Dorothy Patton
Attorney-Adviser
United States Mission to the United Nations
New York, New York
AS DELIVERED
Thank you, Chair.
Terrorism continues to be one of the most challenging threats to international peace and security. The nature of the terrorist threat constantly evolves, with emerging technology increasingly being used for terrorist purposes. Yet the devastation that terrorism wreaks on our families, communities, and nations is the same – it is abhorrent, catastrophic, and unacceptable.
The United Nations has long recognized that acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivations. The United States remains steadfast in our commitment to pursue measures to eliminate international terrorism, and we urge all other nations to do the same. We are disappointed to see delegations use the Sixth Committee to make political statements about specific conflict situations. The United States has made its views clear about politically motivated accusations of genocide against Israel. We reject such statements, which have no place in this debate.
Effective counterterrorism measures involve disrupting terrorist networks, holding state sponsors accountable, securing our borders, and degrading the capacity of terrorist groups to attack our territories and citizens. It is also critical that we address the connections between transnational organized crime and terrorism, including by enhancing our law enforcement cooperation to investigate and prosecute terrorists who benefit from the illicit trafficking of drugs or other criminal activities.
We also must do more to stop the travel, recruitment, and financing of terrorists, including foreign terrorist fighters. As the United Nations has acknowledged, such offenders must be prosecuted and penalized in a manner reflecting the seriousness of the offense.
To ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, we need to remain focused on the ISIS detention facilities and displaced persons camps in northeast Syria. Repatriation of Member States’ nationals from northeast Syria is essential to preventing a resurgence of ISIS in Iraq and Syria and the uncontrolled return of foreign terrorist fighters and their associated family
members to countries of origin in the future.
It is critical that all efforts to counter and prevent terrorism respect human rights, including freedoms of expression and religion or belief, and the rule-of-law. In fact, efforts to stifle human rights and fundamental freedoms under the guise of counterterrorism are counterproductive and can even provide fuel for terrorist narratives and recruitment.
Concerning a “Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism,” we will listen carefully to delegates’ statements. However, it is critical that the United Nations sends united, unambiguous signals when it comes to terrorism; otherwise, we risk some of the progress that we have made.
To close, the United States is focused on proper burden-sharing from partners to defeat our shared threat from terrorism.
Thank you, Chair.
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