Walk The Talk

NEW DELHI: At the recently-concluded United Nations Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) meeting here, the member states unanimously adopted the Delhi Declaration, which makes it obligatory for the member states to ensure zero tolerance toward terrorism.

However, as India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar pointed out, it is time the UNSC permanent members themselves walked the talk.“It is easier said than done, as it has been seen in the past that often these commitments lack the conviction to fight terrorism. It is left to the victim states to devise their own means and ways to fight terrorism,” he said. Scepticism apart, the fact is that India, despite being the leading voice against terrorism, has been left alone in its fight against terrorism.

There have been words of support, and some unequivocal declarations by the world capitals that India has the right to respond to the acts of terrorism taking place on its soil, mainly due to the hostile external forces.

But the UNSC’s efforts to declare leaders of terrorists targeting India from Pakistan have repeatedly been blocked by China, a permanent member of the council.

The times when terrorists used to hide in jungles and come out only to strike their targets and return to their hideouts, are gone.As Jaishankar pointed out at the CTC, developing technologies, internet and encrypted messageshave obscured the faces of the terrorists. This is a new challenge and it cannot be met with the usual methods of fighting terrorism.

The Delhi Declaration has underlined certain invaluable points. These deserve close attention, because terrorism is a menace that works against the humanity, not just against one section, one religion, or group of nations.

It touched upon some of the fundamentals of the tasks ahead and how to accomplish the same, as it stated in veryclear terms that terrorism in all forms and manifestations is one of the most serious threats. It also listed the obligation for the UN member states to prevent and suppress financing of terrorist acts and to refrain from providing support to entities or persons involved in such acts.

Representatives from all 15 member nations of the UN Security Council attended the two-day meeting of the CTC, which was held in India for the first time and concluded in the national capital. Significantly, the inaugural ceremony was held in Mumbai, the site of the infamous 2008 terror attack by a Pakistan-based terror outfit