1 July 2026, New York – On the occasion of the 2026 United Nations Counter-Terrorism Week, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), with the support of its Centre for Global Studies (CGS), organized a high-level side event entitled “Global Terrorism and AI – Technological Sovereignty and Regulatory Frameworks: The Role of Parliaments in Applying and Adapting Existing Frameworks for Effective Countering Actions”.
The event was held in partnership with the Permanent Missions of the Republic of Cyprus and Italy, the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), gathering more than 60 participants from diplomatic missions, Member States, academia, the private sector, and representatives from Africa, the Americas, and Asia.
The session aimed at highlighting the crucial role of national and international parliaments in countering terrorism in an era of rapid technological evolution, within a multilateral and multi-stakeholder framework grounded in effective response, full support for law enforcement agencies, human rights, democratic oversight, and international law.
The event was opened by H.E. Ms. Natalia Gherman, Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of CTED, who stressed the need for stronger international cooperation to address the misuse of ICT, emerging technologies, and artificial intelligence by terrorist groups. She underlined the essential role of parliaments in ensuring that national legal and policy frameworks remain responsive to evolving threats, while preserving accountability and fundamental rights. In this context, she commended PAM’s role as a center of excellence for regional parliamentary diplomacy.
H.E. Ambassador Giorgio Marrapodi, Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations in New York, expressed Italy’s appreciation for PAM’s leadership, particularly through its Presidency of the Coordination Mechanism. He also recalled Italy’s commitment to strengthening international cooperation and capacity-building, including through the Mattei Plan for Africa and cooperation with IDLO, UNODC, UNIDROIT, and other partners.
Mr. Mauro Miedico, Director of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre of UNOCT, emphasized that AI and emerging technologies are increasingly being misused by terrorist and criminal groups, requiring coordinated action, sustained cooperation, and the engagement of UN technical experts.
Mr. Kostas Psevdiotis, Security Policy Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus and Chair of the COTER Working Party on External Aspects of Terrorism, highlighted Cyprus’ contribution, within the EU framework, to policy discussions on counter-terrorism and emerging technologies, promoting coordinated action, institutional resilience, and innovation that protects security while upholding fundamental rights.
Hon. Rita Superman (Cyprus), PAM Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism and Chair of the Policy Dialogue of the United Nations Coordination Mechanism of Parliamentary Assemblies on Counter-Terrorism, recalled PAM’s work, through its Centre for Global Studies and in cooperation with CTED, UNOCT, and other partners, on the security implications of AI, cybersecurity, bioterrorism, cryptocurrencies, the dark web, and spyware. She also highlighted the progress achieved during PAM’s two-year Presidency of the Coordination Mechanism.
The following discussion was opened by Hon. Pedro Roque (Portugal), PAM Vice-President and President of the 3rd Standing Committee, who addressed the growing misuse of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies by terrorist for the online recruitment, manipulation, and exploitation of children.
Sen. Abdelkader El-Kihal (Morocco), PAM Vice-President and President of the Political Committee, warned that emerging technologies are increasingly being exploited for radicalization, recruitment, illicit financing, cyberattacks, propaganda, and disinformation, creating new challenges for national authorities and the international community.
Bringing an expert perspective, Mr. Adam Hadley, Founder and Executive Director of Tech Against Terrorism and CEO of QuantSpark, referred to the report “Terrorist Use of Generative AI”, just published by Tech Against Terrorism, and stressed the need for evidence-based regulation and greater visibility on how terrorist actors exploit the internet and AI tools.
Hon. Emanuele Loperfido (Italy), Vice-Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, presented the work of the OSCE PA on AI, youth radicalization, media literacy, and online safety, including the School Dialogue initiative.
Ms. Akvile Giniotiene, Head of the Cyber and New Technologies Unit at the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre, UNOCT, emphasized the need for clear regulation, accountability, transparency, and international harmonization in the use of AI for counter-terrorism purposes.
Hon. Abdelouahab Yagoubi (Algeria), PAM Rapporteur on AI, highlighted the challenges faced by national authorities in tracing and freezing assets linked to terrorist financing, including legal barriers, limited technical capacities, and gaps in international cooperation. He presented Algeria’s recent legislative efforts to counter global terrorism financing networks, as well as the “Algerian Principles,” adopted by the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee, aimed at preventing the misuse of new and emerging financial technologies for terrorist purposes.
Bringing the expert contributions to a close, Ms. Eunice Lee, Senior Program Manager at the Strong Cities Network, highlighted the need to better prepare local policymakers and communities to respond to the impact of AI and emerging technologies, including through prevention, coordination, and local resilience-building.
The side event reaffirmed PAM-CGS’ commitment to supporting the United Nations and parliaments in strengthening legal frameworks, democratic oversight, and international cooperation to prevent and counter the misuse of AI and emerging technologies by terrorist and criminal actors. //