Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled stresses role of regional, sub-regional organizations

NEW YORK: Terrorism is one of the ugliest threats to international peace and security, Kuwait's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah said on Wednesday. This came in Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled's speech in a UN Security Council session on cooperation between the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization; the Collective Security Treaty Organization; and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to maintain international security and peace.

Terrorism targets innocent civilians, including children and women, he noted. Because of its growing threat to global security, countries and organizations must step up their efforts, he argued. The phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters is of serious concern, he said, noting that this has become a main concern to many countries. He pointed out that the UN and its counter-terrorism agencies have a vital role to play, including through General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, as well as relevant treaties and conventions.

During its presidency of the Security Council last June, Kuwait organized a high-level briefing on cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States (LAS), and means of cementing this collaboration, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said. The session culminated in a presidential statement encouraging cooperation between the United Nations, and regional and sub-regional organizations, he stated.

Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled called on the Security Council to hold further meetings to address the means necessary to ensure cooperation between regional and sub-regional organizations. Experience has shown that no one country by itself can confront the diverse and complicated modern challenges facing the world today, including terrorism, drug and people trafficking, among others, he explained. The Kuwaiti minister stressed the important role of regional and sub-regional organizations, given their proximity and knowledge of the history and culture of the region, as well as their commonalities.

Central Asia is a vital and promising region with geostrategic importance and natural resources, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said. The three regional organizations being discussed today have close ties with the countries of the region, he noted. They play an important role by galvanizing collective efforts to confront its challenges, he said. He said that the UN and its bodies concerned with terrorism play a vital role in making international policies and strategies in line with legal frameworks represented in the resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly as well as the relevant international conventions and treaties.
Despite all these international measures, they require further effective cooperation on the regional level, he made clear. The minister commended the key role of the United Nations Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia in bringing views of the Central Asian countries together and bringing them to the negotiating table. He voiced his hope that the center's efforts, in cooperation with the regional organizations, would support economy and development of Afghanistan to achieve security and stability there as soon as possible.
Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said this is an essential element in maintaining regional and international peace and security, and a key factor in strengthening them. Being a member of several international organizations like the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and others, Kuwait has approved several plans and strategies, and exerted many efforts in this path, he said.

Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled pointed to contributions of these organizations to approving several pacts concerned with combating terrorism and putting a strategy contributing effectively to boosting efforts of member states of these organizations to counter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations as well as criminalizing extremist ideologies and set up a database on terrorism and terror groups.

The organizations also contributed to disseminating awareness through social media and discarding extremism as well as promoting youth's role and family and setting a program to rehabilitate terrorists returning from the conflict zones, he said. Finally, the minister hoped that these discussions would lead to more proposals and strategies so as to promote cooperation between the UN, and regional and sub-regional organizations. - KUNA