India’s total contribution for United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women touches $3 million.
Bureau Report
UNITED NATIONS: Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations handed over a check of $1 million towards India’s contribution to the core voluntary budget of UN Women (for the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women), for the financial year 2012-2013, at the United Nations in New York, Tuesday.
This contribution constitutes the third installment of India’s multi-year pledge to provide $5 million as core predictable funding to UN Women’s resources, and takes India’s existing contribution to $3 million to UN Women, so far.
The check was received by Dr. Michele Bachelet, Under Secretary General and Executive Director of UN Women.
Speaking on the occasion, Puri reaffirmed India’s steadfast commitment to the goals of gender equality, the empowerment of women and gender mainstreaming enshrined in the mandate of UN Women.
India is one of the founding members of the Executive Board of the UN Women, and is presently serving on the UN Women Executive Board.
COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO COUNTER-TERRORISM: Speaking at the Security Council Open Debate on threats to international peace and security, caused by terrorist acts: comprehensive approach to counter-terrorism, Puri reiterated that terrorism today “constitutes the most pressing challenge to international peace and security. It is a scourge that undermines peace, democracy and freedom and endangers the foundations of democratic societies. It is a global threat that recognizes no border, nationality, ethnicity or religion and there is hardly any region of the world that has not been scarred by terrorism.”
He said that India, as well as all of South Asia, has faced the scourge of terrorism for over 25 years, by the activities of the biggest terrorist actors in the world, be they Al Qaida, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jamat-ud Daawa, elements of Taliban and others.
“Terrorism, extremism and radicalization continue to pose a serious challenge to peace, progress and prosperity in the region,” said Puri.
The Ambassador pointed out that the landscape of international terrorism has vastly changed, with terrorists “globalized in their outreach and activities.” They recruit in one country, raise funds in another and operate in others and are waging an asymmetric warfare against the international community, he said.
“Terrorist’s veritable nexus with transnational organized crime, drug and arms trafficking is now well established,” said Puri. “Terrorist financing, illicit money laundering, drug trafficking, piracy and illicit arms trade remain intertwined in a complex web of toxic relationship.”
Puri voiced concern over the growing risk of weapons of mass destruction of different kinds falling into the hands of terrorists, and the increasing misuse of cyberspace and related technologies by terrorists and their supporters.
Going over his tenure as the Chair of the Counter-terrorism Committee during 2011-12, Puri reminded the audience that India’s endeavor, under his stewardship, had been to provide a renewed momentum to global counter-terrorism effort and to promote a culture of ‘zero tolerance’ towards terrorism. During this period, three special meetings of the committee were held with participation of the wider UN membership and international, regional and sub-regional organizations.
“We believe that apart from law enforcement measures, the preventive aspect is equally important. Focus on development, education, social integration, tolerance, rule of law and respect for human rights are the integral components of such an approach,” said Puri. He said that despite the progress achieved so far, the efforts of the international community continue to face many challenges.
“Foremost is the need to remove the moral and legal ambiguities that allow terrorists to gain succor and legitimacy. Progress under mutual legal assistance and extradition cases is still sketchy and is yet to be fully mainstreamed as part of regional and international counter-terrorism efforts,” he said. “We need to strengthen enforcement efforts to destroy safe havens for terrorists, their financial flows and their support networks. The mechanisms that have been developed to pool the resources and the knowledge of the international community needs to be augmented and made more effective.”
Puri said that India has long held the belief that the UN also needs to strengthen the normative framework for its counter-terrorism strategy through the adoption of a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT).