Director-General/Executive Director
Under Secretary-General Voronkov,
Excellencies,
Distinguished colleagues,
I am grateful for the opportunity to address you today.
For decades, the international community has been fighting the scourge of terrorism.
We have achieved important victories and forged valuable alliances, and we have formulated a Global Counterterrorism Strategy to guide our collective efforts.
Nevertheless, the threat of terrorism persists and knows no borders.
Every attack is a stark and horrific reminder that we still have a long way to go to make sure everyone is safe everywhere.
We need to review and renew our responses.
This conference is an excellent opportunity to draw on the lessons of our global struggle against terrorism, so that we can do better.
Excellencies,
Throughout the past decades, we have learned that terrorism constantly evolves and adapts.
Today, despite facing defeat in some parts of the world, terrorist groups are continuously expanding their reach.
Sub-Saharan Africa has seen an alarming rise in victims of terrorism, and the terrorist threat is spreading to coastal West African states and into Southern Africa.
Terrorist groups are taking advantage of global strife to target the poor, the vulnerable, and the world’s displaced population of over 110 million people, as victims and as recruits.
They are exploiting porous borders in conflict and crisis-hit countries to transit foreign terrorist fighters, and relying on organized crime networks and illicit markets to acquire weapons and financing.
They are also abusing technologies such as encrypted communications, the dark web, and digital currencies to plan, fund, and execute attacks undetected, while spreading hateful ideologies and rhetoric online.
Our responses need to be agile, to stay ahead of the threat.
Colleagues,
Our fight against terrorism has also taught us that sustainable results against terrorism require sustainable responses, to create the conditions conducive to preventing and countering terrorism.
To foster societies and communities that are resilient to terrorism and violent extremism, we need to focus on people.
Human rights must be front and center in our responses, as we have heard from the Secretary-General.
This means due process, fair trials, humane prisons, respecting fundamental freedoms, and focusing on rehabilitating and reintegrating offenders into society.
Prevention is a future-proof investment.
Addressing the root causes of terrorism and violent extremism starts with good governance, helping people in need, pursuing inclusive and sustainable development, and healing long-standing grievances.
If we are seeking long-term impact, we should listen to the voices of those who are most affected, like we have done today.
Listen to victims of terrorism to meet their needs and use their perspectives in shaping responses.
Listen to communities so that solutions are designed and tailored to local contexts.
And listen to women and young people, who have unique contributions to halt the spread of violent extremism and build the resilience of their societies.
We should also work closely with private sector actors, who have important responsibilities in preventing terrorism, as well as with civil society and academia, who can complement the work of governments.
These are the principles that guide the work of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime on terrorism prevention, and they are at the heart of our Global Programme on Preventing and Countering Terrorism launched last year.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Perhaps our biggest lesson is that achieving results requires collective and coordinated action.
Leveraging our field presence in many of the countries and regions most affected by terrorism, UNODC welcomes the chance to bring together international organizations, global experts, and private sector entities with front line responders.
We have strong examples of joint work that we can expand and replicate in partnership with the Global Coordination Compact and Member States.
Together with UNOCT and CTED, UNODC has helped build capacities on prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration in the Lake Chad Basin region.
We have also identified good practices which can help address the situation of individuals still detained in Syria and Iraq.
Together with UN Women, OHCHR, and the UN Team of Experts on Sexual Violence in Conflict, UNODC supported Member States to mainstream gender in their counter-terrorism responses, and to ensure accountability for sexual and gender-based violence committed by terrorist groups.
In collaboration with CTED, we have led the way in building partnerships with the private sector on collecting and preserving electronic evidence.
And in partnership with civil society, UNODC has recently launched a campaign in Iraq, titled “Victims’ Voices, Silencing Terrorism,” showcasing the resilience and strength of victims of terrorism and the power of their voices to defeat the narratives of terrorists.
The campaign has reached an audience of 3 million people so far and is still going strong.
Guided by such experiences, we are committed to working with all of you to develop more effective multilateral responses to terrorism and violent extremism.
Standing against terrorism means standing united, and I am grateful to UNOCT for bringing us together to step up our work against terrorism, for the victims and communities who are affected.
Thank you.