SECURITY COUNCIL
OPEN DEBATE
ON
FOREIGN TERRORIST FIGHTERS
NEW YORK, 29TH OF MAY 2015
STATEMENT
Mr. President,
I would like, on behalf of the Republic of Angola, to
welcome His Excellency Minister Mr. Linas Antanas
Linkevicius of the Republic of Lithuania for presiding over
this important debate.
We express our appreciation to the Lithuanian presidency
of the Security Council for organizing this debate, on an
issue that is a matter of great concern and deserves our full
attention, with a view to finding the most appropriate ways
to counter such dangerous trend in international life.
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We are grateful to the United Nations Secretary -general, to
the Chairs of the Al-Qaida and Counter Terrorism
Committees, respectively the Permanent Representatives of
Lithuania and New Zealand for their insightful briefings,
and to the Secretary-general of Interpol, Mr. Jurgen Stock.
Mr. President,
In recent years we witness a very disturbing development
in international life with growing numbers of individuals
getting involved in various conflicts, in different parts of the
world, thus threatening a new kind of the “international
terrorist movement”.
Thousands of individuals, of over 100 nationalities, have
become Foreign Terrorist Fighters, as the Security Council
labeled them, constituting an increasingly threat to
international peace and security.
Although this phenomenon is not new, the extent of the
involvement of foreign terrorist fighters in conflicts and
acts of terrorism is unprecedented.
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We have to recognize that something is deeply wrong in the
world we are living in: the benefits of material affluence
and of cultural, scientific and technological development
being disgracefully turned away from the common good.
Scores of young people have gone astray, to take part in
senseless bloodshed s, in settings where obscurantism
prevails.
The hatred to the other for being different, the nil value for
human life, the contempt for the humanity cultural heritage
is taking the upper hand.
The fundamental question we have to raise is why is this
happening? What have we done wrong to push so many
young people for the commission of the most despicable
crimes and become associated with the darkest forces of
obscurantism and destruction?
In our view, answers to this and many other questions are
crucial, if we are to find the proper ways to counter such
phenomena which, besides repressive and legislative
measures, a well-structured, imaginative and energetic
ideological struggle must be waged against such trend,
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unveiling the wrongdoings of the terrorists, their nihilistic
conception of life and of the world, and the nightmare that
expects these young people after the dream is over.
Mr. President,
Terrorist groups such as Al-Qaida, the Al-Nusra Front,
ISIL, Boko Haram and others, recruit fighters from all over
the world, making this brand of terrorism a threat not only
to the targeted countries, but also to the countries of origin
and transit of these terrorists.
The recent Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions
Monitoring Team shows concrete evidence of this threat
posed to the world by these phenomena given that there are
currently more than 25,000 Foreign Terrorist Fighters, of
more than 100 different nationalities acting in Syria, Iraq
and Libya.
This is a warning to the entire International Community on
the need to identify the causes of this threat and use the best
approaches to combat it.
Mr. President,
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Today, eight months since the unanimous adoption by the
Council of Resolution 2178, co-sponsored by over 120
member countries, the threat posed by these individuals is
greater than ever.
This is the opportunity to take stock of progress achieved in
the implementation of Resolution 2178, as well as identify
shortcomings and obstacles.
In this regard, we reiterate Angola’s full commitment to
combating the threat posed by terrorist groups in general,
and by the foreign terrorist fighters in particular.
Due to the growing threat of international terrorist groups
and the ever more sophisticated recruiting methods they
used to attract young people, the Angolan Government
created this year the Anti-Terrorism National Observatory,
operating under the coordination of the Minister of the
Interior.
The Observatory has the participation of a multi-sectoral
expert group that includes, among others, the Ministries of
Foreign Affairs and Defense and the State Security
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Services, with the main objective of monitoring and
combating any potential threats caused by terrorists.
In line with our commitment to fight terrorism, Angola has
participated in seminars conducted by the CounterTerrorism Committee and its Executive Directorate
(CTED), aimed at formulating a Counter-Terrorism
Strategy for Central Africa. We have hosted one of these
seminars, this year in our capital in the month of February.
We have participated in the First Counter-Terrorism
Seminar for Southern Africa, and will take part in a Second
one, to take place in June this year, in Gaberone, Botwsana.
The Heads of State and Government, at the 9th Summit of
the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region
(ICGLR), held in Luanda, on May 18th focused, among
other issues, on the terrorist threat. They decided to
strengthen the proactive sharing of intelligence among the
Member States, to improve early warning mechanisms,
promote closer monitoring of border movements, and
strengthen existing mechanisms to fight the growing threat
of terrorism in the region.
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Mr. President,
Within the framework of the effective implementation,
Angola prohibits the recruitment of nationals or foreigners
in its territory, in accordance with pertinent legislation.
Further, the Angolan legislation criminalizes, with
imprisonment from 2 to 12 years, any person collaborating
with a terrorist group, by providing information or material
resources, including weapons, ammunition, shelter or
meeting places, or by helping them to recruit new members.
Angolan law establishes mechanisms to verify the identity
and history of persons suspected of committing terrorist
acts before the granting of entry visas.
An electronic mechanism has recently been set up that
consists of a database with records of national and foreign
citizens, cataloging the eventual propensity to offenses,
including acts of terrorism. INTERPOL/ANGOLA and
Internal Security services are part of the mechanism.
Mr. President,
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Relating to the exchange of information, administrative and
legal cooperation for the prevention of terrorist acts, there
are exchanges among the members of the Community of
Portuguese-speaking countries (CPLP), and similarly with
member countries of other sub-regional organizations of
which Angola is a member, specifically of SADC and
ECCAS.
Concerning the collection and sharing of information,
inside SADC, the Early Warning Regional Center (REWC),
was created to improve communication among the 14
Member States of the organization.
Angola maintains contacts and cooperates with the African
Center for the Study and Research on Terrorism (CAERT),
with headquarters in Algiers, Algeria.
International cooperation is pivotal for the response to this
threat and Resolution 2178 provides a crucial framework.
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In conclusion, we would like to reiterate our strong belief
that the root causes of this phenomenon must be identified
and properly addressed.
Otherwise, we might incur in the mistake of limiting our
action in targeting the consequences of it, while ignoring
the real or root causes of such a disturbing phenomenon.
Thank you Mr. President
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