Terrorism is a global scourge, must be fought and terrorist safe havens eliminated: IBSA Group

New York: Terrorism is a global scourge that must be fought and terrorist safe havens eliminated in every part of the world, India and other members of the IBSA grouping have said, reiterating their resolve to step up joint efforts for the expeditious adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the UNGA.

The IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) has emerged as a key tripartite grouping for the promotion of cooperation in a range of areas.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday hosted the 10th India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Trilateral Ministerial Commission meeting and reviewed the IBSA process and recognised its activities.

Brazil's Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Alberto Franco Franca and Dr. Joe Phaahla, Minister of Health of the Republic of South Africa led their respective delegations.

"The Ministers deplored the continued terrorist attacks across the world. They condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations wherever committed and by whomsoever. They concurred that terrorism is a global scourge that must be fought and terrorist safe havens eliminated in every part of the world. They reaffirmed their solidarity and resolved in the fight against terrorism," according to a joint statement issued after the 10th IBSA Trilateral Ministerial Commission Meeting.

"The ministers also called upon the international community to establish a genuinely broad international counter-terrorism framework in accordance with the principles of international law and support the United Nations' central coordinating role in international counter-terrorism cooperation, the statement said.

The ministers reiterated their resolve to step up joint efforts for the expeditious adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the UN General Assembly, it added.

India proposed a draft document on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) at the UN in 1986 but it has not been implemented yet as there is no unanimity on the definition of terrorism among the member states.

Wide-range of topics were discussed during Wednesday's meeting, including cooperation in multilateral organisations, South-South cooperation, UNSC Reform, 2030 Agenda & Sustainable Development Goals, Climate Change, countering terrorism, financing for development, WTO, and G20, among others.

They also held discussions on regional issues such as the African Union, the Middle East Peace Process, and the situation in Ukraine.

"The ministers looked forward to further deepening counter-terrorism cooperation and reaffirmed the sole authority of the UN Security Council for imposing sanctions and called for urgent reform of the working methods of UN Security Council Sanctions Committees to ensure their effectiveness, responsiveness and transparency while avoiding politicisation and double standards of any of their proceedings including listing proposals objectively on evidence-based criteria, the statement said.

They also agreed to enhance IBSA cooperation on security issues, including counter-terrorism and transnational crime.

IBSA exemplifies the spirit of South-South cooperation. The IBSA Fund is a special feature of the IBSA collaboration. It has since its inception, allocated over USD 44 million, supporting 39 South-South cooperation development projects in 35 partner countries with the majority being Least Developed Countries.

India is the incumbent IBSA Chair and will be hosting the 6th IBSA Summit on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in November 2022.