S/PV.7949 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2017/443, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Albania, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Romania, the Russian Federation, Saudia Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Nothern Ireland, the United States of America and Uruguay. The Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

The draft resolution received 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2354 (2017). I now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements after the vote.

I should like to begin by thanking all Member States for their support for Egypt’s efforts to achieve consensus in the Security Council regarding a comprehensive international framework for countering terrorist narratives. We have achieved consensus on resolution 2354 (2017) so as to establish such a framework. Countering terrorist narratives and the ideologies of terrorist groups is one of the most important aspects of global counter-terrorism efforts. It is critical for the international community to emphasize this aspect in the international fight against terrorism, in particular as terrorism draws upon its narratives and ideologies to spread its poison, justify its crimes, mobilize young people and push them to kill themselves, convincing them that they are undertaking a heroic act of self- sacrifice. Egypt was one of the very first countries to understand the importance of combating terrorist narratives and makes crucial contributions here and internationally, in particular through its religious institutions, Al-Azhar University first among them, acting in a noble manner and enjoying international respect. Egypt reiterates that the global drive against terrorism requires us to take into account all terrorist organizations without exception, as well as all factors that could lead to terrorism, including financing, weapons, politics, ideologies and media support. We reiterate that what we are doing today is not simply adopting another document to join the pile of others that have already been adopted by the Security Council. What is at stake is implementing what has been agreed. There is political will to comply with all resolutions adopted by the Security Council, first and foremost in the framework of counter-terrorism. The will of the international community cannot be translated into Security Council resolutions when a small group of States continues to violate said resolutions clearly and unambiguously and to maintain their support for terrorism. In that regard, I would refer to President Al Sisi’s statement at the Arab-American Islamic Summit in Riyadh to the effect that a terrorist is not just a bearer of weapons, but someone who trains, finances and provides ideological cover for terrorism. In conclusion, the approach to countering terrorism must be decisive and unified. We must convey a message to the entire world and to terrorists, who must be made to understand that they are mere dust in the eyes of humankind and that they certainly represent no religion and are doomed to disappear. Terrorists must understand that their narratives, propaganda and ideologies run counter to logic, nature and all religions. I reiterate that Egypt will always remain at the forefront of counter-terrorism efforts.

We welcome the adoption this morning of resolution 2354 (2017), on countering terrorist narratives. We especially welcome the fact that the Counter-Terrorism Committee and the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate will be involved in compiling good practices from Member States and other actors for the benefit of the wider membership. More research is also needed to know what strategies actually yield results in countering terrorist narratives. We encourage public- private partnership in the development of strategies and approaches, as Governments are not always the best originators of such messages. We take this opportunity to underline that any measure aimed at combatting terrorism must be undertaken in full respect for international law, including international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international refugee law. This is, of course, also applicable in terms of the prevention of terrorism, including in relation to countering terrorist narratives. Freedom of information, freedom of expression — online and offline — and freedom of association are essential to fostering critical thinking and societies resilient to terrorist propaganda.

Unfortunately, terrorist attacks using suicide bombers brainwashed by hatred continue across the globe in many cities. Last month, the casualties of these bloody crimes included citizens in Saint Petersburg, and Copts and Orthodox Christians in Egypt were attacked. Recently, concert-goers in Manchester were subject to such attacks. Unfortunately, the list of these attacks could go on for some time. In this and many other cases, suicide bombers are guided by an ideology of violence that is totally disconnected from any religion or shared human values. This is a targeted ideology skilfully propagated by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Jabhat Al-Nusra and other terrorist organizations. These thugs utilize the Internet and social networks, which are the means of choice used by young people. We have consistently called for the improvement of the toolkit to counter terrorist narratives. Our delegation voted in favour of the adoption of resolution 2354 (2017), reiterating the international comprehensive framework here, and was a sponsor of the resolution. We should like to thank the delegation of Egypt for its initiative last year to draw up the framework. We think that the document prepared by the Counter-Terrorism Committee (S/2017/375, annex) also reflects in a balanced manner existing ideas of the Council and Member States on the matter of countering incitement to terrorism and fortifying such ideas with relevant recommendations. One of the most important elements of the resolution is the list of principles that should guide such efforts. First and foremost, these are the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, including the inadmissibility of interference into the internal affairs of States. As we have seen in practice, disregard for these principles, including to carry out various geopolitical schemes, plays into the hands of terrorists. The resolution enshrines the frontline role of States in counterterrorism. Of course, when necessary and in the light of national priorities, civil-society bodies could participate in this work, as well as religious and education institutions. As is rightly noted in the very framework, a pivtoal deterrent to terrorism and terrorist narratives is the implementation of comprehensive law- enforcement measures. Here, we believe that ample capacity could be tapped to improve the international legal basis for counterterrorism. The adoption today of resolution 2354 (2017) cannot be seen as the final outcome of the Council’s work to counter terrorist narratives. On the contrary, we are of the view that the creation of a framework allows us to better understand the tasks before the Council in this sphere. There is a need to improve the legal and sanctions toolkit enshrined in Security Council resolutions, including criminalizing the public justification of terrorism and spread of materials of a terrorist nature, establishing relevant sanction criteria and strengthening international cooperation in this field. We think that this type of endeavour would not run counter to prevalent human rights standards. On the contrary, tackling these challenges would ensure one of the most important of them — the right to life. Without firm and effective measures to counter terrorist narratives, we will not get rid of suicide bombers or other phenomena. We stand ready to engage in that regard.

We welcome the unanimous adoption of resolution 2354 (2017). We express our thanks and appreciation to Egypt for its important role as facilitator, and to Council members for demonstrating flexibility and a spirit of compromise in achieving consensus on this important draft resolution. There are a lot of measures taken in the areas of law enforcement, intelligence sharing and cooperation at different levels to counter the rise of terrorism and violent extremism, but obviously these measures should be adapted to the evolving and sophisticated strategies that terrorist groups have employed increasingly to pursue their extremist agendas. The propagation of false and fallacious narratives, including through the exploitation of the Internet and other information communication technologies, has been one of the latest strategies used by terrorists to recruit supporters and foreign terrorist fighters, and to secure their finances. It is in that context that the comprehensive international framework to counter terrorist narratives was presented by the Counter-Terrorism Committee and the Counter- Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, in accordance with presidential statement S/PRST/2016/6, adopted by the Security Council on 11 May 2016. The resolution we have adopted today welcomes the comprehensive international framework to counter terrorist narratives, with recommended guidelines and good practices to effectively counter the ways in which terrorist groups use their narratives to encourage, motivate and recruit others to commit terrorist acts. It takes into account the three core elements of the framework: legal and law enforcement measures, public- private partnerships, and counter-narrative measures. It also strengthens transitory provisions in different resolutions in the field of counterterrorist narratives. We believe that the resolution will help to facilitate greater cooperation in countering terrorist narratives, and that is why we decided to vote in favour of and co-sponsor it. No doubt, the involvement of relevant stakeholders, such as religious and community leaders, youth, women, victims of terrorism, civil- society organizations, private-sector entities and the media, is critical to efforts in this regard. The role that education can play in countering terrorist narratives is also significant. Finally, we believe that Member States and all relevant United Nations entities should respect the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other Member States in developing and executing counter-narratives.

I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Ambassador Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta for his excellent and skilful facilitation of the negotiations on resolution 2354 (2017) on the comprehensive international framework to counter terrorist narratives. Such narratives are used by terrorists, in particular populations that are marginalized and disenfranchised and in nations that dream of a good life, as an escape from their pitiable plight and as a promise for better prospects. We can address this threat efficiently by combining our best practices and creating synergies between all the main stakeholders and actors. Those include States; international organizations; religious, cultural, education and community leaders; young people; families; and women. My delegation just voted in favour and co-sponsored the resolution. That well-balanced document describes a comprehensive approach to countering terrorist narratives that, based on false interpretations, misrepresent the religion in order to justify their violence. Kazakhstan, having a Muslim-majority population, has been convening the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions since 2003. The population of our country is witnessing how the Astana platform has become significant to the leaders of world religions, as well as political leaders, for open and constructive dialogue on a wide range of issues. As a country with multi-cultural and -ethnic traditions, we strongly believe in the importance of the voice of each and every member of its society, especially minority groups. An important element of the Kazakhstan political system is that it ensures the interests, rights and freedoms of citizens and minority groups, irrespective of ethnic affiliation, are respected. Through our creative counter-narratives, we can create a different vision of the world. At the same time, we believe that effective methods to combat narratives should include vulnerable groups and their participation in the social and political life of their countries. Such approaches will gradually lead to the deradicalization of individuals, who then decide to come back into the fold of society. Such a strategy would, in accordance with the basic principles of peace and sustainable development, help to ensure that no one is left behind.

One year ago, on 11 May 2016, the Security Council, under the Egyptian presidency, held an open debate on the issue of countering the narratives and ideologies of terrorism (see S/PV.7690). Last month the Counter-Terrorism Committee, in line with the presidential statement (S/PRST/2016/6) adopted following that debate, approved a comprehensive international framework aimed at combating the narratives and ideologies of terrorism, which was welcomed by the delegation of Senegal. It is only natural, then, for me to thank the delegation of Egypt for having submitted to the Council a draft on the very same issue, which we have just adopted unanimously as resolution 2354 (2017). Indeed, this resolution concerns a topic that is vital to the maintenance of international peace and security. Senegal joined the consensus and was a sponsor of the draft. However, given the importance and sensitive nature of the issue, as well as the crucial need to take into account national and regional specificities, the Senegalese delegation would have preferred a more inclusive negotiation process. That being said, now that the resolution has been adopted, Senegal would like to see its effective implementation, as my country is part of a region facing the spread of violent extremism, which, as we all are aware, is fuelled by the proliferation of fundamentalist groups that promote radicalization. These groups’ strategies for the dissemination of their violent ideologies are based on an improper, even fallacious, interpretation of religion and instrumentalize it for very different purposes. We should therefore take the appropriate preventive measures to counter this violent extremism based on religion and its corollary, international terrorism. Thus resolution 2354 (2017), adopted unanimously, is an important step in that direction.

I shall now make a statement in my capacity as representative of Uruguay. Once again I should like to convey the heartfelt solidarity and condolences of my Government to the families of the victims of the Manchester attacks, most of whom were children and young people, as well as to the Government and the people of the United Kingdom. Uruguay emphatically condemns this terrorist act as well as all attacks perpetrated by Da’esh, Al-Qaida, Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab and other terrorist groups whose recent actions have shocked the international community. Their heinous crimes make clear their profound contempt for human life and dignity, the values of peaceful coexistence, and religious, cultural and social tolerance. The elaboration of a discourse countering narratives that promote and motivate terrorist acts and help recruit individuals to commit them is a key aspect of preventive action in countering terrorism and violent extremism when it leads to terrorism. These efforts are part of the battle that is being waged in the field of ideas, to which Uruguay attaches particular importance. For it to be successful, it is necessary to seek and promote channels for dialogue among Governments and various non-State actors. We must also encourage cooperation, promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence, and respect international law, the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and fundamental freedoms. We understand that resolution 2354 (2017), which we have just adopted today and which Uruguay co-sponsored, lays the foundation for the elaboration of such narratives in accordance with the principles and best practices contained in the document entitled “Comprehensive international framework to counter terrorist narratives” (S/2017/375, annex). We therefore wish to thank the delegation of Egypt for its initiative and its efforts in leading the negotiations that made possible both the adoption of the resolution and the realization of document S/2017/375. I now resume my functions as President of the Security Council. There are no further speakers inscribed on my list.