UN chief: World faces 'unprecedented threat' from terrorism

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the world is facing "an unprecedented threat from intolerance, violent extremism and terrorism" that affects every country, exacerbating conflicts and destabilizing entire regions.

The UN chief told a Security Council ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders on Wednesday that "the new frontier is cyber-terrorism the use of social media and the dark web to coordinate attacks, spread propaganda and recruit new followers."
He stressed that the response to the unprecedented terrorist threat "must complement security measures with prevention efforts that identify and address root causes, while always respecting human rights."
"When member states or regional organizations conflate terrorism with non-violent political dissent, they do a disservice not only to the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, but to our global effort to defeat terrorism."
He said the world is witnessing this "dangerous approach" in Syria, where the government and its Russian allies "justify as legitimate counter-terrorist operations airstrikes on civilians, schools, ambulances and hospitals that have killed over a thousand people since April and wounded over 2,000."
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that the "terrorist threat" coming from Syria and Iraq is very rapidly spreading through Africa, including Libya, "and central, southern and southeast Asia are also becoming areas where savage acts of terrorism are perpetrated."
Alluding to Western criticism, he said, "the double-standards used by some countries make it more difficult to react to the challenges today, including the terrorist challenges."
He said fighters that supported the Islamic State extremist group in Syria and Iraq "are striving to create new strongholds, including in the Eurasian space." And he warned that "the threat of their access to radioactive and toxic substances is growing, and their possible use of new types of financing and weapons."
The organization which includes Russia, China, India and Pakistan has half the world's population and is regarded as the primary security pillar in the region, but Norov stressed that "it's not a military organization aimed at other states."