Sri Lanka’s UN representative calls upon the international community to close ranks in countering te

New York: Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Amrith Rohan Perera has called upon the international community to close ranks to send a strong and unequivocal message, that the world will no more condone or countenance terrorism.

Delivering a statement during the fifth review of the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy at the UN General Assembly in New York Thursday, Ambassador Perera referred to the recent horrific events in Istanbul, Dhaka, and Baghdad, and called upon the international community to close ranks and make a concerted effort to address the issue of counter terrorism, by adopting the comprehensive convention on terrorism without delay.

“As a country that suffered under the yoke of terrorism for near

ly thirty long years, Sri Lanka stands in solidarity with the friendly governments and the people of Bangladesh, Turkey and Iraq at this sad moment, and condemns in the strongest possible terms these heinous acts of terrorism,” the envoy said at the beginning of his speech.

He said the recent attacks in these countries are attacks on “all of us” and it is time to show solidarity and unity of purpose in combating this scourge.

The Ambassador said the terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism is not exclusive to any one country or region, but, spreads across national borders.

“This rising transnational phenomenon challenges existing borders, and threatens the very fabric of the principle of sovereign states upon which the international legal order is based.”

The representative expressed deep concern over the acute and growing threat of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs).

“With tens of thousands of such fighters hailing from over 100 States, it is imperative to harness global support and respond more urgently, and with more determination to these threats,” he pointed out.

Underscoring that international networks with linkages to organized crime are a critical lifeline for violent extremists and terrorists groups, the Ambassador said these are not phenomena that a single state or a few states could deal with, but rather it demands a concerted global effort.

“It is therefore imperative for all member states to pool their resources and share intelligence to prevent and counter this phenomenon,” he stressed.He said the States must demonstrate the requisite political will and commitment to close ranks, and make a determined and singular effort to overcome this challenge, amidst the rising toll of innocent human lives around us.

Ambassador Perera noted that it is time that all member states muster the necessary political will to conclude the Comprehensive Convention, so that the international community sends out a strong and unequivocal signal of its collective will to combat terrorism, and contributes to the effective implementation of the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy.

He appealed to delegations that time for polemic and political debate is over.

“Too much blood of the innocents are being spilled, which is occurring with alarming frequency across national frontiers. There is no time more urgent than now to make this happen,” he said.