General Debate: Adoption of Review Resolution of the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy (GCTS)
[23 June 2023, General Assembly]
Statement by Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj
Permanent Representative of India to the UN
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Mr. President, Distinguished Delegates,
2. Let me begin by paying my condolences to the victims of the bereaved families who have lost their loved ones in the heinous terrorist attack on a school in Uganda on 17 June 2023. This cowardly attack is yet again a reminder for us that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, irrespective of the motivations behind such terrorist acts, is pure evil, the perpetrators and supporters of such attacks should be brought to justice.
3. It is unfortunate that some amongst us, motivated by their narrow political agendas, will look for a reason to justify such acts. Because of these states, the global resolve to fight against terrorism gets diminished. Because of such states, the Mumbai terror attack happened. Because of such states, even 15 years after the attacks, their masterminds continue to roam scot free – with full state hospitality. Moreover, in order to deflect the attention of the international community from their nefarious agendas, such states attempt to portray themselves as “victims of terrorism”. It is doubly unfortunate when the international community continues to tolerate the ‘behaviour of such states, rather than holding them accountable for their actions.
4. It is painful to note that that instead of calling out their double standards, their demands are accommodated at the expense of others states who have been making every sincere effort and contribution to strengthen the global fight against terrorism.
5. India has faced state-sponsored cross-border terrorism for the past more than 3 decades and understands the human, social and economic cost it brings to the people. In a positive trajectory, India is supporting, bilaterally as well as multilaterally, efforts to strengthen the capacities of member states to face and fight back this scourge.
6. India sets counter terrorism as one of the top priorities at the United Nations. In this spirit, India hosted a special meeting of the Counter Terrorism Committee in Mumbai and New Delhi in October last year, to highlight an exponentially growing threat – which is bringing the terrorist battlefield to our homes. New technologies, benefits of which are no doubt immense, are fraught with being misused by terrorist actors. The universality and anonymity of some of these technologies have been exploited by terrorist groups for spreading their propaganda, false narratives, spreading hatred, recruiting new cadres, raising and moving funds, and planning terrorist activities. The Delhi Declaration adopted by the Committee provided a road-map to address this threat.
7. It was thus deeply disappointing to note that the co-facilitators of the 8th review of the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy, not only disregarded the strong support and trust offered by my delegation to their efforts since the beginning, but also that they acted in a non-transparent, non-consultative and partial manner, making an exception to accommodate the concerns of one delegation while completely ignoring the contributions and concerns of my delegation. We fail to understand the substantive grounds on which the reference to a “unanimously” adopted Security Council document was dropped by them arbitrarily, while keeping several similar such references in the document.
8. The Co Facilitators have chosen a path to put my delegation in a difficult situation forcing us to accept an outcome which the wider membership does not deserve. They have left us with no option but to disassociate with this document altogether. This is a path we did not choose willingly but one which was regretfully forced upon us. This could have certainly been avoided had the co-facilitators worked in good faith and with an even hand, with one and all.
9. My delegation has highlighted that if the co-facilitators succumbed to pressure this document would fast lose its objectivity. Dropping the reference to the Delhi Declaration was just an instance. The false priorities propagated by this document, whether in the form of an over-emphasis on new and emerging threats – in an attempt to dilute the focus from hardcore terrorism, or its biased approach towards recognizing attacks only against Abrahmic religions and ignoring others, are some of the other issues which are not acceptable to my delegation.
10. As far as we are concerned, India will continue to champion the voice of inclusivity, objectivity, impartiality, and transparency, in the counter terrorism discourse at the United Nations.
Mr. President,
11. India has been fighting terrorism and will keep fighting it. Our might to fight terrorism will only get stronger. Our actions at the United Nations will continue to be guided by the 8 point counter terrorism action plan, propagated by our External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar in January 2021 when speaking in a debate to commemorate 20 years of the establishment of the Counter Terrorism Committee.
12. And I find it necessary to recall four of them, to remind delegations of the perils of a fractured approach to terrorism:
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One, we need to summon the political will to counter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. There cannot be any justification of terrorism. Certainly no act of terrorism can be glorified.
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Two, we need to fight double standards. A terror act is a terror act – period - any justification – being used – should not be countenanced upon by anybody. The distinctions of bad or good are made only to serve vested interests. We can allow that only at our own peril.
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Three, we need to enhance objectivity and transparency in the working methods of Security Council sanction regimes to secure the successful listing of genuine and evidence based objective listing proposals. In this day and age of accountability and transparency, can we have genuine listing proposals blocked without giving any reason for the same? On the other hand can we allow for submission of proposals under the garb of anonymity? These are some of the glaring gaps that we must meet if we have to make Sanction Regimes fit for purpose.
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Four, we need to discourage exclusivist thinking and be on guard against new terminologies and false priorities. The increasing disconcerting trend to get religion or one kind of religiophobia inadvertently inserted in the terrorism discourse, is a slippery slope which should best be avoided.
13. I would like to conclude by recalling the words of Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed during the No Money for Terror Conference in New Delhi in November last year that “we consider a single attack one too many and a single life lost one too many. So we will not rest till terrorism is uprooted.”
Thank you Mr. President!
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