India has said that the victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks and the 2016 terrorist attack on the Pathankot air base have yet to receive justice due to Pakistan’s “unwillingness and non-cooperation attitude”.
Addressing a ministerial meeting of the Group of Friends of Victims of Terrorism on Monday, Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary (East) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the world community must not lose sight of the right of victims of terrorism to get justice. for crimes committed against them.
The virtual meeting was organized by the foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Spain, co-chairs of the group and the United Nations Office against Terrorism (UNOCT).
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“I would like to highlight that, for example, the victims of the Mumbai terrorist attack in 2008 and the Pathankot terrorist attack in 2016 have not yet received justice. This is due to the unwillingness and non-cooperative attitude of a particular country, ”he said.
Although Singh did not mention the country whose position was hindering efforts to bring the perpetrators of the two attacks to justice, it was clear that he was referring to Pakistan. Indian authorities have blamed Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed for the two attacks.
“It is important that we work to correct deficiencies in international efforts to ensure that perpetrators of terrorism are brought to justice,” Singh said.
He further said: “While terrorists can never achieve their dire goals, they leave a trail of death and destruction. Even amid the ongoing pandemic, terrorism remains a critical threat to international peace and security. ”
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Terrorists, he noted, have intensified the use of ICT for propaganda and issuing threats, further compounding the stress on victims of terror. The world community needs to discuss collective ways to address the critical needs of victims of terrorism, he added.
The adoption of two resolutions of the UN General Assembly, one establishing August 21 as the International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism, and another on Improving International Cooperation to Help Victims of Terrorism , and the first World Congress of the Victims of Terrorism in 2021 will help address the problem of terrorism and help its victims, Singh noted.
“A voluntary fund dedicated to supporting victims of terrorism would strengthen capacity development and technical assistance from the United Nations to requesting member states to assist and support victims of terrorism,” he said.
Terrorism not only violates the rights of victims, but also profoundly affects a number of rights of victims’ families and society, and women and children are particularly vulnerable to human rights abuses by terrorists. , He said. Measures to address the needs of victims of terrorism must take into account the sensitivity of these vulnerable sectors, he added.
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