Ajit Karn
In a veiled reference to Pakistan, India has expressed concern over the proliferation of terrorism, especially in Africa and Asia, and asserted that states that provide safe haven to terrorists must be held accountable for their actions.
“Terrorism poses a grave and actual peril. Unfortunately, despite best efforts aimed at transnational cooperation, it continues to spread, particularly in Africa and Asia “Ruchira Kamboj, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said.
In her remarks at the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism Ambassadorial-level Quarterly Briefing to Member States on Tuesday, Kamboj stated that the menace of terrorism can only be combated through consistent and unified multilateral action by the international community.
She made a thinly veiled reference to Pakistan when she said, “Those States that lack the capacity to combat the menace of terrorism should be assisted, while those that provide safe haven to terrorists must be exposed and held accountable for their actions.”
Noting that the proliferation of terrorism is a “worrisome” trend that must be reversed immediately, Kamboj emphasised the need to keep divisive narratives at bay.
“The classification of terrorism should therefore be avoided. The use of terminology such as “right wing” or “left wing” or “extreme right” or “extreme left” is fraught with the danger of their misuse by vested interests “She said,
She emphasised the significance of maintaining the support of all member states for the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. Noting that the current Review Resolution, which was adopted in 2021, is pertinent and well-balanced, she stated that the impending Review should be a technical update of this Resolution, taking into account the activities and accomplishments of the United Nations and other significant forums.
She also emphasised the significance of preserving the secular essence of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
“Regardless of religion, belief, culture, nationality, or ethnicity, India strongly condemns all forms of terrorism. Similarly, we condemn terrorist assaults motivated by Islamophobia, Christianophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-Sikh, anti-Buddhist, and anti-Hindu biases “She said,
Ruchira Kamboj stated that the seventh Review only addressed the first three types of assaults, and that a more prudent approach would be to maintain the breadth of this reference, eschewing a list-based approach for the upcoming Review.
India also emphasised the need for the international community to focus on more severe problems, such as the growing threat of terror financing, which has been exacerbated by the use of new and burgeoning technologies by terrorists and terrorist groups.
As one of the tangible outcomes of the third “No Money for Terror” Conference, which was held in India in November 2022, India proposed to host the Permanent Secretariat for the Conference in Delhi.
India, as Chair, hosted the Special meeting of the Counter Terrorism Committee in October 2022, which adopted the Delhi Declaration on countering the use of new and emerging technologies, highlighting not only the threat but also paving the way for a futuristic road-map for the CTC to help member states address this threat holistically.
India, according to Ruchira Kamboj, has never hesitated to “walk the walk” in the struggle against terrorism.
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In recent years, India has contributed more than two million dollars to the UN Office of Counter Terrorism in support of its global programmes to combat the financing of terrorism and prevent terrorists from travelling. “Going forward, we also reaffirm our support for providing additional budgetary resources to UNOCT from the regular UN budget,” she said.
Citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that “even a single act of terrorism is one too many, and even a single life lost is one too many,” Kamboj stated that India is committed to eradicating terrorism utterly and will not cease its efforts until this objective is reached.
