Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at UNSC debate “Countering Terrorism and Preventing Violent Extremism Conducive to Terrorism by Strengthening Cooperation between the United Nations and Regional Organizations and Mechanisms”
President Nyusi,
We are happy to welcome you as Chair of the Security Council.
We thank the Secretary-General and President Assoumani for their briefings. We also thank Mozambique for convening this debate on the pressing issue of combating terrorism and extremism with a focus on the challenges of the African continent.
I reiterate that Russia fully supports African states in countering international terrorism.
In this fight, we always stand for complete observance of norms and principles of the UN Charter, recognition of the leadership of states and their competent bodies, zero tolerance to any manifestations of terrorism, ensuring inevitability of criminal and legal accountability for terrorists and their accomplices. The UN should continue playing the central and coordinating role in terms of anti-terrorism cooperation given full abidance by the norms and principles of international law.
We are opposed to any concepts that allow for interference in the internal affairs of states on the pretext of fight against terrorism or under the slogans of preventing violent manifestations, for example prevention of violent extremism, as well as manipulating with terrorism- and extremism-related agenda for political purposes. As an alternative, there is an SCO Convention on countering extremism of 2017 that lays down legal groundwork for boosting interstate cooperation in this area. This Convention is aimed not only at an uncompromising fight against any manifestations of terrorism and extremism, but also at prevention. In fact, this is the first of its kind anti-extremist international treaty, which is open for accession by all interested states.
Mr.President,
We agree that increased attention needs to be paid to discovering and eradicating the root causes of terrorism. However in this context, we cannot reduce it all to socio-economic problems and corruption. Equally, it is not always about the traditional sources of radicalization.
Terrorism in the Sahel assumed an avalanche character after the brazen military intervention in Libya by Western states that destabilized the entire region. This had implications even for coastal states of West Africa.
Foreign contingents that were deployed in the Sahel did not help to change this. Moreover, the situation deteriorated dramatically during their presence. Attempts to explain such developments by conflicts arising from religious, ethnical, or social factors are a manipulation that colonial powers have been using for decades.
We can only welcome the growing understanding among African states of the real sources of threats, and their search for effective mechanisms to address those challenges. Strengthening of national law enforcement and faithful cooperation with neighbors is a prerequisite for a successful fight against terrorism.
We see attempts by external forces to cause quarrels among African states. They pretend that some states are allegedly worthy of assistance in countering threats of terrorism, while others are not. Within this approach, they only help to push back terrorists “to the border”, while leaving the rest to the discretion of the locals. In such fashion, terrorists are being ousted from Mali and Burkina Faso. We believe this is an erroneous tactic.
Mr.President,
Our delegation has serious concerns regarding the ongoing mass relocation of fighters to African states. We must not let the terrorists, first of all from ISIL, strike roots in the region and create “caliphate 2.0”.
Russia supports the initiatives of African countries in the area of combating terrorist threat and manifestations of extremism. We welcome Africa’s measures to establish counter-terrorist cooperation within sub-regional organizations.
We call to keep enhancing the potential of regional associations, first of all the African Union, that have capacity to implement comprehensive strategies to combat terrorism, serve as platforms for sharing information, expertise, and best practices.
Also, we should give priority attention to professional education and training of law enforcement and judiciary officials in combating emerging threats and challenges on both bilateral and multilateral basis. Russia will continue providing effective assistance at this track.
Professional programs and technical assistance projects, first of all by the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, allow to make maximum use of the resources of UN mechanisms. A good example is the joint UNOCT – UNODC project launched with the financial support of the Russian Federation with a view to strengthening the capacity of states in countering illicit arms trafficking. It aims to improve the effectiveness of administering criminal justice to prevent and curb the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons, as well as prevent SALW from falling in the hands of terrorist groups. This project envisages thematic workshops and advanced training courses for representatives of government agencies responsible for combating illicit arms trafficking and terrorism. This year the technical assistance that is part of this project should extend to cover countries on the African continent.
Mr.President,
We feel compelled to remind of the potential of the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee, which we think should pay increased attention to African states, and regard making assessment visits to the continent as a priority.
Recommendations contained in CTC’s country reports not only help implement Security Council resolutions against terrorism, but also allow to use technical assistance, make it more targeted and reflective of specific circumstances and needs of states.
Today the issue of cooperation between Russia and African states was raised again. To this, I must say that Africans have every right to choose whom to partner with and on what conditions. It is failures of Western states that force African countries to turn to those who can make a real contribution to the fight against terrorism on the continent. We all remember that against the backdrop of Western operations in Africa that were allegedly aimed at combating terrorism the terrorist threat in West Africa and the Sahel continued to grow.
Russia will keep engaging with reliable partners in Asia, Africa, and Latin America on issues relating to countering terrorism. We remain open to cooperation with all interested stakeholders. We are convinced that the global nature of the problem of terrorism requires coordinated approaches and consolidated efforts of the entire international community.
Thank you.
