Bahrain's counter-terrorism efforts highlighted

Manama, Nov. 6 (BNA): Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United Nations, His Excellency Ambassador Jamal Faris Al-Ruwaie, participated in the special meeting of the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001) and the establishment of the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the Security Council. He delivered a speech in which he stressed the efforts of the Kingdom of Bahrain in combating terrorism. He pointed out the kingdom’s permanent coordination with the international community in this regard and its accession to many international and regional conventions and treaties. He also shed light on the kingdom’s participation and support to the efforts of the international coalition in combating the terrorist organization ISIS. The ambassador pointed out that Bahrain has made unremitting efforts to combat terrorism in the Middle East and the world, especially with regard to combating its funding and drying up its sources. He said the kingodm contributed to the establishment of the Financial Action Task Force for the Middle East and North Africa (MENAFATF), hosted the headquarters of the group's secretariat and provided the financial support and its operational budget during the first five years of its activity. He added that within the framework of the Kingdom’s keenness to ensure that the non-profit sector is not used in funding terrorism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted in August 2020 a capacity-building workshop on protecting non-profit organizations from the risks of terrorism funding, in cooperation with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, which is one of many similar workshops held by Bahrain in cooperation with the office. The ambassador affirmed Bahrain’s commitment to the effective implementation of international resolutions related to combating the funding of terrorism, and its constant keenness to submit its periodic reports in compliance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council in this regard. He also pointed out the kingdom’s keenness on implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, and the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) concerned with combating money laundering and funding terrorism. He also touched on the danger of cyberspace, especially social media, being exploited by the terrorist groups to spread their malicious ideas, recruit or launch electronic attacks targeting the gains of countries and peoples. He noted in this regard Bahrain's participation in the second high-level conference of Heads of counter-terrorism agencies and those concerned with combating terrorism, entitled “Countering and Preventing Terrorism in the Age of Transformative Technologies: Addressing the Challenges of the New Decade”, which was held in June 2021 and organized by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism. The Ambassador affirmed the firm position of the kingdom rejecting all forms of terrorism, regardless of its causes and motives, its advocates or funders. He underlined Bahrain’s commitment to cooperating with brotherly countries in the region and the international community to deter this danger.