6th Committee of the 78th Session of the UNGA

(Agenda Item 109)

“Measures To Eliminate International Terrorism”

India Statement

     (2 - 4th October 2023)  

Thank you Mr. President for giving me the floor.                                                                                                

2. Terrorism is an existential threat to international peace and security. Terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, irrespective of the motives behind terrorist acts, can never be justified and the perpetrators and supporters of such attacks should be brought to justice.

3. It is equally important that we ensure that our collective action against terrorism remains united, and it does not give space to countries who use terrorism as a political tool to spread violence and hatred, divide societies, and justify these acts, on one ground or another. Such behavior should be condemned unequivocally and be held accountable by the international community. 

4. UNSC resolution 1566 (2004) clearly mentions that terrorism, under no circumstances, is justifiable by considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethical, religious or other similar nature.

Mr. President, 

5. India has faced the horrors of state sponsored cross border terrorism much prior to the world taking serious note of it. Over the last more than three decades, we have lost thousands of innocent civilian lives. The 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, the 2016 Pathankot air base attack and the 2019 suicide bombing of our policemen at Pulwama are imprinted strongly in every Indian’s living memory. We have and will continue to fight terrorism resolutely, bravely and with a zero-tolerance approach. 

6. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared: “We consider that even a single attack is one too many and even a single life lost is one too many. So, we will not rest till terrorism is uprooted.”

Mr. President,

7. The world had only woken up to the perils of terrorism after 9/11 attacks of 2001, which then led to several multilateral initiatives, including the resolution 1373, which established the Counter Terrorism Committee. Long before these initiatives, India as part of the Ad Hoc Committee on International Terrorism, established in 1972, has been calling for a comprehensive multilateral legal framework to counter terrorism. In November 1996, India took initiative to circulate a “first draft” of the a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism or CCIT. 

8. It is unfortunate that while terrorism remains unabated, destroying humanity and societies around the world, our efforts towards CCIT are constrained by narrow differences. 

9. We are not even able to define international terrorism. In this regard, there are templates, on which we can work on. For example, the OP3 of the UNSC resolution 1566 (2004), provide a comprehensive definition for international terrorism, which could be base for our further discussion.  

10. We urge Member States to take an objective approach and end the stalemate preventing the adoption of a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT). India reiterates the need for early finalization of Draft CCIT, and hope that the GA Working Group established for this purpose will bring finality in this regard.

Mr. President,

11. The world is facing unprecedented challenge of misuse of new and emerging technologies by terrorist groups for spreading their propaganda, false narratives, spreading hatred, recruiting new cadres, raising and moving funds, and planning terrorist activities. Misuse of unmanned aerial systems by terrorist groups for trafficking of drugs, money, weapons, and explosives have increased manifold, including in our own region. Even launching sophisticated terror attacks through use of drones have become a major counter-terrorism challenge today.  It is important that we pay our attention to address these challenges and avoid wasting our time, energy and resources on fictional or non-significant issues, such as classification of terrorism. 

12. In this regard, it is important that we promote the work of multilateral institutions such as The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Egmont Group, which have contributed significantly in identifying the terror financing and money laundering risk prone geographies, and persuading them to take actions. 

13. India has contributed significantly to address the threat of terrorism. India hosted special meetings of the United Nations Security Council’s Counter Terrorism Committee on 28-29 October 2022 in Mumbai and New Delhi, which adopted ‘the Delhi Declaration’, on countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes.  India hopes that the gains achieved during the special meetings would be further strengthened by the international community at the UN.

14. India also hosted the 90th INTERPOL General Assembly in New Delhi, 18-21 October 2022, and the 3rd Ministerial Conference on “No Money for Terror” in New Delhi on 18-19 November 2022. 

15. In the recently concluded G-20 Leaders Conference at New Delhi, the G20 countries stressed the significance of developing and implementing effective regulatory and supervisory frameworks for managing risks associated with virtual assets, in line with FATF Standards, particularly concerning terrorism financing, money laundering, and proliferation financing risks. 

Mr. President

16. I would like to conclude by emphasizing the need for action from the international community on the 8-point action plan proposed to the international community by our External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar in January 2021 while participating in a debate to commemorate 20 years of the establishment of the Counter Terrorism Committee. We hope implementation of this action plan as key principles, will greatly help us in combating the ever-growing threat of terrorism. I thank you Mr. President.

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