Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative Gennady Kuzmin at UNSC briefing "Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts"
We thank Mr.Voronkov and Mr. Chen for providing a detailed analysis of the situation in the area of combating ISIL. We appreciate the efforts of the UN Office for Counter-Terrorism and Executive Directorate of the Counter-Terrorism Committee at this critical track.
Report of the Secretary-General makes a right conclusion that ISIL and other terrorist organizations have not been defeated for good yet. They carry on with criminal activities in various regions of the world. At this point, they particularly gravitate towards the African continent. In this regard, it is crucial that we should prevent revival of “Caliphate 2.0.” in Africa.
Terrorist threats trigger great problems in northeastern Syria. US military who are illegally present there fail to establish order in this part of the country. Or maybe they just do not want to. The atmosphere of lawlessness that evolves around the locations where US contingents are deployed creates favorable conditions for terrorists of all sorts. The local militants definitely gained in strength and courage, because now they openly attack detention facilities where their “brothers-in-arms” are held. As a result, even those terrorists who have been put to prison now turn out free. The United States tries to prove that it does have control over the situation on the ground, but these attempts often lead to numerous casualties among civilians. In this sense, the recent US operation to eliminate the leader of terrorists can hardly be called a success.
One of Syria’s major humanitarian challenges also takes us to the territory, illegally occupied by the United States – camps “Al-Hol” and “Roj”, where dozens of thousand women and children are kept in horrible conditions.
Withdrawal of American occupational forces from Syria would allow Syrians to clear the remaining terrorist hotbeds in the country and ensure safety of the population. As record shows, the Government of Syria can do this in a much more effective way.
Russia supports the efforts of states that are ready to cooperate in order to fight with terrorism on the basis of the international law. There are enough legal tools that allow to do this, i.a. those elaborated by the Security Council. It is always an issue of willingness and integrity.
We pay much attention to the problem of returning FTFs and members of their families. We stand for ensuring inevitability of punishment for crimes of terrorism and conjugating global efforts for this purpose. Problems related to FTFs and their family members can only be solved through cooperation with legitimate authorities of states where they are staying.
Starting from 2017, Russia has been engaging systemically with the authorities of Syria and Iraq so that to evacuate children from conflict zones. Over these years, we have built an effective system of interaction that makes it possible to identify and repatriate children of Russian citizens while fully complying with norms of the international law. By this time, approximately 350 minors have safely returned from Syria and Iraq. One of our priority tasks at this track is ensuring social adaptation of these children. To achieve this, we among other things render support to their relatives who act as caregivers.
We cannot but mention the disturbing situation in Afghanistan. By our estimates, the local ISIL wing, “Wilayat Khorasan”, consists of more than 6 thousand fighters. Reportedly, in Afghanistan’s northern provinces some former officers of Afghan armed forces and special services defected to side with ISIL. Similar cases were reported in Iraq back in the day.
We are particularly concerned over the fact that the majority of terrorists in Afghanistan come from Central Asian states. This escalates risks that terrorist activity may spread to the neighboring countries.
Secretary-General's report emphasizes the problem of excess of arms in the Middle East, Africa, and Afghanistan, which ISIL and other terrorist groups may have access to.
Panic “flight” of the US and its allies from Afghanistan that left behind huge stockpiles of armaments and equipment made it possible for terrorist groups to enhance their capacities significantly. The people of Afghanistan have to pay off for the irresponsible behavior of NATO and US troops, and of numerous self-proclaimed experts in democracy-building, the rule of law, and “Western values”. The enormous non-natural construction that they were building collapsed as a house of cards – even before the last American soldier left the Afghan soil. It could not happen otherwise, because forceful dissemination of "democratic" values as understood in the West means no good to the exposed states.
Such geopolitical games cost real lives of people, which are routinely written off as collateral damage. It is worth counting how many civilians ended up in this category during alleged “highly precise” strikes of the United States and its allies in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, and other countries that were “lucky” enough to get in the way of the American democratization machine.
Today our Western colleagues again called to observe human rights and uphold the humanitarian law when taking counter-terrorism measures. In this connection, we suggest that they be the first to do so, because at this point what they say does not reconcile with what they do.
In conclusion, we call on the broad international community to consolidate efforts in order to counter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations – without hidden agendas and double standards.
Thank you.
