Qatar yet again, championed the international efforts in combating the decades-old scourge of terrorism by raising its voice against the plague of extremism affecting the whole world. Qatar, as always, reiterated condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, irrespective of wherever it is committed and whatever the justification may be, by vowing again to resolutely remain as a committed international partner in the efforts to root out the menace from the face of the earth.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in a pre-recorded speech to the opening session of the Second United Nations High-level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of member states as part of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Week, said: “Preventing and countering terrorism are areas that require the highest degree of international coordination and cooperation. In that regard, the United Nations plays a central role in revitalising multilateral cooperation, as represented by convening this high-level conference. We look forward to this conference’s contribution in building on and developing the outcome of the First Conference in 2018 and the Virtual Week of last year.”
The Deputy Prime Minister highlighted a few of the steps taken by Qatar to eradicate the phenomenon such as the inauguration of the International Hub on Behavioural Insights to Counter Terrorism as a programme office of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) in Doha, funded by Qatar. Earlier this month, the United Nations Programme Office on Parliamentary Engagement in Preventing and Countering Terrorism was opened in Doha.
Also, the Minister of Foreign Affairs participated in the ministerial meeting of the Global Coalition to defeat ISIS, in Rome, Italy, on Monday and reiterated Qatar’s commitment to continue working to support efforts to rehabilitate and deport foreign fighters and their family members to their countries of origin, noting that they are still at risk of radical influence again.
In both the meetings, H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani spoke about the ever-changing tactics of the terrorists and their newer ways of implementing their radical strategies, using even the coronavirus pandemic to push their ideologies. The Deputy Prime Minister urged the international community to address the root causes of terrorism and to support programmes for providing education and employment and countering extremist discourses. He called for novel ways to root out the scourge as the threat of terrorism is complex and constantly evolving as divisive forces are embracing newer technologies to further their cause.
