Statement by Ambassador Asoke Kumar Mukerji, Permanent Representative  at the Ninth Meeting of the Advisory Board of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Center 07 November, 2014

Mr. Chairman,

1. Let me outset thank the Secretary General for his vision statement on the  UNCCT. I would also like to thank the Under Secretary General for Political Affairs  Jeffery Feltman for his briefing on the action plan.

2. We would like to express our happiness on the conclusion of the contribution agreement between the UNCCT and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

3. We would like to express our consent to the offer of the Secretary General  to India to continue as a member of the Advisory Board of the UNCCT for an  additional three years starting from 2 April 2015. We would continue to share with this important center of counter-terrorism our experience in fighting the menace of the terrorism.

4. Let me offer some comments on the Secretary General Vision statement on  the future role of UNCCT.

5. We agree with the assessment that the new contribution of US$ 100 million would inject new dynamism into the work of UNCCT. However, the finances are only one aspect of this initiative. Proper implementation and close monitoring of the projects holds the key. The starting point is the judicious  utilization of US$6.8 million earmarked for projects till December 2015.

Mr. Chairman,

6. We would also like to support the idea of building UNCCT into a center of  excellence. We need to expand the capacity of the center, and in this regard we would like to suggest that UNCCT may now look at having an independent infrastructure, character and workforce. This will considerably lessen the burden  on the distinguished Under Secretary General for Political Affairs.

7. We also lend our full support to the capacity building of the UNCCT in the regions most affected by terrorism. In order to be effective and sustainable, the  capacity building initiative of the Centre should be tailored in response to  requests by member states of the United Nations. The idea of having an impact in the 'short, medium and long term' is certainly the pragmatic way to go about. The  initiative of having 'Roster of CT Expert' is also a step in right direction. We have  already responded to this proposal. The roster should be made operational by our next meeting and circulated to the member states for their consideration.

Mr. Chairman,

8. We welcome the suggestion of the Secretary General of providing the expertise of the UNCCT to the UNPKO's, especially those PKOs that have been  directly affected by terrorist acts.

9. The suggestion in the Secretary General's Vision statement of 'joint funding' of the capacity building projects should be considered seriously by  member states.

10. We would also like to support the idea of investing in understanding the Foreign Terrorist Fighters phenomenon which has been addressed by UNSCR  2178 adopted on 24 September 2014. We propose that a discussion paper be circulated to the Board to enable us to have an action oriented discussion on this issue in our next meeting.

Mr. Chairman,

11. We take note of the projects highlights report shared with the members of  the Advisory Board. While we appreciate the progress made in various sectors,  we would urge that steps be taken in the direction to ensure that timelines are  adhered to and the projects being carried over to the next cycle owing to non-completion are minimized.

12. Finally, we would like to urge the UNCCT to continue its efforts towards  balanced implementation of the four pillars of the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy. India on its part is fully committed to the policy of zero tolerance against terrorism and firmly believes that there can be no justification for terrorist acts.

I thank you, Mr. Chairman.