India seeks stepped up international efforts against terrorism

India has asked the international community to step up efforts to expose links between terrorists and their supporting networks and destroy their safe havens. The call was made by India's Permanent Representative to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri while he was addressing the UN Secretary General's Symposium on International Counter-Terrorism Cooperation. Puri who is also Chairman of the Counter-Terrorism Committee warned that terrorism constituted the most serious challenge to global peace and security. 'Today, terrorists are not only truly globalised, but are also waging an asymmetric warfare against the international community. They recruit in one country, raise funds in another and operate in others,' Puri was quoted by pti. He added that terrorists 'have global logistical and supply chains; they have developed transnational financial systems; they use the latest and most sophisticated technologies and have command and control mechanisms that are able to operate across continents on a real-time basis.' Puri said in order to destroy terrorists' safe havens, their financial flows and their supporting networks, concerted international efforts were required to identify and expose the linkages that existed between terrorists and their supporters. Countries, including India, have been victims of this scourge for several decades, with the 9/11 attacks bringing home to the western world its devastating consequences, Puri said. Despite efforts by the international community, there has been no let up in terrorist violence and the world continues to confront the challenge emanating from the epicentres of terrorism, he said. 'The central requirement of an effective counter-terrorism strategy is the necessary political will to squarely face the challenge of terrorism. We need to adopt a holistic approach that ensures zero-tolerance towards terrorism,' Puri said. He expressed hope that a long-delayed Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism would be adopted soon to put in place a legal basis for an effective counter-terrorism cooperation framework. He said that technical assistance, capacity-building and sharing of best practices were vital components of successful collective strategies. 'We need to further strengthen international cooperation amongst prosecutors, police officers,and immigration and border officials through sharing and developing best practices in counter-terrorism efforts,' Puri said. At the national level, he said, there was a need to develop strategies that restrict the emotional and political space available to terrorists to carry out their propaganda. 'We must support all efforts to enhance dialogue between and amongst civilisations, ethnicities and religions, and evolve a culture of tolerance, compassion and respect for diversity, especially amongst the young.' The Counter-Terrorism Committee will be commemorating its establishment on September 28, 2011. The Committee would also adopt an Outcome Document highlighting the progress achieved during the last 10 years and providing a roadmap for the future.