Opinions & Interviews

Belarus advocates joint effort under UN aegis to combat terrorism

MINSK, 4 September (BelTA) – Belarus favors close coordination of international efforts under the aegis of the UN in order to develop a single counter-terrorism front, Belarus Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Dapkiunas said as he took part in the closing ceremony of the high-level international conference “Countering terrorism through innovative approaches and the use of new and emerging technologies” on 4 September,  BelTA has learned.

“The discussion of global, regional, and national approaches and strategies aimed at preventing the use of new technologies and artificial intelligence by terrorists showed how much they differ from each other,” Andrei Dapkiunas said.

He noted that the conference drew representatives of think tanks and civil society from Belarus and other countries. “Your voice in the global counter-terrorism campaign will not go unnoticed,” Andrei Dapkiunas stressed.

Andrei Dapkiunas reminded that at the opening ceremony of the conference Under-Secretary-General of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office Vladimir Voronkov pointed out that it is important to involve women and children in activities to counter terrorism. “I welcome the contribution of volunteers - students of the International Relations Department of Belarusian State University. They not only provided technical support of the event, but also shared their ideas about the matters discussed at the conference. This is a good starting point to begin involving the youth in solving the most acute problems on the international agenda,” Andrei Dapkiunas said.

“As the Belarusian president put it, terrorism knows neither state borders nor moral ones. It claims lives of ordinary people, with the elderly, women and children among the victims. Its methods are ruthless and inhuman. These words fully apply to the tragedy in Russia’s Beslan which happened 15 years ago. All in all, 334 people, including children, fell victim to the terrorists. Belarusians share the grief of the relatives and friends of the victims of this violent terrorist act. Our task is to do our utmost to ensure that such tragedies never happen again,” Andrei Dapkiunas said.

He stressed that there is no doubt that in the context of the use of new and emerging technologies by terrorists fighting terrorism will remain in focus of the international community.

print version

make home page

add to bookmarks