Madam President,
I would like to express our appreciation for the Secretary-General's report and thank our three speakers today for their presentations.
This Council must remain aware of the threat that Daesh continues to pose to international peace and security. We are particularly alerted by the evolution of this threat in conflict zones, and in particular on the African continent. The convergence of armed conflicts and terrorism, as well as the complexity of the actors' profiles, motivations and objectives, make it all the more difficult to develop appropriate and sustainable responses.
I would like to highlight three aspects that we consider particularly important in this context.
First, purely security-based approaches have often proved ineffective. Government action, accompanied by human rights violations, can trigger, fuel and accelerate the recruitment by terrorist groups. This is particularly true in contexts already marked by conflict and a lack of participation and governance. Hence the importance of adopting holistic and inclusive strategies to tackle the underlying factors of terrorism and violent extremism that can lead to terrorism.
Second, preventing and combating terrorism is the primary responsibility of States. This also means the responsibility to fully respect all obligations under international law, in particular international humanitarian law and human rights law. It means ensuring accountability, including for sexual and gender-based violence linked to terrorism. Above all, it's important to guard against any new grievances that could then be exploited by terrorist actors. It is crucial that we break this vicious circle.
Third, we need to build trust between security actors and the public, bridging a gap often exploited by terrorist groups and violent extremists. This requires an inclusive, gender-sensitive approach, and a strong partnership with civil society. Switzerland’s national approach is based on interdisciplinary collaboration at all levels of government and with civil society players. To keep pace with developments, Switzerland regularly evaluates its National Action Plan to Combat Radicalization and Violent Extremism. The latest edition - which comes into force in 2023 - focuses on young people and the responsible use of the Internet.
Madam President,
As the Secretary General has noted, responding to the threat posed by Daesh and affiliated entities requires comprehensive, multi-level and multi-stakeholder responses, with an emphasis on prevention. Let's make prevention a political priority, as called for in the New Agenda for Peace, including in the fight against terrorism.
I thank you.