India seeks stepped up international efforts against terrorism

United Nations, Sep 20 (PTI) Warning that terrorism
constitutes the most serious challenge to global peace and
security, India has asked the international community to step
up efforts to expose links between terrorists and their
support networks and destroy their safe havens.
"Today, terrorists are not only truly globalised, but
are also waging an asymmetric warfare against the
international community. They recruit in one country, raise
funds in another and operate in others," India's Permanent
Representative to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri said here.
"They have global logistical and supply chains; they
have developed transnational financial systems; they use the
latest and most sophisticated technologies and have command
and control mechanisms that are able to operate across
continents on a real-time basis," he said.
Puri, who is also Chairman of the Counter-Terrorism
Committee, was speaking at the UN Secretary General's
Symposium on International Counter-Terrorism Cooperation.
He said concerted international efforts are required to
identify and expose the linkages that exist between terrorists
and their supporters and to destroy terrorist safe havens,
their financial flows and their support networks.
Countries, including India, have been victims of this
scourge for several decades, with the 9/11 attacks bringing
home to the western world its devastating consequences, Puri
said.
Despite efforts by the international community, there
has been no let up in terrorist violence and the world
continues to confront the challenge emanating from the
epicentres of terrorism, he said.
"The central requirement of an effective
counter-terrorism strategy is the necessary political will to
squarely face the challenge of terrorism. We need to adopt a
holistic approach that ensures zero-tolerance towards
terrorism," Puri said.
He expressed hope that a long-delayed Comprehensive
Convention on International Terrorism would be adopted soon to
put in place a legal basis for an effective counter-terrorism
cooperation framework.
He said that technical assistance, capacity-building and
sharing of best practices are vital components of successful
collective strategies.
"We need to further strengthen international cooperation
amongst prosecutors, police officers,and immigration and
border officials through sharing and developing best practices
in counter-terrorism efforts," Puri said.
At the national level, he said, there is a need to
develop strategies that restrict the emotional and political
space available to terrorists to carry out their propaganda.
"We must support all efforts to enhance dialogue between
and amongst civilisations, ethnicities and religions, and
evolve a culture of tolerance, compassion and respect for
diversity, especially amongst the young."
The Counter-Terrorism Committee will be commemorating
its establishment on September 28, 2011.
The Committee will also adopt an Outcome Document
highlighting the progress achieved during the last 10 years
and providing a roadmap for the future.