The Maldives has joined the call by many States to urgently adopt the draft comprehensive convention on terrorism. Speaking at the Committee for Legal Affairs of the General Assembly today, the Maldives Permanent Representative to the United Nations H E Ambassador Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed stated that “while we meet, year after year without results, we fail as a community to attribute criminal accountability to the perpetrators of these heinous crimes. The completion of the draft comprehensive convention on terrorism will provide an overarching instrument that would supplement the existing legal regime that addresses specific terrorist activities and bolster international coordination in the global fight against terrorism. Therefore, as responsible citizens of the international community, we cannot underscore the importance and urgency of finalizing the draft comprehensive convention on terrorism that will give a very necessary impetus to the international counter terrorism framework”.
Speaking under Agenda Item, Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism, the Ambassador highlighted the extreme vulnerability of small archipelagic states such as the Maldives to terrorism and noted that the heightened terrorist activities in South Asia have increased the Maldives’ concern for maritime security in the Indian Ocean. Highlighting the capacity gaps that exist between countries and the economic cost of fighting terrorism, the Ambassador underlined the importance of a concerted global fight designed to address the roots of the threat. In this regard, the Maldives’ participation in the international counter terrorism regime, its support for the UN Counter Terrorism Global Strategy and the country’s active role in enhancing regional cooperation in the suppression of terrorism was recalled by the Ambassador.
Concluding his statement, Ambassador Ghafoor emphasized the common goal of the international community. “The fight against terrorism is a fight to defend the fundamental freedoms and individual liberties that have been carefully passed on to us by our forefathers. It is a fight to protect our collective security”, said the Ambassador. The Maldives also echoed the call by several states to respect international human rights law and international humanitarian law while countering terrorism.
