The State of Qatar has reiterated its rejection and condemnation of using terrorism as an excuse to offend states and fabricate crises to achieve political goals that are inconsistent with the provisions of international law and constitute a violation of the United Nations Charter.
Qatar has also reiterated its strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed, and regardless of their motivation, stressing that terrorism constitutes a threat to international peace and security.
This came in a statement delivered by HE Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif al-Thani, Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, during the Sixth Legal Committee of the UN General Assembly at its 75th session on the item entitled “Measures to eliminate terrorism.”
Sheikha Alya said that in line with its firm policy in the field of counter-terrorism, Qatar has not hesitated to provide support to the relevant UN institutions, noting that this support has always been a matter of pride as it is appreciated by the United Nations organs concerned with counter-terrorism.
She reviewed Qatar’s most prominent initiatives in support of activities related to counter-terrorism, as she said that Qatar has made a contribution of $75 million over a period from 2019 to 2023 in support of the core resources of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT).
She also referred to the signing of an agreement in December 2019 in Doha between Qatar and UNOCT to establish the International Hub on Behavioural Insights to Counter Violent Extremism and Terrorism in Doha, as well as the signing of an agreement between the two sides, according to which Qatar has provided a financial contribution amounting to $5 million in support for the Hub, which will be opened in Doha in the near future. Qatar has also provided $250,000 to support the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT), she added.
Sheikha Alya said in the statement that Qatar continues to work within the framework of international organisations and platforms related to counter-terrorism, including the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), and it is an effective member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
Qatar, she said, is keen on the accurate and effective implementation of the international obligations issued by the Security Council in relation to counter-terrorism and its financing, whether by asset-freezing, travel bans or arms embargoes against all individuals and entities listed on the consolidated lists of Security Council’s committees concerned with combating terrorism, as well as co-operation with Security Council’s committees, expert teams and the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, and the provision of support to the efforts of those organs in carrying out their mandate.
The permanent representative to the UN also clarified that within the framework of Qatar’s continuous efforts to protect and enhance the role of educational institutions in facing extremism and terrorism, the UN General Assembly unanimously approved on May 29 Resolution No. 74/275 submitted by Qatar to designate September 9 as the International Day to Protect Education from Attack. In addition to this resolution, she noted Qatar’s initiative to hold General Assembly’s meeting on the ‘Prevention of Children and Young People from Violent Extremism’ in June 2016.
In the same context, she said Qatar is one of the founders of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF), which attaches special importance to resisting the agendas of violent extremism and terrorism, pointing out that Qatar is considered one of the major contributors to this fund.
At the legislative level, a system for inclusion on terrorism lists and new rules defining terrorism and its financing and strengthening national legislation related to combating terrorism have been adopted, she said, noting that the Qatari national institutions related to counter-terrorism, namely the National Anti-Terrorism Committee and the National Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Committee, have made important achievements, and that Qatar is one of the leading countries regionally, in achieving a high level of compliance with the standards of combating anti-money laundering and terrorist financing.
The permanent representative to the UN pointed out that combating terrorism requires more effective co-operation between member states, and tireless work to expedite the achievement of the comprehensive agreement regarding international terrorism, stressing on the need for the agreement to include a specific definition of terrorism and not to link it to a specific religion, race or culture as well as the need to distinguish between terrorism and legitimate resistance to foreign occupation, self-defence and the right to self-determination for peoples under occupation.
Sheikha Alya expressed Qatar’s great appreciation for the great tasks entrusted to the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, which is carrying out a distinguished task to implement its mandate, affirming Qatar’s keenness to provide support to enable it to carry out its mandate in the best way.
She renewed Qatar’s commitment to work with the relevant UN and international institutions to combat terrorism, and to support all international efforts to eradicate this threat and address the root causes of terrorism, in a way that contributes to maintaining international peace and security. — QNA
from Gulf Times https://ift.tt/2GCMQs0
Comments
Post a Comment