Speaking Notes for Ambassador Masood Khan, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, for the Sixth Meeting of the UNCCT Advisory Board on 23 April 2014 (10.30 a.m.—12:30 p.m.), the North Lawn Building CR-5, New York

Mr. Chairman,

We thank you and the UNCCT for the succinct and focused Quarterly Project Highlight Report.

We commend the leadership demonstrated by UN Undersecretary General and Executive Director UNCCT Jeffrey Feltman. We deeply appreciate the work CTITF is doing and the insights given by its Director Jehangir Khan today.

We especially thank you, Ambassador Al-Muallami, for your wise and steady stewardship of the Center during its formative years.

From the report, we are heartened to know that the UNCCT has seen considerable progress in the planning and implementation of its projects. It makes perfect sense, as Undersecretary General Feltman has suggested, to align the Programme Years with the UN budget years. The emerging UN-related persona of the Center entails such an alignment.

We hope that the remaining CTITF-proposed projects in the pipeline, or those on the anvil, will be moved quickly from the conceptual to the operational stage, after their value and validity have been established. Given the performance of the Center, we remain confident that the teething problems in the implementation of certain projects will be tackled soon.

The UNCCT’s collaborative undertakings with member states are rewarding as is evident from the feedback and assessment of the Libreville workshop, as well as the work being undertaken in partnership with Turkey and OPCW. A comprehensive strategy to stem illicit arms flows, to rehabilitate and reintegrate violent extremist offenders, and to prepare for biological or chemical weapons terrorism supports the United Nations’ broader endeavours to counter terr0rism.

We appreciate the support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for donating US$ 100 million for the Center. We hope that this substantial contribution will become a reliable and predictable source of multi-year funding for the viability of the Center and stable institutionalization of its processes. We hope that formalities between the UN and the Saudi Government for the utilization of the donation will be finalized soon.

It would be advisable to reduce the time lag among the UN bodies for coordination for transfer of funds. This can be best done through expeditious communication.

Pakistan supports the Center’s sharp focus on capacity building, workshops, and conferences. We agree with the Center that these activities should yield tangible and measurable benefits in regard to regional cooperation and the United Nations’ enhanced and stronger role in combating terrorism.

In the light of the lessons learnt, and as suggested by the Center, it would indeed be prudent to develop fewer and larger multi-year projects covering multiple activities to get the optimal results.

Mr. Chairman,

We look forward to contributing to the May 2014 workshop on terrorist designation and assets freezing regimes. Pakistan is working with the CTITF Office on modalities of organizing a conference in Islamabad, preferably later this year, on youth engagement, skills development, and employment facilitation.

We support the activities of the Center which advance dialogue and understanding among cultures and civilizations to delegitimize the lure of terrorism for some.

A ‘comprehensive approach’ to counterterrorism is much more effective than a uni-dimensional approach. We need to address the root causes and underlying conditions that lead to the spread of terrorism. Deprivation, marginalization, exclusion, unresolved disputes and stereotyping often create conditions for a drift to terrorism. In this context, the Center is focusing on all four pillars of the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy.

Pakistan calls for combining development and counter terrorism efforts as part of a comprehensive approach. For long-term sustainable solutions, Pakistan is pursuing a 3-D policy based on deterrence, development and dialogue. But dialogue should not be misconstrued as appeasement. It is a vehicle to enable societies to eliminate the scourge of terrorism.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.