India calls for closer and real-time intelligence sharing

UNITED NATIONS: India has called for closer and real-time intelligence sharing, coordination of operations and technology assistance to address the increasing challenges posed by transnational crime organisations.

Despite the development of an expanding body of international treaties and conventions, designed to address the entire range of trans-border crimes, the challenge appears to only grow further, Mayank Joshi, Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN said while participating in General Assembly's Third Committee debate.

"A problem with a global dimension can only be tackled with effective and enhanced regional and international cooperation," said Joshi.

Terror organisations such as the UN designated entities -- the Islamic State, Al Shabaab, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, LeT, JeM -- continue to expand their reach across continents destabilising entire regions through their cross-border financing, propaganda, recruitment over cyberspace and social media, he told the UN committee.

"All of us are aware of the importance of genuine international collaboration in meeting these multifarious challenges. This requires much closer and real time intelligence sharing, coordination of operations, capacity building and technology assistance," he said.

They are increasingly able to target attacks according to their choosing, he said, adding that many of these networks also collaborate with others.

Further, chronic civil wars and emerging armed conflicts, many of them involving non-state actors, are leading to large movements of people fleeing for safety, falling prey to organised crime syndicates.

Smuggling and trafficking of persons, arms and drugs, money laundering seem to be on the rise, he said.

Counterfeiting and sophisticated fraud schemes too are on the rise, he added.

With exponentially growing reach of new technologies, new crimes are emerging, Joshi said, adding that cyber safety is becoming a serious concern at individual levels.

In a world inter-connected through modern technologies, there is a deepening nexus between various types of transnational organised crimes and entities engaging in them, he told the UN committee.

"All of us are aware of the importance of genuine international collaboration in meeting these multifarious challenges. This requires much closer and real-time intelligence sharing, coordination of operations, capacity building and technology assistance," Joshi said.

In his remarks, Joshi also rued that a 'Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism' has seen little progress and remains stalled with lack of clarity on definitional issues.

There is also a lack of common understanding on how to address areas such as cyber security, he said.

Earlier opening the day-long debate via video-conference from Vienna, Jean-Luc Lemahieu, Director of the Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) called for increased international cooperation.

Noting that economic uncertainty is the main driver of crime and drug trafficking, he said they remained closely linked to violent extremism.

The UNODC is working to strengthen criminal justice responses to terrorism and other emerging crimes, including piracy and heroin trafficking at sea, he said.