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Mr. President, Whatever pretexts terrorists may employ to justify their murderous acts, there is simply no justification for what they do. Terrorism is nothing less but an assault on our very humanity. Tragic events like the massacre of school children in Peshawar three days ago reinforce the urgency for this Council to continue focusing sharply on threats posed by international terrorism. In that regard, the initiative of the Chadian presidency to take forward the Council’s counter-terrorism agenda by highlighting linkages of terrorism with transnational organised crime is highly pertinent as it provides a better understanding of how terrorist groups like Taliban and others manage to sustain their activities by collaborating with transnational criminal groups, and sometimes by mimicking them.

As the concept note suggests, from Afghanistan and Syria to Western Africa to Sahel the linkages between terrorism and trans-national crime act as a force multiplier. They strengthen terrorist groups by generating funding and providing logistical support, sharing skills and tactics, to a degree that that at times the dividing line between them becomes extremely blurred.

These interrelated security threats not only take advantage of instability, but are also drivers of conflict itself. Their combination amplifies the challenges to broader conflict prevention and conflict resolution efforts and demands comprehensive and multidimensional response.

We recognize three key areas, targeting which can disrupt those linkages, and also significantly diminish terrorists’ ability to sustain their activities.

Firstly, countering money laundering and illicit financial flows. Various illicit techniques are used to mask the origins and recipients of funds, as well as to divert funds to terrorist groups. States’ ability to effectively identify and prevent the illicit cross-border movement of cash, to tackle head-on the emerging trends and sources of illicit financing which often is linked to specific criminal activities, to set adequate regulations for alternative remittances, and to stem the abuse of charities and non-profit organizations for the purpose of terrorist financing is a crucial component of counter-terrorism efforts.

In that regard, we would like to highlight the importance of full implementation of comprehensive international standards set forth by the Financial Action Task Force, as well as enhanced engagement with FATF-style regional bodies.

Secondly, countering illicit activities that are used as a self-sustained means to raise funds. Terrorist organizations increasingly rely on illegal exploitation of natural resources, drug smuggling, human trafficking for coerced labour and sexual exploitation, kidnapping for ransom, illegal trade in antiquities, ivory, and wildlife, all of which are typically attributable to transnational criminal networks. Given the diversity of activities and environments in which they take place, it is important that law enforcement measures are not disconnected from those contexts, and take into account the particular routes, commodities and other specificities.

Thirdly, countering illicit movement of terrorists, arms and equipment. Over the last few years we have seen unprecedented mobility and flow of foreign terrorist fighters to the theatres of conflict. Their recruitment strategies and methods seem to evolve faster than our responses to the threat, and their reach seems to have no boundaries. On the other hand, the much too easy access to illicit arms and weapons and the unhindered flow of such weapons in and across conflict-affected areas suffering from poorely if at all protected borders  is changing the security environment and placing civilians under increasingly higher risk of harm. Effective physical border controls, information sharing and analytical capability at border crossings, as well as effective sanctions and arms embargo implementation are required in order to disrupt such trans-boundary flows.

We would also like to note that even if the threats posed by terrorism and transnational organized crime are distinct, because of existing linkages, the means to counter them are often closely related, be it securing borders, tracking money flows, disrupting illicit ventures, or curbing the movement of terrorists. This reinforces the need for a coordination and coherence in international and regional efforts to respond to these threats.

That applies primarily to the UN system itself, whose entities have developed vast expertise on dealing with these two phenomena separately but need to engage more closely and build on each other’s work, especially as regards capacity building. UN presence on the ground should be an integral part of these efforts, and the Council should take that into account when designing mandates for PKOs, SPMs and in the work of country teams. With regard to disrupting terrorist networks and undercutting their action base, the One UN principle is as valid as can ever be. Fragmentation of efforts in a typical silo manner will help neither counter-terrorism nor conflict resolution, nor ultimately development efforts on the ground. 

Given the scope and nature of the terrorist threat and existing linkages with the criminal underworld, the importance of regional approaches cannot be stressed enough. The AU-led regional Cooperation Initiative, Nouakchott Process, and ECOWAS activities are good examples of regional cooperation in West Africa and the Sahel. The open debate that took place in this Council two days ago was a good opportunity to reflect on how the cooperation between the UN and its African regional partners could be further advanced, including in countering terrorism.

Before I conclude, let me express my delegation’s hope that the resolution that was adopted today will make a tangible contribution towards mobilizing efforts at all levels to address the phenomenon. In that regard, we look forward to the Secretary-General’s report with recommendations of concrete options both for strengthening Member States’ capabilities, as well as  UN activities needed to disrupt the nexus between terrorism and transnational organized crime, and to further discussions on this issue.

I thank you.