Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, Vijay Thakur Singh made the remarks at the second ministerial meeting of the 'Group of Friends of Victims of Terrorism' (GFVT) on Monday, organized by the UN Office of Counter Terrorism (UNOCT) and co-chaired by the Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan and Spain.

 

The Indian delegation led by Singh attended the meeting, which was held virtually.

 

Singh emphasized upon the importance of the right of the victims of terrorism to get justice for the crimes committed against them.

 

The Secretary highlighted that the victims of 2008 Mumbai terror attack and the 2016 Pathankot terror attack are yet to get justice due to unwillingness and non-cooperative attitude of Pakistan.

 

"We must work towards redressing deficiencies in the international efforts to ensure that perpetrators of terrorism are bought to justice," she said.

 

Acts of terrorism, she said, not only violate the rights of individual victims but they also deeply affect the enjoyment of a range of rights by the families of the victims and society as a whole.

 

"Women and children are particularly vulnerable to human rights abuses by terrorists. Measures aimed at addressing the needs of the victims of terrorism, therefore, should factor in the sensitivities of these vulnerable sections of the society," Singh pointed.

 

The Secretary urged the world community to make efforts to work with the victims to build a counter narrative against the hateful propaganda of terrorism.

 

She underscored that even amidst the ongoing pandemic, terrorism continues to pose a critical threat to international peace and security.

 

Terrorists have stepped up the use of ICT for propaganda and for issuing threats further exacerbating the stress on victims of terror, she said.

 

The Indian representative appreciated the UN for establishing August 21 as the 'International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism', and setting up of Enhancement of International Cooperation to Assist Victims of Terrorism.

 

As envisioned in Global Counter Terrorism Strategy and its review resolutions, the UNOCT should continue to lead capacity building and technical assistance initiatives, for promoting, supporting and address the rights and needs of victims of terrorism for requesting states, she urged.