2^nd Ministerial Meeting  of  the Group of Friends of Victims of terrorism

Statement by 

Ms. Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs

28 September 2020 

Excellencies, 

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

At the outset, I would like to convey my deep appreciation to the Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan and Spain and UNOCT for organizing today’s event. I also take this opportunity to express my heartfelt condolences and sympathies to all the innocent victims and their families who have suffered, and continue to suffer, due to the scourge of terrorism. 

While terrorists can never succeed in achieving their nefarious objectives, they leave behind a trail of death and destruction.  Even, amidst the ongoing pandemic, terrorism continues to pose a critical threat to international peace and security. Terrorists have stepped up the use of ICT for propanganda and for issuing threats further exacerbating the stress on victims of terror.  This meeting is, therefore, very timely to discuss our collective way forward to address the critical needs of the victims of terrorism. 

Excellencies,

The adoption of two General Assembly resolutions, in recent years, one that  established August 21 as the International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism; and the other on Enhancement of International Cooperation to Assist Victims of Terrorism, are important developments. 

The first United Nations Global Congress of Victims of Terrorism in 2021 and the 7^th Review of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy would further help us build on the momentum gathered so far.  

A dedicated voluntary fund to support of victims of terrorism would strengthen United Nation’s capacity-building and technical assistance to requesting Member States, in assisting and supporting victims of terrorism.

However, the three options proposed for setting up of a funding mechanism by the Secretary General in his report, need further  deliberations at the expert level so that the funding can be effective and efficiently use resources.

Excellencies,   

Acts of terrorism not only violate the rights of individual victims but they also deeply affect the enjoyment of a range of rights by the families of the victims and society as a whole. Women and children are particularly vulnerable to human rights abuses by the terrorists. Measures aimed at addressing the needs of the victims of terrorism, therefore, should factor in the sensitivies of these vulnerable sections of the society. Efforts should also be made to work with the victims to build a counter narrative against the hateful propaganda of terrorism. 

As envisioned in Global Counter Terrorism Strategy and its review resolutions, the UNOCT should continue to lead capacity building and technical assistance initiatives, for promoting, supporting and address the rights and needs of victims of terrorism for requesting States.

Excellencies, 

While assisting the victims of terrorism, we should not lose sight of the right of the victims of terrorism, to get justice for the crimes committed against them. I would like to highlight that, for example, the victims of 2008 Mumbai terror attack and 2016 Pathankot terror attack are yet to get justice.  This is due to the unwillingness and non-cooperative attitude of a particular country. 

It is important that we must work towards redressing deficiencies in the international efforts to ensure that perpetrators of terrorism are bought to justice.  

Thank You.