World Must Act Urgently To Stop Global Terrorism-Jonathan Tells UN Security Council

Source: pointblanknews.com

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan said Wednesday in New York that the

world must act immediately to stop the troubling new phenomenon of

terrorists and foreign fighters attacking and trying to hold parts of

sovereign nations.
Addressing the United Nations Security Council High-Level Meeting on the

Threat of Terrorism to Global Peace and Security, President Jonathan said

that the international community must also do more to support countries

like Nigeria which are in the frontline of the war against terrorism.

“There is no doubt that foreign fighters have added a troubling dimension

to this emerging phase of terrorism. From targeted attacks by Al Qaeda a

few years ago, we now have mobile bands of thousands of terrorists

sweeping across vast areas, destroying lives, and even attempting to hold

territory. This is unacceptable; we must act now.
“We must capitalize on the commitment and evident determination of the

Security Council to seek more innovative responses to the threat of

terrorism and in particular to the growing menace of foreign fighters.

“The Council should be concerned about the existence of sources of arming

and funding terrorists. Evidence has shown that Boko Haram, for instance,

is resourced largely from outside our country.
“We must also commit to ensuring that countries which are in the frontline

of this challenge, receive adequate support from the international

community.
“Only by united action and firm resolve can we check this raging threat to

humanity, and also build the enduring structures that will resist their

re-emergence,” President Jonathan said.
The President told the Security Council that his Administration  continues

to confront the menace of terrorism with unrelenting determination and

that the Federal Government has also evolved initiatives to alleviate the

plight of people in affected communities.
“Nigeria knows too well the destructive effects of terrorist activities.

Over the past five years, we have been, and are still confronting threats

posed by Boko Haram to peace and stability predominantly in the North

Eastern part of our country.
“The costs are high: over 13,000 people have been killed, whole

communities razed, and hundreds of persons kidnapped, the most prominent

being our innocent daughters from Chibok Secondary School, in North East

Nigeria.
“As daunting as the challenge may be, we have faced it with unrelenting

determination, mobilising all the resources at our disposal to ensure that

the scourge of terrorism is rooted out of our nation. In addition to our

counterterrorism efforts, we have evolved initiatives to alleviate the

plight of the population in the affected communities.

“These include a holistic effort through the Presidential Initiative for

the North East (PINE) which is aimed at providing immediate relief and

fast tracking the infrastructural re-development of the region.  It also

has as a core goal, an integrated effort at achieving the

de-radicalisation of potential terrorist recruits.

“We have also launched a Victims Support Fund which has already raised

about 500 million dollars of the expected minimum of one billion dollars

in direct support of the victims of acts of terrorism. This is in addition

to the Safe Schools Initiative championed by Mr. Gordon Brown, former

British Prime Minister and currently the UN Special Envoy for Global

Education which is being rigorously supported by Nigeria's Federal

Government,” he said.
The post World Must Act Urgently To Stop Global Terrorism-Jonathan Tells UN Security Council appeared first on Pointblank News .