UN chief praises India’s support in counter-terrorism work on launch of UN Countering Terrorist Travel Programme

United Nations, May 8: United Nations, on Tuesday launched the ‘United Nations Countering Terrorist Travel Programme’ in New York. On this occasion, while addressing the project, UN Chief Antonio Guterres lauded India for its continued support to the world body’s Counter-terrorism work.

United Nations Countering Terrorist Travel Programme is a flagship programme launched for supporting member states to help prosecute suspected terrorists.

The United Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) launched the 'UN Countering Terrorist Travel Programme' which is funded by India, Japan, the Netherlands, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. This is an innovative initiative which will abled state bodies to track terrorists as they attempt to travel.

On the launch, Antonio Guterres expressed, “along with Netherlands Government’s generous contribution to this effort, I also appreciate the continued support of the Governments of India, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to the counter-terrorism work of the United Nations.

On this occasion, Jelle Postma, chief of the Countering Terrorist Travel and Aviation Security Section in UNOCT said, “The United Office of Counter-Terrorism and other agencies involved in the effort are hoping to engage further with India to examine how this cooperation can be prolonged. It helps India as well to be more safe too”.

The United Nations Countering Terrorist Travel Programme’s objectives-

• The programme will help the Member States collect, process and share travel data with other competent national and international authorities, with full respect for privacy and other fundamental freedoms.
• This information‑sharing will enhance the abilities of Member States to effectively detect, prevent, investigate and prosecute terrorist offenses, including their related travel. Importantly, this will also enable the detection and disruption of human trafficking and other forms of serious organized crime and to faster identify their victims.
• The United Nations family is ready to assist in protecting and ensuring the rights of all victims whose interests are served by this project.
• It represents the kind of cooperative, intergovernmental and institutional approach that aimed to enhance counter-terrorism coordination and coherence across the system. In that context, the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre has also stepped up its efforts to meet the growing expectations and demands from countries most affected by terrorism.