Qatar Renews Commitment to Work with UN in Counterterrorism

Ali Ahmad Almansouri

The State of Qatar has renewed its commitment to continue cooperation with the United Nations bodies concerned with combating terrorism, affirming its absolute condemnation of all acts of terrorism whenever and wherever they are committed and regardless of their motives and justifications, including the use of terrorist methods with racial, ethnic or ideological motives.

This came in the statement of the State of Qatar delivered by the Second Secretary of the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Ali Ahmad Almansouri, before the 77th United Nations General Assembly Sixth Committees (Legal) general discussions on measures to eliminate international terrorism.

Almansouri stressed that the threat posed by terrorism requires more effective cooperation between member states, relevant entities, and the United Nations, as well as expediting reaching a comprehensive agreement on international terrorism.

The Second Secretary also emphasized the importance of including in the agreement a specific definition of terrorism that does not link terrorism to a particular religion, race, or culture, but one that also draws a distinction between terrorism and legitimate resistance to foreign occupation, self-defense and the right to self-determination for peoples under occupation.

He said that the international experience in combating terrorism has proven that this danger is complex and evolving, as terrorist organizations exploit humanitarian conditions to enhance their activities.

Almansouri pointed out that new and emerging forms of terrorism seek to benefit from modern information and communications technology, posing new challenges such as cyber attacks on important infrastructure, and biological terrorism amongst others. He stressed the importance of counter-terrorism efforts to keep pace with these emerging challenges.

The Second Secretary highlighted the importance of an integrated and balanced implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in its four pillars, as well as reviewing it in a holistic manner that takes into account the emerging challenges and threats.

Almansouri praised the important role that the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) is playing in coordinating UN efforts and providing technical assistance and capacity-building in various fields required for effective terrorism combat.

He welcomed the progress made by the Office, in cooperation with member states and United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact entities, in order to implement its strategic programs and initiatives and to strengthen regional presence, including the recent regional conferences held by the Office.

In this context, he referred to the activities at the UN Headquarters in New York, the latest of which was the UN Global Congress of Victims of Terrorism in which the State of Qatar participated with a high-level delegation that affirms its interest in the victims, their rights, and supporting them.

Almansouri noted the State of Qatar's continued cooperation with the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) after the successful visit it made on behalf of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) to the State of Qatar in 2020. Additionally, he pointed out the State of Qatar's announcement this year to renew its annual contribution to the UNOCT of USD 15 million annually, for an additional three years, making the State of Qatar at the forefront of donors to the office.

He pointed out that the State of Qatar organized the first Annual Forum of Beneficiaries of Technical Assistance on countering terrorism in Doha last March, explaining that the forum's goal is to review the programs supported by this partnership, the work it does for the benefit of a wide range of beneficiaries around the world, and to highlight the challenges facing the implementation of programs, and offer practical recommendations to them.

The Second Secretary said that the State of Qatar is working under the umbrella of relevant international and regional coordination frameworks, including the Global Coalition against Daesh and the GCTF, noting the remarkable progress it made in the framework of coordination and implementation of the Financial Action Task Forces (FATF) recommendations.

Almansouri added that one of the manifestations of the State of Qatars integrated approach to countering terrorism lies in its keenness to harness its hosting of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, to shed light on Sports as a means of peace and coexistence among peoples, especially among young people.

He noted the State of Qatar's contribution to the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) under the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), with an amount of USD 5 million over the next five years.

(QNA)