Key points
- Pakistan emphasises need to distinguish terrorism from legitimate struggles for self-determination
- Urges internal reform of the UN’s CT architecture, elimination of double standards
- Proposes consolidating overlapping UN CT entities and establishing a General Assembly-led body
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has said that the United Nations’ counter-terrorism architecture should be capable of addressing the prolonged conflicts, and ending injustice, oppression and violations of international law under the pretext of counter-terrorism.
It should also eliminate the conditions conducive to terrorism, said a statement issued by the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations in New York.
Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, delivered these remarks while speaking at the Ambassadorial-level consultations on UN80 and the future of the UN counter-terrorism (CT) architecture at the UN headquarters on Monday.
Respect for human rights
“We must also clearly distinguish between terrorism and the legitimate struggle against foreign occupation and the right to self-determination. The UNOCT must also integrate respect for human rights and rule of law to prevent abuse of CT actions by member states. The more we shy away from addressing these issues, the more prolonged our counter-terrorism efforts will be,” he emphasised.
Ambassador Asim said that successful CT action requires concerted efforts, which are embedded in the framework of international law. He urged the international community to combat all forms of terrorism and take collective action without double standards or discrimination, and prevent its exploitation for politically-motivated agendas and shifting of public opinion away from the real challenges that we face today.
The ambassador highlighted the need for the internal reform of the UN’s CT architecture, suggesting adequate changes to the sanctions regimes to incorporate new and emerging threats and an end to the stigmatisation of Islam and Muslims.
Surge in extremist movements
While noting a surge in the emergence of right-wing, extremist and fascist movements in several countries, which are leading to terrorist violence, he said that we see a strong inclination to see non-Muslim acts of terrorism as mere violent crime.
Recognising that counter terrorism remains one of the most important pillars to address threats to international peace and security, he told the participants that Pakistan has remained a principal victim of terrorism, having lost more than 80,000 lives and billions of dollars in losses to its economy in the war on terrorism.
He said that terrorism transcends boundaries and its evolution into new and emerging forms is being facilitated by modern ICTs in an increasingly globalised world. He stressed the need for effective and meaningful CT efforts firmly anchored in consensually agreed-upon principles driven primarily by member states.
“Non-binding principles”
Ambassador Asim expressed Pakistan’s concern with the entry of norms, soft laws and “non-binding guiding principles” into the global CT discourse by either the Security Council through its 1373 CTC and/or expert reports, which do not enjoy consensus of the wider membership. He proposed the establishment of a subsidiary body as an intergovernmental framework under the General Assembly to oversee its universal consideration.
The Pakistan UN ambassador said that integrating the work of global compact entities such as INTERPOL and UN agencies with national law enforcement agencies can significantly enhance information and intelligence sharing relating to movement of terrorists and terror financing.
“We must merge some of the UN entities or restrict their mandates to streamline UNOCT’s work. There are far too many agencies doing similar work leading to duplication, including capacity building initiatives,” he suggested.
