Egypt's envoy to UN urges int'l community to support rights of victims of terrorism

NEW YORK, June 25 (MENA) - Egypt's Ambassador to the United Nations Mohamed Idriss urged world countries, the United Nations and the international community to give priority to upholding the rights of the victims of terrorism.

This came during his participation in a meeting of the founding countries of the Group of Friends of Victims of Terrorism that was held at the UN headquarters on Tuesday.

The meeting, which aims at launching the Group, was attended by UN Secretary General António Guterres and First Under-Secretary-General of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office Vladimir Ivanovich Voronkov.

During the meeting, Idriss reviewed efforts exerted by the Egyptian state and its various institutions to protect the rights of the victims of terrorism and their relatives.

For his part, Guterres said that the world is witnessing a growing threat of terrorism. The traditional methods of warfare have shifted. It is more complex and asymmetric from a diverse range of actors that pose significant challenges to the existing global order.

We must directly confront the root causes of terrorism to ensure that the pain of these victims is not in vain, he added.

He said "We believe that victims of terrorism deserve sustained international attention; their voices must be heard and their rights must be protected. Most of the time, these victims are forgotten shortly after the incident, left to address their trauma, and pick up the shattered pieces of their lives by themselves."

Today’s launch of this Group will be a first step in developing a more streamlined approach that will aim to build mechanisms of support to victims of terrorism and their survivors, and upholding their fundamental rights, he said.

"Enabling the victims to resume their normal lives and advocate for their needs, strengthens not only the provisions of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, and relevant General-Assembly and Security Council resolutions but the very core of the Charter of the United Nations as well," he said.

We hope that this Group will further empower the work of the United Nations, and will enhance the organization’s commitment to the rights of victims of terrorism, he added.