NEW YORK, JUNE 25 – Recent terrorist attacks in Kenya, Mali, New Zealand, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and elsewhere have claimed thousands of innocent lives. Terrorists continue to use sexual violence to spread fear and assert control. Children are often forced to join terrorist groups as a matter of survival. The trauma from terrorism causes lasting damage to individuals, families and communities, the Un Secretary General Antonio Guterres said today at the launch meeting of the Group of Friends of Victims of Terrorism.
“Through its leadership role at the United Nations, this group can ensure that victims’ voices are heard, their rights protected, and their recovery and rehabilitation needs addressed. We already have a strong foundation on which to build”, said Guterres at the meeting organized by the Missions of Afghanistan and Spain and attended by many Member States’ representatives including Italy’s Deputy Stefano Stefanile. This includes the International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism, the forthcoming adoption of a General Assembly resolution on victims of terrorism, and the first global Victims’ Congress that the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism will organize during the “UN counter-terrorism week” in June 2020, said the SG.
“There are also many challenges. A new regulatory landscape on victims needs to be developed. There must be more room for the meaningful engagement of civil society actors – and greater commitment to the human rights of victims in national laws and policies”, said Guterres: “Victims must be at the heart of our efforts to prevent and counter terrorism. They are also powerful and credible messengers to denounce the ideology of violence espoused by terrorist groups”. (@OnuItalia)
