of the electronic space.”

The senior Syrian diplomat went on to say that Syria believes in multilateral work to tackle this issue and to develop some international principles and standards for countries’ behavior to reach a legally binding international formula.

Hamda Mustafa