Terrorism threats continue to persist and diversify, says UN

Antonio Guterres has said that, although the fight against terrorism has made important advances in thwarting attacks across the world, threats continue to persist and diversify.

The UN Secretary-General told the Second High-level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism of his deep concern over foreign terrorist fighters and underscored the need to hold them accountable.

Recounting ‘especially alarming’ advances of Al-Qaida and ISIS terrorist fighters in Africa, he upheld the importance of supporting the continent as ‘a global priority’, while also drawing attention to the fate of the tens of thousands of relatives, women and children who are associated with them, urging Member States for their repatriation, particularly the children ‘who remain stranded in conflict zones’.

The UN chief also used his speech to warn of the threat stemming from white supremacist ‘and other ethnically or racially motivated movements’, which is increasingly transnational. This has been heightened because of the global coronavirus pandemic.

To effectively counter terrorism, the UN chief outlined a set of overarching priorities, which began with building resilience. ‘Strong, just and accountable institutions’ as reflected in Sustainable Development Goal 16 for inclusive access to justice ‘are a pre-requisite for States to deny terrorists the space to operate, bring them to justice and provide security to their populations’, was his first priority.

While putting victims at the centre of all efforts, he also noted that to help break the cycle of violence, after serving their sentences, those found guilty should, when possible, be rehabilitated and reintegrated back into society.