PM Modi's call for crackdown on global terrorism finds support at G20

G20 members supported PM Modi's statement on terrorism saying they condemned all terrorist attacks

Member nations of the G20 international economic forum on Friday came out strongly in support of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement on fighting terrorism saying they condemned "all terrorist attacks worldwide and stand united and firm in the fight against terrorism and its financing".

In a repeat of the separate statement on terrorism issued during the G20 Summit in Antalya, Turkey, in 2015, the leaders attending the 12th G20 Summit here on Friday said in a statement: "We, the Leaders of the G20, strongly condemn all terrorist attacks worldwide and stand united and firm in the fight against terrorism and its financing."

"These atrocious acts have strengthened our resolve to cooperate to enhance our security and protect our citizens. Terrorism is a global scourge that must be fought and terrorist safe havens eliminated in every part of the world," said the statement.

It said the G20 leaders reaffirmed that all measures on countering terrorism needed to be implemented in accordance with the UN Charter and all obligations under international law, including international human rights law.

At a leaders' retreat ahead of the summit here, as a lead speaker, Modi presented a 10-point agenda on countering terrorism and, in a veiled reference to Pakistan, said countries supporting terrorism should be banned from joining the G20.

"We will address the evolving threat of returning foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) from conflict zones such as Iraq and Syria and remain committed to preventing FTFs from establishing a foothold in other countries and regions around the world. We recall UN Security Council Resolution 2178 (2014), which requires a range of actions to better tackle the foreign terrorist fighter threat," the G20 statement said.

"We will address the evolving threat of returning foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) from conflict zones such as Iraq and Syria and remain committed to preventing FTFs from establishing a foothold in other countries and regions around the world. We recall UN Security Council Resolution 2178 (2014), which requires a range of actions to better tackle the foreign terrorist fighter threat."

The statement said the G20 nations would facilitate swift and targeted exchanges of information between the intelligence and law enforcement and judicial authorities on operational information-sharing, preventive measures and criminal justice response, while ensuring the necessary balance between security and data protection aspects, in accordance with the national laws.

"We will ensure that terrorists are brought to justice," it sated.

The leaders called upon their border agencies to strengthen cooperation to detect travel for terrorist purposes, including by identifying priority transit and destination countries of terrorists.

"We will support capacity building efforts in these countries in areas such as border management, information sharing and watch-list capability to manage the threat upstream," the statement said.

On financing terrorism, the statement said the leaders' resolve to make the international financial system entirely hostile to terrorist financing and commit to deepening international cooperation and exchange of information, including working with the private sector, which has a critical role in global efforts to counter terrorism financing.

"We reaffirm our commitment to tackle all sources, techniques and channels of terrorist financing and our call for swift and effective implementation of UNSCR (UN Security Council Resolution) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards worldwide. We call for strengthening measures against the financing of international terrorist organisations in particular Islamic State (IS), Al-Qaeda and their affiliates."

Backing Modi's statement that there should be no safe havens for terrorists, a veiled reference to Pakistan, the statement said: "In order to eliminate all such 'safe spaces', we commit to intensify capacity building and technical assistance, especially in relation to terrorist financing hot-spots, and we support the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) in its efforts to strengthen its traction capacity and the effectiveness of FATF and FATF-style regional bodies."