Need 'genuine' global cooperation to fight terror: India

Describing the challenge posed by the growing terror threat as "daunting", India has called on the UN to do more to combat the scourge and emphasised that "genuine and effective" global cooperation is essential for achieving zero tolerance towards terrorism.

"The scale of challenge facing all our countries is daunting. No state is immune to this threat as continuing terrorist attacks across the world, many of them with links beyond the borders of the affected state, continue to demonstrate," India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said here yesterday.

Addressing a meeting of the Advisory Board of the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT), he said no single country, however rich or powerful, would be able to defeat the menace of terrorism acting alone.

Having been a victim of terrorism for the past several decades, India is not only cognizant of the nature of the menace but also of the critical need for a collective international effort to counter terrorism, he said.

"Genuine and effective international cooperation is absolutely essential to meeting this challenge and is in our collective interest," he said.

Akbaruddin said while the United Nations is providing a "useful avenue" for such international cooperation to fight terrorism, the world body "requires to do more".

"We look forward to the UNCCT playing a useful part in contributing to the collective quest of 'zero tolerance for terrorism'," he said, adding that India attaches high importance to working towards strengthening of international cooperation in countering terrorism.

He emphasised that growth of the phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters poses increasing threats and challenges and needs to be effectively countered.

Akbaruddin said tackling financing of terrorism is crucial in the fight against terrorism.

With foreign terrorist fighters originating from more than 100 countries, Akbaruddin said UNCCT's work needs to take into account this "widespread malaise" and requires to be expanded to cover all affected regions.

He reiterated that strengthening the legal capacities of member states to counter terrorism is "very important" in the fight to ensure the rule of law.

"The UNCCT working in unison with other UN agencies can be of assistance in strengthening the capacity of national legal systems to effectively prosecute and punish acts of terrorism," Akbaruddin said.

India, a member of UNCCT's Advisory Board, supports its work in contributing to the implementation of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (GCTF) of the United Nations through the Counter Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF), he said.