A/71/PV.94 General Assembly

I thank you, Madam President, for hosting this important debate at a time when the United Nations is preparing to revamp its counter-terrorism architecture, following the initiative by the Secretary-General to create the Office of Counter-Terrorism. Kenya takes this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Vladimir Voronkov of the Russian Federation on his elevation as the Under-Secretary-General in the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism. We hope that, under his leadership, the Office of Counter- Terrorism will continue to deepen the trend of open and transparent relations with Member States that was started by its predecessor, the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force. We also thank the Secretary-General for his initiatives aimed at enhancing the capability of the United Nations system to assist Member States in implementing the United Nations Global Counter- Terrorism Strategy. We welcome his reports on this endeavour. The adoption by consensus of resolution 70/291, on 19 July 2016, symbolized the commitment of the Assembly and the strong resolve of the international community to act in unity to address the rapidly evolving phenomenon of terrorism. Member States sought to update the United Nations Global Counter- Terrorism Strategy to ensure a balanced implementation of its four pillars. The resolution also called on the Secretary-General to provide options for enhancing the coherence and coordination of the United Nations counter-terrorism architecture. The Office of Counter-Terrorism was thus created to ensure dedicated and focused coordination of 38 United Nations entities directly or indirectly involved in counter-terrorism through their various mandates. We hope that even as its nascent structures evolve, the Office of Counter-Terrorism will ensure equitable geographic representation within its ranks, particularly drawing from the expertise of countries on the front lines of the war against terrorism, including in Africa. Kenya believes that the war against terrorism will be won at the subregional level where neighbouring States put in place uniform measures to counter violent extremism that leads to terrorism. Sharing information on terrorism among neighbours creates incentives and synergies at the subregional level to counter all facets of terrorism. The Office of Counter-Terrorism will be crucial in mobilizing Member States to adopt common, effective strategies against terrorism, based on best practices. Such strategies can succeed only if Member States are capacitated adequately to prevent and counter incitement to violent extremism, to strengthen their legal frameworks and criminal justice systems, to enhance border security and management and to manage and reintegrate returnees. It is indicated in the Secretary-General’s report that we will succeed in countering terrorism if we adopt a whole-of- society and an all-of-United-Nations inclusive approach to address, inter alia, the socioeconomic circumstances that feed the violent extremist narrative and ideology and Member States adopt the various recommendations in successive United Nations reports in developing their own national plans of action against violent extremism. Kenya launched its national strategy to counter violent extremism in September 2016 after amending various laws to align it with the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. Kenya’s strategy to counter the narratives and ideologies of violent extremism is anchored in the need to inspire, rally and facilitate an all-inclusive and global rejection of extremist ideologies hostile to Kenya’s nationhood and way of life. Allow me to share some of the lessons learned from our experiences thus far. First, there is a need to prevent conflicts and expeditiously resolve existing ones. No narrative to counter any ideology can succeed if communities remain engaged in open hostilities. The prevention and resolution of conflict through peaceful means, including through dialogue and mediation, must always remain the preferred course of action. At the regional and international levels, the primacy of politics in sustaining peace must always take precedence. A case in point is the successful evolution of the political process in Somalia coupled with the successes of the African Union Mission in Somalia against Al-Shabaab, which has resulted in weakening that terrorist organization. Secondly, there is a need to improve coordination nationally, regionally and internationally through the timely sharing of information and best practices. Countering extremist narratives should be nationally owned and led by the Government as the main legitimate authority in every country and as the focal point to mobilize resources, coordinate with the various public and private actors and other regional Governments in developing the strategic communication plan for executing the regional counter-narratives. The coordination of public and private partnerships, particularly civil society, is crucial for the success of counter-messaging. Thirdly, investing in deradicalization, rehabilitation and reintegration is key to winning the war of ideas with violent extremist groups. All major faiths espouse the invaluable importance of the concept of forgiveness in fostering healing in every society. Forgiving and rehabilitating violent extremists is perhaps the most powerful and sustainable counter-narrative, particularly with regard to young people who embrace radicalization out of peer pressure and the adventurism of youth. The future strength of any society is shaped by the values and hope instilled in its youth. Engaging all faith-based leaders to own and execute counter-extremist narratives in their local faith communities is very crucial, just as is providing support and encouragement to families and societies in welcoming back reformed extremists. Fourthly, Governments should formulate inclusive policies to address the various socioeconomic and political drivers that fuel violent extremist narratives. Proper and timely communication on the formulation and implementation of such policies is crucial for promoting national ownership and support and eliciting feedback on gaps in execution at every stage. Fifthly, all efforts  — whether local, regional or international  — must be properly resourced at every stage. The mandate and capabilities given to any entity in the value chain must be properly matched and resourced financially and otherwise. Investing in — especially online and rehabilitation — educational programmes and early-warning systems all require enormous resources and efforts to execute. However, as the brutality and sheer barbarism of Da’esh, Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab and Al-Qaida affiliates has shown, it is a necessary and worthy investment to defend the values in which we all believe. In conclusion, I reiterate Kenya’s commitment to the implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and recognition of the importance of the proper coordination and sharing of information for its success. We look forward to further engagement with the Office of Counter-Terrorism through the General Assembly.

Let me begin by extending through you, Madam President, our sincere congratulations to Mr. Vladimir Voronkov on his appointment to assume the leadership of the newly established Office of Counter-Terrorism. We hope that, during his mandate, the United Nations counter-terrorism structure will improve in a way that not only ensures the enhanced coordination of counter-terrorism related activities across the United Nations system, but also promotes the United Nations capacity for better addressing the root causes of terrorism and violent extremism. In our view, reform is a constant and ongoing process, and we look forward to Mr. Voronkov bringing greater professionalism, efficiency, impartiality, transparency and predictability to the Office of Counter-Terrorism’s activities. Terrorism as a multidimensional phenomenon can be defeated only if a comprehensive plan is devised and implemented by the various relevant stakeholders in a coordinated manner. The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy provides such a common platform for cooperation. In our view, the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy continues to be central to addressing the scourge of terrorism, hence the importance of supporting the implementation of the Strategy in an integrated and balanced way. In planning any strategy to combat terrorism, it is vital to address all drivers of violent extremism conducive to terrorism both at the internal and international levels in a balanced manner. At the same time, in order to achieve success in combating terrorism, it is crucial to tackle the destructive ideologies that manipulate and exploit the mindsets of the people, especially young people, so as to incite them to terrorism. In the world in which we live today, defeating violent extremism would be unthinkable without countering takfiri ideology. That is the dark ideology used by terrorists from Al-Qaida to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham, to craft distorted narratives based on the misinterpretation and misrepresentation of Islam so as to justify violence. That ideology cannot be eliminated solely through military, political or economic means. Any effective strategy against it must entail a major cultural and ideological component at its core. We must also recognize that selective or double standards and simply categorizing good and bad terrorism based on short-term political interests should not be used to help us approve terrorism. Those kinds of erroneous approaches would only undermine international trust and cooperation in countering terrorism. The Islamic Republic of Iran has been the target of terrorist acts in various forms and manifestations, including State-sponsored terrorism. Over the past decade, approximately 17,000 Iranian individuals have been killed by terrorist attacks, the majority of which were carried out by the Mujaheddin e Khalq organization. It is regrettable that some States in pursuit of a short-sighted political agenda have not only delisted and harboured members of such a notorious and dangerous terrorist organization, but have also offered them support. The legitimate struggle of people under foreign occupation for self-determination and national liberation cannot be equated with terrorism. We strongly condemn any use of force to suppress people in a struggle against foreign occupation and exercising their right to self- determination. The brutalization of people who remain under foreign occupation in Palestine by the Israeli regime is the gravest form of terrorism and should be condemned by the international community. Let me conclude by reiterating that the Islamic Republic of Iran remains committed to the implementation of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. We stand ready to help Mr. Voronkov and his team in discharging their important functions in pursuing the goals of ridding the world of terrorism, and we call on all peace-loving States Members of the United Nations to fulfil their commitments in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

The State of Qatar thanks the Secretary-General for his efforts to implement resolution 71/291, on strengthening the capability of the United Nations system to assist Member States in implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, and for his commitment to involving Member States in that endeavour. We again welcome the establishment of the Counter- Terrorism Office and the appointment of Mr. Vladimir Voronkov as the Under-Secretary-General to lead the Office. We look forward to working with him. We in Qatar are particularly interested in the work of regional and United Nations mechanisms to eradicate terrorism and address its root causes. We reaffirm our condemnation of terrorism in all forums, regardless of its forms, perpetrators or justifications. Since the adoption of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, Qatar is committed to fully implementing all measures therein in order to address the root causes of terrorism and to strengthen international cooperation in combating terrorism. We fully respect our international commitments within the framework of the Security Council to fight terrorism. We are also committed to cooperating with the various United Nations counter-terrorism bodies, including the Security Council committees, groups of experts and the Working Group on Facilitating the Integrated Implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. Qatar has made a financial contribution in support of that Working Group and will continue to work with the Group so as to strengthen partnership in capacity-building. We also launch projects to prevent violent extremism and to address the root causes of terrorism. In our bilateral cooperation efforts to combat terrorism and end its financing, we have concluded several bilateral agreements, such as the memorandum of understanding that we just signed with the United States to combat the financing of terrorism. Qatar continues to modernize its counter-terrorism legislation in an effort to address all emerging threats. The State of Qatar continues its global approach in addressing terrorism. It is an international partner in global efforts to combat terrorism at the military, financial and legal levels. We will do our utmost to strengthen efforts to build technical capacity to prevent violent extremism, which leads to terrorism, and to bolster efforts aimed at eliminating terrorism, for example, by combating security and political approaches based on suppression, injustice and discrimination, which provide a breeding ground for terrorism. Because we believe that prevention efforts are important, we took the initiative to convene a General Assembly meeting on the prevention of violent extremism among children and young people, which was held in July 2006. We have also launched several initiatives, such as Silatech, which seeks to boost employment for young people. It covers more than 15 countries and has financed tens of thousands of projects managed by young people. There is yet another initiative for children in volatile environments that are used by terrorists to recruit young people. It allows children who lost access to education following conflicts, war and natural disasters to enjoy their right to education once again. To prevent violence, we have taken a global approach, which is based on the Strategy’s four pillars, including strengthening tolerance for the culture of peace and dialogue among civilizations and religions. We host several think-tanks in our region. We also promote the freedom of expression and freedom of the press to thwart any attempt to use terrorism for political means.

There are many ways to fight terrorism but only one way to destroy it, and that is to do so. The roots of terrorism cannot be traced seriously to any cause — social and economic inequality or religious and ethnic differences — but only to the fallen nature of man, which can corrupt any idea and which since the Holocaust has never sunk so low. It is also clear that there can be no political accommodation with terrorism. We cannot buy safety from terrorism by yielding to any of its demands. We cannot live with terrorism because it will not let us live. The Brazilian philosopher Roberto Mangabeira Unger told us in the classroom that the means prefigure the end. As we have seen, terrorist means can end only in a reign of terror. It is said that one man’s terrorist is another man’s patriot. No, the new terrorists have no country and no cause other than taking delight in inflicting torture and death to spread the terror of their name and thereby instil a willing submission to more cruelty. It is perilous because it can be self-serving to define terrorism. It is as hard to arrive at a common definition of it as it is to define pornography, but we know it when we see it. We know it when we view what terrorists do to the women and girls they rape and trade or murder after use; to the men and boys whose throats they slit, or burn or drown in cages; to those they fling from roof tops in boyish fun and to the cities they take and hold until they themselves destroy them or which have to be destroyed to liberate them. In the destruction of cultural artefacts, terrorism is the enemy of memory so that those who survive know only the terror of a name. It is an evil so pure that it must be countered with means that are sure through a global effort against terror on every front, by every society, even by those not yet threatened because they will be attacked. In May, terrorists who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham backed by foreign fighters proclaimed their control of Marawi, the capital and largest city of Lanao del Sur in Mindanao, the Philippines, with a population of 200,000. They had long before entrenched and fortified themselves in the community. We did not see it coming because we are a democracy pledged to diversity. The presence of foreign terrorist fighters spoke to the transnational nature of the takeover. While the international community is successfully closing doors to such terrorist groups, new doors are opening up for them in other parts of the world. Marawi highlights important points of the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (A/71/858). It reaffirms that Member States regard terrorism as one of the gravest threats, if not the gravest threat, to peace and security anywhere in the world. The fight against terrorism should unite us all. Foreign terrorist operations do not recognize borders, and the complexity and reach of the threat they pose have expanded. Every civilized society they destroy is a platform for the destruction of the next one. To put a stop to them, Member States must work together. International cooperation must cover the whole range of the counter-terrorism spectrum, from border control to countering the narratives of violent extremism and, always and forever, to fighting it. Finally, the United Nations has assumed a critical leadership role in bringing together in a cohesive whole all the work on counter-terrorism undertaken by Member States and the United Nations so as to bring about real results and not more rhetoric. On that note, the Philippines welcomes the creation of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism.

In recent times, we have seen significant strides in defeating certain international terrorist groups, while the situation remains grim in a number of other contexts, with pernicious effects on innocent civilians. Heinous terrorist attacks around the world continue to expose the lurking threats in our midst and the growing ideological networks of dominant international terrorist groups. United Nations peacekeeping personnel and facilities are being made frequent targets of terrorist attacks, with a rising number of fatalities. It is evident that terrorists have been quick to take advantage of the divergences in the international community’s understanding and response to terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism. Against that backdrop, thanks to the collective efforts of Member States, the fifth review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy last year witnessed the adoption by consensus of resolution 70/293. The resolution reaffirmed Member States’ resolve to project a united front in promoting the comprehensive and balanced implementation of all four pillars of the Global Strategy. It also gave a positive nod to the Secretary-General’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism as a possible template for national and regional-level implementation. My delegation takes this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Vladimir lvanovich Voronkov for being appointed as the Under-Secretary-General to lead the newly created United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism. We hope that the initiative will demonstrably contribute to strengthening the United Nations strategic leadership in international efforts to address the generational challenges of terrorism and violent extremism. To that effect, we particularly emphasize the importance of enhanced coordination and consultation among various United Nations entities, providing capacity-building support at the national and regional levels. Among other priorities, we clearly see the need for ensuring increased, regular and transparent interface between the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force and the concerned United Nations Resident Coordinator’s office. In Bangladesh, our counter-terrorism efforts are guided by the global norms and standards set by the United Nations, while we try to calibrate practical measures on the ground in response to the local specificities. That has led to the significant and progressive scaling-up of our Government’s counter- terrorism response at the policy, legal and institutional levels, in line with its avowed zero-tolerance approach. Bangladesh is a State party to most international counter-terrorism instruments and has instituted a national mechanism for promoting compliance with the relevant Security Council resolutions. The Government has made it clear that we will not allow our territory to be used by any regional operatives to cause or incite harm against any of our neighbouring countries. Likewise, our Government maintains the unequivocal stand that a terrorist is a terrorist and does not deserve to be identified by any belief, caste or creed. With the steadfast support of our people in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, our law- enforcement authorities have identified a number of masterminds, financiers and foot soldiers, and dealt with them under the purview of the law. Sustained efforts are being made to unearth the location of the remaining operatives and bring them to justice. The issues of victim protection and assistance are receiving added attention. Further capacity-building of the judiciary, intelligence, investigation and prosecution authorities, including focus on human rights training, remains a priority. In that context, we acknowledge the capacity- building programmes run by the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate at the regional level, and recommend the possible recalibration of its design and purpose at this stage to respond to specific national requirements. Bangladesh maintains a decisive stand on preventing and intercepting the movements of foreign terrorist fighters through our territory. We underscore the need for enhanced international cooperation on multimodal transport security, seeking access to cost-effective screening and detection technologies in resource-constrained settings. Our comprehensive and coordinated measures to combat the financing of terrorism and money-laundering have been duly recognized by the Financial Action Task Force, among others. We are partnering with the United Nations Counter- Terrorism Centre in order to gain a better understanding of designation, asset-freezing and prosecution relating to counter-terrorism cases. We recognize the need to have informed discussions concerning a possible nexus at the regional level between arms proliferation and other transnational organized crimes, on the one hand, and terrorism and violent extremism, on the other. We urge the international community to refrain from hastily labelling any terrorist threats or activities to help avoid misperceptions about situations on the ground. Like others, Bangladesh shares concerns over the fast-evolving and extensive use of the Internet by terrorists in propagating their misguided and vicious narratives. The local customized versions of such narratives tend to promote a religious extremist agenda as an antithesis to the democratic, pluralist and secular principles upheld by our Constitution and State organs. They manage to tap into a sustained sense of grievance by referring to the ongoing conflicts and humanitarian crises in large tracts of the Muslim world, as well as the palpable trends of Islamophobia and xenophobia in parts of the world. Our Government has been working with partners in the private sector and academia to track the nature and interface of such contents in the cybersphere. The concerned public- and private-sector entities have been exploring various modalities for enhancing cooperation with the aim of preventing the spread of terrorist contents and narratives, and also furnishing alternative narratives based on messages that resonate with the target audience. We acknowledge the importance of a comprehensive international framework to achieve a shared understanding among all concerned stakeholders about undertaking proactive, meaningful and effective measures to address the challenges posed by terrorist activities on the Internet while upholding fundamental freedoms and human rights. Our Government continues to attach great importance to a whole-of-society approach to preventing and countering violent extremism that is conducive to terrorism. At the personal directives of our Honourable Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, multi-stakeholder platforms have been made operational at the grass-roots to build awareness and safeguards against the spread of violent extremism. Emphasis is being placed on building community resilience and engagement, including through enhanced participation in community policing and women- and youth-led initiatives. Religious leaders are being encouraged to disseminate counter-terrorist narratives at the local level, and deradicalization efforts are being actively considered in prison settings. The Government sees merit in developing a national plan of action to prevent violent extremism. We appreciate the readiness expressed by the United Nations and other international partners to support Bangladesh’s counter-terrorism efforts. In broad terms, we reiterate our stand on the following priorities in the international context. First, we wish to see definite progress in the work on developing a comprehensive convention on terrorism. Secondly, it is imperative that commitment to global counter-terrorism efforts be translated into unqualified withdrawal and rejection of support for the masterminds, financiers, abettors and sympathizers of terrorist and violent extremist acts, irrespective of their denomination or affiliation. A seamless flow of information and intelligence among national jurisdictions continues to be critical. Thirdly, there must be demonstrable efforts to find lasting solutions to the problems of illegal foreign occupation, colonization and protracted conflicts if we are to end these recurrent sources of grievance among various groups, including young, impressionable people, which terrorists tend to exploit to their advantage. Fourthly, shared understanding and cooperation among the stakeholders concerned, including the private sector, is essential to effective strategic communication aimed at defeating terrorist narratives and ideologies. Lastly, it is still crucial to address the resource gaps and related challenges that the United Nations is dealing with in scaling up its capacity-building support for Member States’ identified needs and priorities. In that context, we urge the Secretary-General to continue to build on an analysis of the scope and challenges of the current United Nations capacity-building efforts and to provide a realistic assessment of the resources required to support Member States’ efforts to comprehensively implement the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. In conclusion, as a staunch and reliable partner in the international community, Bangladesh remains committed to eliminating the scourges of terrorism and violent extremism, which also threaten to erode some of our hard-earned development gains.

We welcome Mr. Vladimir Ivanovich Voronkov’s appointment as the new Under- Secretary-General of the Office of Counter-Terrorism. We hope that the establishment of the new Office and Mr. Voronkov’s appointment will improve the overall coherence and coordination of counter-terrorism- related activities across the United Nations system. Pakistan fully supports the Secretary-General’s reform agenda and will continue to work with other Member States to achieve it. In the past decade, the international community has created many structures, taken tougher measures and invested billions of dollars in this fight. Yet terrorism continues to pose the most complex and daunting challenge of our time. An important factor, particularly in the past 20 years, has been the inability or unwillingness of the international community to deal with the problem of conditions that are conducive to terrorism. We believe that if we do not address the underlying causes of terrorism, we will be fighting only its symptoms. We have always contended that protracted, unresolved conflicts, the unlawful use of force, aggression, foreign occupation, the denial of the right to self-determination, political and economic injustice and political marginalization and alienation contribute to the spread of terrorism. If we are to counter terrorism comprehensively, we cannot separate it from its political context. It is therefore vital to ensure that the new Office of Counter-Terrorism works closely with the Department of Political Affairs in addressing the underlying causes of terrorism. In that regard, the Global Counter- Terrorism Strategy remains the most comprehensive document that we have for assisting Member States in eliminating terrorism, while Member States continue to have sole responsibility for implementing it. The new Office should therefore focus on how best to ensure that the system can meet the technical requirements, when asked to do so by Member States. We also believe that the principle enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations of non-interference in the internal affairs of States remains fundamental — indeed, sacrosanct. We hope that the new Office will strengthen cooperation with other international and regional organizations and improve the mobilization of resources for building the capacity of Member States’ projects for dealing with the menace of terrorism. There is a global consensus that terrorism cannot be associated with any religion. We urge the new Under-Secretary-General to work with Member States to strengthen that consensus and discourage forces that try to spread negative Islamophobic propaganda. Pakistan has been a major victim of terrorism, including terrorism supported, sponsored and financed by regionally based terrorist entities and organizations. We have lost more than 60,000 lives, and many more people have been injured. But those losses have not diminished my country’s commitment to fighting this menace. They have only strengthened our resolve. Pakistan has achieved tremendous success in its fight against terrorism, and we will continue to strive for more in our national capacity. In that context, at the United Nations we look forward to working closely with Member States, as well as the new Office of Counter-Terrorism, to assist other States by sharing our experience in the effort to win this fight, so significant for our times.

At the outset, I would like to thank the President for convening today’s meeting to discuss the implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. Since this is the first formal meeting to be held on the issue following the Assembly’s recent adoption of resolution 71/291, establishing the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Vladimir Ivanovich Voronkov on his appointment as Under-Secretary-General for counter- terrorism and to wish him every success. We would also like to affirm our full support to him and to his Office, as part of our firm, unwavering position on the importance of addressing and eradicating terrorism. The Secretary-General’s report (A/71/858), issued in April, notes that the Office’s main functions are, first, to lead United Nations counter-terrorism efforts; secondly, to ensure coordination across the Organization’s 38 counter-terrorism entities; thirdly, to strengthen its capacity-building; fourthly, to provide new resources for United Nations counter-terrorism efforts; and, lastly, to integrate counter-terrorism activities throughout the United Nations system and its work. It is important to emphasize that the full implementation of all those functions requires continuing consultation and coordination with Member States in order to ensure that the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy is implemented in a balanced, effective way that will eventually result in more efficient use of the resources available to build Member States’ capacity to counter terrorism. The challenges that the nations of the world are facing today in the fight against terrorism include the return of foreign terrorist fighters to their countries of origin and the liberation from terrorist groups of vast areas captured during conflict. Another is the task of cutting off terrorism’s sources of financing. For that we need a mechanism that all countries and regional and international organizations can participate in with the goal of helping Member States to exchange information, build their capacity to face these challenges, confront terrorist ideologies and prevent terrorists from exploiting social media. It is therefore vital to our interests, and to our people’s prospects for a secure life in future, to ensure that the Office can carry out its tasks successfully. It will also be important for the new Office to address the root causes of terrorism and violent extremism. I am pleased to be able to inform the Council that Jordan and Norway are now working together to establish a group of friends for countering violent extremism, to be officially announced in the next few weeks. Its aims will include providing political support to the Office in its balanced implementation of the four pillars of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, raising awareness about the conditions conducive to violent extremism and encouraging support for communities and respect for human rights. The group will also emphasize the importance of young people and women’s active participation in efforts to address the issue. In conclusion, Jordan looks forward to working with the Under-Secretary-General and head of the Office of Counter-Terrorism, Mr. Voronkov, and other partners, in order to do what is necessary to counter terrorism. Combating terrorism in order to achieve sustainable peace is important for human kind.

Allow me first and foremost to thank you, Madam President, for convening this meeting, which allows us to examine measures to eliminate international terrorism. My delegation welcomes the report of the Secretary- General (A/71/858), issued in implementation of resolution 70/291. The fifth review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, held in July 2016, was an important event in terms of applying important changes to the United Nations counter-terrorism architecture. Indeed, during the course of that review, Member States noted the existence of a number of anomalies, overlap and duplication in the work of the United Nations at a time when terrorism continues to spread and to take on global dimensions. Hence the adoption on 1 July 2016 of resolution 70/291, which calls for the revitalization of the capacity of the United Nations system to support Member States in their balanced implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. The aim is to improve synergies and coherence and to limit overlap in and the dispersal of the United Nations work in that area. The positive and rapid reaction of the Secretary- General, within a mere month of his coming into office, proposing bold measures in application of paragraph 70 of the aforementioned resolution, with the purpose of providing renewed impetus to the United Nations counter-terrorism architecture, is of unparalleled importance. Those measures, in large part, addressed the expectations of Member States, including the Kingdom of Morocco. In moving forward, we have not hesitated to provide our unfailing full support to the Secretary- General with regard to the establishment of the Office of Counter-Terrorism under the direction of an Under- Secretary-General. My delegation would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Ambassador Vladimir Voronkov on his appointment as head of the Office of Counter-Terrorism. It is a difficult mission at a moment where terrorists are making use of the most advanced technologies to perpetrate attacks and to spread terror and division across societies and nations. In that regard, my delegation reiterates that terrorism should not be connected to any religion, civilization or ethnic group. In particular, the Kingdom of Morocco, which has been involved in nearly all United Nations initiatives and actions in the fight against terrorism, and which is a member of the advisory board of the Counter-Terrorism Centre, extends the necessary support to Mr. Vladimir Voronkov so that he may best fulfil his mandate. Morocco has signed the majority of counter-terrorism instruments and has developed its own national strategy. That strategy, inspired by the pillars of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, has been adapted to the national context. Morocco has integrated a restrictive component through the mobilization of the security and justice sectors, and has also adopted preventive measures through the undertaking of political, economic, social, cultural, educational and religious reforms. Religious reform, in particular via the training of young preachers, male and female, in the precepts of Islam, is based on the values of dialogue, tolerance, moderation, peaceful coexistence and mutual respect, as taught by the Islamic religion. In addition, a deradicalization, rehabilitation and reintegration programme for demobilized foreign terrorist fighters has been put in place. The Kingdom of Morocco is an active participant in the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum, of which it is the co-Chair and of which the eighth ministerial meeting will be held in September. The Kingdom of Morocco is willing to work with the United Nations and the new Office at the bilateral and triangular levels in order to provide the necessary support and to share its experience and know-how with interested States. My delegation has been clear about its vision of the fight against terrorism. The Office of Counter-Terrorism, under the leadership of the Secretary-General, should coordinate United Nations system counter-terrorism activities. That is an important aspect. It is also important to promote the work of and harmonize the United Nations counter-terrorism architecture, including opening it up to initiatives beyond the United Nations framework, including the Global Counter- Terrorism Forum. The Forum has adopted important documents that are particularly relevant to ensuring an effective struggle against terrorism. Furthermore, the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre, which plays a key role in strengthening Member State capacity, should continue to play its role in responding to the demands of Member States. Finally, it is important to underline the central role of the United Nations in the struggle against terrorism. That role should not be exercised to the detriment of the Secretary-General’s proactive and open approach to initiatives and forums, including the Global Counterterrorism Forum. Moreover, Member States should also cooperate among one another at the bilateral, subregional and regional levels in order to ensure border security and counter radicalization.

We have heard the last speaker in the debate on this item. Several representatives have asked to speak in exercise of the right of reply. May I remind members that statements in the exercise of the right of reply are limited to 10 minutes for the first intervention and to five minutes for the second intervention and should be made by delegations from their seats.

I apologize for needing to take the floor a second time but, given one of the statements we heard earlier, I am required to do so. I sometimes wonder if it is worth the effort to reply seriously to the Iranian representative, who has shamelessly sat here and attacked my country while his country continues to promote terrorism and destabilize the whole Middle East. This is the representative of a regime that not only arms terrorist organizations, but also bolsters the murderous Al-Assad regime in Syria. Iran does all this while blatantly violating Security Council resolutions. As one example, it continues to develop a ballistic-missile programme in violation of Security Council resolution 2231 (2015). It even went so far as to launch a ballistic missile onto a very specific and intentional target that had the Star of David on it. This is a direct and unacceptable threat by one Member State against another. So, given this reality, attempts by the representative of the Iranian regime to attack my country and accuse Israel enjoy no credibility and can serve only as an attempt to divert discussions, which we cannot allow.

I asked for the floor to reply to the senseless rhetoric in the statement of the representative of the Israeli regime. Countering and addressing terrorism and its root causes cannot be considered separate from addressing the occupation and the terrorist activities of the Israeli regime. That is why States Members of the United Nations, in the fifth review of the Global Counter- Terrorism Strategy, reaffirmed their determination to continue to do all they can to end foreign occupation. With a long record of terrorism, the Israeli regime is well known as the single best example of sponsoring State terrorism. Despite numerous calls by the international community, the regime has been stubborn in following its illegitimate policies based on occupation, intimidation and terror. Israel’s dark network of agents has conducted deadly terror operations all over the world, including in my country. The brutal assassination of innocent Iranian scientists is just one example. It is also an established fact that Israeli agents provide support to the Al-Nusra Front and other terrorist groups operating in Syria. Unfortunately, the gravest systematic and widespread act of terror is under way in the occupied Palestinian territory. In the absence of a unified international response to end such abhorrent illegal and brutal occupation, the occupier continues to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity and impose collective punishment on the Palestinian people before the eyes of the international community without fear and punishment.

May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 118?