BRICS nations seek ‘firm’ legal framework against terror

From Yoshita Singh New York, Sep 21 (PT) Strongly condemning recent terrorattacks, including in India, the BRICS member nations sought a"firm" legal framework under the UN for concerted efforts tofight terrorism effectively and called for expeditingnegotiations to an international accord against the menace. India along with other BRICS member nations – Brazil,Russia, China and South Africa – in a meeting held here on thesidelines of the 71st session of UN General Assembly yesterdayexpressed concern that continued conflicts in several regionsprovided "fertile" grounds for terrorist activities. The BRICS leaders called for an early conclusion of thenegotiations on the Comprehensive Convention againstTerrorism. The meeting of BRICS’ Ministers of Foreign Affairs alsoreaffirmed the need for a comprehensive reform of the UnitedNations, including its Security Council, with a view to makeit more representative and efficient, besides calling for"collective action" to boost world economic growth. Brazil’s Jose Serra, Russia’s Sergey Lavrov, India’sMinister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar, China’s WangYi and South Africa’s Maite Nkoana-Mashabane reiterated their"strong condemnation" of terrorism in all its forms andmanifestations. "They strongly condemned the recent several attacks,against some BRICS countries, including that in India," ajoint communique released after the meeting said. An army base in Kashmir’s Uri town was attacked on Sundayby heavily-armed militants from Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed in which 18 jawans were killed and many left injured. "They urged concerted efforts to counter terrorism on afirm international legal basis, under the UN auspices, andexpressed their conviction that a comprehensive approach wasnecessary to ensure effective fight against terrorism," thecommunique said. Expressing concern over continued conflicts in severalregions, they said such a situation undermines stability andsecurity and "provide fertile grounds for terrorist activitiesand cause refugee and migration waves". They also voiced concern over the situation in the MiddleEast and underlined that the international community shouldwork together to pave the way for the political settlement ofconflicts through dialogue and negotiations. "They recognised the efforts of BRICS countries, inparticular that of the Russian Federation aimed at achieving apolitical solution to the international crisis in Syriaincluding Russia-US arrangements agreed upon in Geneva onSeptember 9," the communique said. Exchanging views on global and regional issues in theeconomic and political spheres, the ministers said they aredetermined to continue to contribute positively to themaintenance of peace, security and stability, including byupholding multilateralism. Welcoming China’s incoming BRICS Chairpersonship in 2017,they expressed confidence that intra-BRICS cooperation will befurther strengthened. On the current state of the global economy, they notedthat global economic recovery continues to be weak and uneven.(MORE) PTI YAS SAI AKJSAI