United Nations: In a veiled reference to Pakistan, India said countries that are ‘apologists for terrorists’ will continue to provide ‘alibis’ justifying their actions and inaction, as it called on the Security Council to ensure crucial sanctions measures against the UN proscribed terrorists and entities are strictly enforced.
The Security Council Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution calling upon Member States to step up efforts to combat and criminalise the financing of terrorists and their activities.
India welcomed the adoption of the resolution, describing it a ‘milestone’ in global efforts to set up a normative framework to criminalise terrorist financing.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, participating in the Security Council open debate on ‘Preventing and Combating the Financing of Terrorism’, said New Delhi specifically welcomes the recognition in the resolution of the essential role of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in setting global standards, especially in the context of preventing and combating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.
Akbaruddin, however, asserted that the Council ‘can and needs’ to do a better job of overseeing the implementation of its resolutions relating to terrorist financing and of the various sanctions measures under the 1267 Al-Qaida and 1988 sanctions regimes.
India warned that “non-compliance of crucial sanctions measures in case of the UN proscribed terrorists and entities renders all of us, Member States, at a high risk of facing challenges from these terrorist organisations who are well funded and armed despite international measures.”
“As the saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in its eating, the utility of any council resolution will, therefore, be in its implementation,” he said.
“Also, the unfortunate reality is that States who are apologists for terrorists will continue to provide alibis to justify their actions and inaction too, as was done by a serial offender earlier today,” he said, a veiled reference to Pakistan.
Akbaruddin asserted that the international community needs to be determined to “continue evolving our tool box and go by our rule book, rather than be distracted and stray from our determination. Our tool box consisting of effective implementation of UN sanctions measures could assist in curtailing these activities in some measure.”
Describing terrorism as a scourge that is tearing at the fabric of societies across the globe, Akbaruddin said it is a menace that is not quarantined to any region.
PTI