Nations Must Fight Terrorism, Says Indian Minister

Ms Sushma Swaraj, India’s Minister of External Affairs

The Indian Minister of External Affairs, Ms Sushma Swaraj, yesterday said nations must unite to fight the increasing scourge of terrorism. She pleaded with the international community to urgently adopt the Comprehensive Convention Against International Terrorism.

Swaraj made the appeal at the opening of the ministerial meeting of the Third India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi. The session comprised Foreign Affairs ministers of 54 African countries and India.

She said the scale of challenge of threats to global peace and security is huge and embarrassing.

The Nation report continues:

“All our nations find themselves faced with the growing scourge of terrorism. The menace of non-state actors and cross border terrorism has acquired a new dimension. The scale of this challenge is huge and undermines the peace and stability in our countries, which is essential for our development efforts.

“In view of the fast growing linkages of such terrorist groups across the globe, we must step up our cooperation through intelligence exchange, training and other measures to counter this menace.

“We also hope that the international community will cooperate with urgency to adopt the Comprehensive Convention Against International Terrorism.”

Swaraj, however, said there was need for reforms in global governance to guarantee peace in the world.

She added: “Unless we put in place more democratic global governance structures, the more equitable and just international security and development frameworks that are essential for the collective peace and prosperity of this planet, will continue to elude us. There can no longer be pockets of prosperity in vast areas of under-development and insecurity.”

The minister explained why Africa and India could no longer be denied membership of the United Nations Security Council.

She said: “We have just celebrated the 70th year of the establishment of the United Nations. Although Indians and Africans comprise nearly 2.5 billion people, our nations continue to be excluded from appropriate representation in the institutions of global governance.

“India and Africa can no longer be excluded from their rightful place of the permanent membership of the UN Security Council.

“How can we expect legitimacy from a governance structure that excludes the African continent and a country, which represents one-sixth of humanity?

“The 70th session of the UN General Assembly is an opportune moment to achieve concrete results on this long pending issue.

“We welcome the progress achieved during the 69th session of the UN General Assembly under the leadership of Mr. Sam Kutesa, towards commencing text-based negotiations. We look forward to working together in an active negotiating process to take this forward.”

On peacekeeping missions, Swaraj asked the UN to involve troop-contributing countries in decision-making process.

On climate change, she said India waslooking “forward to finalising an ambitious and comprehensive climate change agreement based on the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibility”.

“The challenge of global warming can only be addressed adequately through technological solutions and financial resources to manage the transition,” Swaraj said.