International consensus vital to tackle violent extremism

The Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) Ma Zhaoxu said Friday that both the United Nations and its Security Council were crucial in forging a unified response to addressing the threats posed by violent extremism in the world.

"Recent terror attacks in Belgium, Pakistan, Syria, Turkey and Iraq again highlight the daunting task in the global fight against terrorism," the ambassador highlighted in a session of the Geneva Conference on Preventing Violent Extremism.

"China advocates that full play should be given to the leading role of the UN and its Security Council so as to forge consensus among member states in the broadest manner for coordinated actions," he added.

The two-day conference enables international stakeholders to share experiences and good practices in addressing the root causes of violent extremism.

It also builds support for the Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism which was submitted by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon earlier this year.

According to the UN, the "plan calls for a comprehensive approach encompassing not only essential security-based counter-terrorism measures but also systematic preventive steps to address the underlying conditions that drive individuals to radicalize and join violent extremist groups."

In light of this, Ma stressed the need to eliminate all forms of violent extremism to counter-terrorism more efficiently, and called for the creation of unified standards to prevent the spread of violent extremist ideas through the internet and social media.

The recently appointed ambassador also noted the need to strengthen work at the community level to tackle the factors which push certain individuals to pledge allegiance to extremism groups.

"Focus should be increased on key groups to prevent radicalisation of the youth," he explained, adding that governments must implement Security Council resolutions while stepping up information exchanges and cross boarder cooperation.

Source: XINHUA