Highlights:
- India at UNSC said that the involvement of foreign terrorists, who help terrorist groups to carry out attacks, poses significant threat & undermines global efforts to counter terrorism
- TS Tirumurti, emphasized that, in the areas of mediation, conflict prevention and resolution in the region, the League of Arab States has an important role to play
- Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, Mr. TS Tirumurti, also welcomed the agreements between Israel and countries on the normalization of their relations
India said on Monday that the existence in conflict-ridden countries of foreign terrorists who have become enablers of attacks by militant groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS poses significant challenges and undermines global efforts to counter terrorism.
Speaking at the briefing of the United Nations Security Council on “Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and sub-regional organizations: The League of Arab States,” India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador TS Tirumurti, also said that young people are being radicalized by such foreign fighters.
The Indian envoy to UNSC, Mr. Tirumurti said, “The presence of foreign terrorist fighters in countries facing conflicts is posing serious challenges to ongoing international efforts.” Ambassador Mr. TS Tirumurti showing concern about the presence of foreign fighters who have become enablers of attack, further added, “These foreign fighters have been enablers of terrorist attacks by groups such as Al Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS) as they radicalize young people as well.”
Mr Tirumurti said Libya’s foreign terrorist fighters are well known to be radicalizing the nation as a whole. “This rise undermines our collective efforts to fight terrorism.”
He stressed that in the areas of mediation, conflict prevention and resolution in the region, the League of Arab States has a significant role to play, and stressed that current conflicts in the region go back a decade and are now prolonged in nature, whether in Syria, Libya or Yemen.
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Mr. Tirumurti pointed out that efforts to delegitimize governments and enforce external solutions have pushed parties away from talks and made them cynical of the political process.
India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador TS Tirumurti further said, “Such an approach emboldens regional players to support respective sides, both politically and militarily. Supported by their mentors, the proxies often aspire to a political role without much support on the ground. This further complicates the pursuit of any reasonable approach.”
Noting that the object of regional and international participation should be to assist countries and their concerned parties in the peaceful settlement of all issues, the Indian envoy told the Council that “whether each of our actions is ensuring this reconciliation or whether they are doing a disservice by pulling parties apart.” must be seriously introspected.
He added that this is an important touchstone for India, as the nation has always believed in an intra-country-led process and not in solutions placed externally.
Any substantive and peaceful settlement of such conflicts must be inclusive, guided by people’s interests and achieved through wider consultations and dialogue, Tirumurti said, adding that attempts made without due regard to impartiality, justice and equality would not achieve the objective of a permanent and lasting peaceful solution.
TS Tirumurti while talking about India and Palestinian issue he said that India has always supported the Palestinian issue and West Asian peace and stability. He added, “Recent months have witnessed positive developments, including the signing of the Abraham Accords.”
India welcomes these agreements, which New Delhi believes would lead to peace and stability in West Asia, with regard to the normalisation of relations between Israel and other countries.
Mr. Tirumurti reiterated the traditional Indian support for the Palestinian cause, arguing that a two-state solution and permanent peace can only be achieved through direct talks between the two sides on all final status issues, taking into account the legitimate interests of the Palestinians for statehood and the security concerns of Israel.
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He further said while lending his support for Palestinian causes, “We urge the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to re-engage in meaningful negotiations and to eschew violence that may make negotiations more difficult to resume.”
Mr. Tirumurti said that with wars in the region causing untold misery to millions of people, India is calling on those involved in the conflict, both from the region and from outside, to concentrate primarily on human centrality and do all they can to mitigate their suffering “since they are helpless when warring factions settle their own scores and destroy someone else’s lives.”
Emphasizing that peace and stability are of crucial importance to India in West Asia and North Africa, Mr. Tirumurti said that Arab countries are home to approximately nine million Indians, the largest expat group in the Arab world, and their contributions to host countries’ economies and nation-building efforts are greatly appreciated by the citizens and governments of these countries. Indians from the Arab world remit about USD 48 billion annually to India.
Underlining the value and importance of cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States, Mr. Tirumurti said that greater policy synergies between the two organizations must be there.
Mr Tirumurti expressed India’s commitment to continue partnering with the Arab countries in their efforts to achieve peace, stability and development, and to work with the League of Arab States to promote regional peace and security, to fight terrorism and other threats, and to promote tolerance and pluralistic values.
The aim of the UNSC meeting, which coincides with the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the two organisations, is to further foster cooperation between the Security Council and the League of Arab States on issues relating to the maintenance of peace and security with a view to improving collective security, especially at the regional level.
