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Terrorism resurgent in Afghanistan, says Guterres at UN meeting
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the continued expansion of Daesh and Al-Qaeda in Africa and resurgent terrorism in Afghanistan pose a growing threat to global peace and security.
Addressing a UN-backed counter-terrorism meeting in Malaga, Spain, this week he said: “Responses to terrorism must be anchored in the rule of law, human rights, and gender equality to ensure their effectiveness.”
“As a moral duty, let’s put human rights where they belong: front and centre in the fight against terror,” the secretary-general said in a video message to the high-level international conference on human rights and counter-terrorism meeting.
The two-day event, saw governments, international organizations, civil society and human rights defenders examine how to formulate terrorism responses that comply with human rights and the rule of law and ensure meaningful participation of civil society in counter-terrorism efforts.
“This gathering reflects a central truth. Terrorism is not only an attack on innocent people. It represents an all-out assault on human rights,” the secretary-general said.
“The threat is growing and global,” he said. “Daesh and Al-Qaeda continue to expand into Africa. Terrorism is resurgent in Afghanistan. Extremist groups target women and girls with gender-based violence, including sexual violence.”
Terrorists, he said, were also using technology to “spread and export lies, hatred and division at the touch of a button”.
He also said, xenophobia, racism and cultural and religious intolerance were accelerating. Guterres warned that at the same time, global responses to terrorism could make things worse.
“In the name of security, humanitarian aid is often blocked – increasing human suffering. Civil society and human rights defenders are silenced – particularly women. And survivors of terrorism and violence are left without the support and access to justice they need to rebuild their lives,” he said.
The secretary-general called for reaffirming commitment to core values, including investing in health, education, protection, gender equality, and justice systems that were accessible to all people.
“This must also include safeguarding humanitarian action, respecting international law and opening the door to civil society – and especially women – to meaningfully engage with counter-terrorism efforts.”
The high-level conference is jointly organized by the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and Spain.
Former president Hamid Karzai said in a meeting with Iran’s ambassador and special representative, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, that education of girls was a “vital issue” for Afghanistan.
Karzai said he appreciated Iran’s cooperation and its standing with the Afghan people, especially Iran’s contributions to education in Afghanistan.
During the meeting, Karzai said peace and stability in the region are in the interest of all regional countries.
A shipment of humanitarian aid from Uzbekistan was handed over on Thursday to the local officials of Balkh province in the trade port of Hairatan.
Local authorities said the aid, which includes flour, oil, wheat, sugar and meat, has been handed over by Uzbekistan’s Surkhandarya governor to the governor of Balkh.
The governor of Surkhandarya stated the purpose of sending this aid was to support the people of Afghanistan and stressed the need for the development of good relations between the two countries.
Islamabad’s special envoy for Afghanistan Asif Durrani said on Wednesday that Pakistan has suffered more due to Afghanistan’s internal situation than Pakistan has suffered in three wars with India in terms of blood spilt and finances drained.
Durrani said at a one-day International Conference titled “Pakistan in the Emerging Geopolitical Landscape”, which was organized by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) and the German Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), that over 80,000 Pakistanis died in the two decades of the War on Terror and that his country was still counting its dead and injured.
“After the withdrawal of NATO forces, it was hoped that peace in Afghanistan would bring peace to the region. However, such expectations were short-lived,” he said.
He also stated that attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group on Pakistan’s border areas increased by 65 percent, while suicide attacks increased by 500 percent.
“The TTP’s enhanced attacks on Pakistan while using Afghan soil have been a serious concern for Pakistan. Another worrying aspect is the participation of Afghan nationals in these attacks,” he said.
Durrani also said Pakistan had suffered geopolitically since the Soviet Union invaded the neighboring country.
“The post-9/11 world order has negatively impacted Pakistan. Apart from losing 80,000 citizens’ lives, including 8,000 law enforcement agency personnel, the country’s economic opportunity cost is estimated at $150 billion,” Durrani said.
Talking about the future outlook for Pakistan in the regional context, Durrani said that while “our eastern neighbor is likely to continue with its anti-Pakistan pursuits, the western border poses an avoidable irritant in the short to medium term.”
However, he said Pakistan can overcome its difficulties with Afghanistan, including the TTP challenge.
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