Statement by H.E. Mr. Motohide Yoshikawa

Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations

At the Open Debate of the United Nations Security Council

On “Countering Terrorism”

14 April 2016

 

 

Mr. President,

 

          I would like to begin by expressing my sincere appreciation to you for raising this timely and important topic. I would also like to thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his insightful briefing.

 

Mr. President,

 

          We witness almost every week terrorist attacks all over the world. In March alone, terrorist attacks occurred in Pakistan, Belgium, Turkey, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire and Tunisia. I express my deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims and their families, as well as to the governments and peoples of each country.

 

          Japan condemns terrorism in the strongest terms and we are determined to overcome terrorism with the international community. On Monday this week, in Hiroshima, the G7 Foreign Ministers expressed their determination to stand united in countering terrorism in all its forms and wherever it occurs.

 

Mr. President,

 

          The fight against terrorism requires diverse efforts. Today I would like to focus on two aspects. The first is how to deal with Foreign Terrorist Fighters.

 

          It is estimated that around 30,000 Fighters, from more than 100 Member States, are attracted to ISIL/Da’esh and their associated groups. In order to stem the flow of these Fighters, it is important to implement all relevant Security Council Resolutions, in particular, Resolution 2178.

 

          Today many of these Fighters travel from their countries of origin to another country before traveling to the final destination to avoid detection, which is called “broken travel.” In order to detect broken travel, it is necessary not only to obtain passport details through the Advance Passenger Information (API) system, but also to obtain Passenger Name Record (PNR) which contains passengers’ booking information, such as their itineraries, the names of traveling companions and payment methods. The Permanent Representative of Uruguay already pointed out their importance.

 

          The Security Council recommends Member States to utilize both API and PNR systems in Resolution 2178 and Presidential Statement 2014/23 respectively. To my knowledge, only about a quarter of 193 Member States have introduced the API system, and even fewer have introduced the PNR system. When only a small number of Member States adopt these systems, it is not effective enough to detect broken travel.

 

          Therefore, I urge all Member States to introduce these systems as soon as possible. In this context, I was very encouraged to hear from France that the European Parliament approved the introduction of the PNR system today.

 

Mr. President,

 

          No country is immune from terrorism. Japan is on high alert for the risk of terrorist attacks in preparing upcoming important events that Japan will host, such as the G7 Summit in May this year, the Rugby World Cup in 2019, and the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020. We are committed to enhancing counter-terrorism measures so that people from around the world can feel safe and will be secured when visiting Japan on these occasions.

 

Mr. President,

 

          The second aspect I would like to address is the importance of tackling the root causes of terrorism. Many previous speakers, including Malaysia, also highlighted its importance.

 

          Among root causes, I wish to focus on how we can prevent violent extremism, which can be conducive to terrorism.

 

          One possible way to prevent violent extremism is to give assistance to create a society that does not give in to violent extremism. In this context, Japan attaches great importance to supporting women and girls to make the societies more resilient. By empowering women, we can empower other members of their families and communities.

 

          To this end, Japan continuously funds projects of UN-Women as well as Office of the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict.One of the projects of this year aims to reinforce women’s leadership through their engagement in political dialogues in the Sahel Region. I hope women’s participation in political dialogue will contribute to building resilient communities against violent extremists such as Boko Haram.

 

Mr. President,

    

          Finally, I would like to stress that violent extremism has broad aspects in its nature and so preventing it requires comprehensive approach, utilizing all knowledge and experience of all UN agencies, funds and programmes.

 

          Japan commends and strongly supports the Secretary-General’s “Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism,” which provides the basis for an “All-of-UN” approach. This Plan of Action and an “All of UN” approach should be reflected in a review of the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy in the General Assembly to be held in June this year. I wish to close by expressing Japan’s willingness to participate constructively in the review.

 

 

I thank you, Mr. President.