UAE renews its International Commitments to combat terrorism at UN

New York: The United Arab Emirates has renewed its commitment to international and regional cooperation to combat terrorism at the United Nations in New York yesterday. In a statement before the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly of the United Nations, UAE Mission delegate Eissa Mohammed Alhammadi highlighted the UAE's contributions to global counterterrorism efforts and underscored the need to counter violent extremism in all of its forms. The Sixth Committee, which considers legal issues, took up its work in New York this week. Alhammadi noted the UAE enforces strict anti-terrorism laws and coordinates actively with regional and international partners to combat money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the illicit trafficking of weapons and drugs. He emphasised the UAE's leadership in creating the Hedayah Centre of Excellence for Countering Violent Extremism in Abu Dhabi, which aims to build capacity and share best practices to counter violent extremism in all of its manifestations. In this context, the efforts of the Hedayah Centre were also reflected on the sidelines of the General Assembly in September through hosting a high-level side event on The Role of Education in Countering Violent Extremism, which the UAE delegation was instrumental in supporting. The UAE official used his statement to renew the UAE's position that terrorism is not linked to any single nation, culture or creed. "The UAE encourages the international community to strengthen efforts to resolve conflict through political means and to promote a culture of tolerance, non-violence and rapprochement between religions and peoples," he said. Alhammadi's statement conveyed that consolidating the principles of justice, rule of law and deepening respect for human rights are fundamental in addressing the root causes of terrorism. He also expressed the UAE's continued support for a proposed international conference convened under the auspices of the United Nations to establish a clear definition of terrorism and its root cases, as well as ways to combat them in accordance with the UN Charter and international law. The UAE Mission delegate called for international efforts to support the victims of terrorism and concluded by appealing to the international community to strengthen technical assistance to developing countries to build national counterterrorism capabilities. – Emirates New Agency, WAM