Vietnam highlights need to avoid negative impacts of counter-terrorism measures on humanitarian activities

Mr. Quy made the suggestion at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)’s virtual Arria-formula meeting on “Humanitarian action: overcoming challenges in situations of armed conflict and counter-terrorism operations” under the chair of Kenya.

The event drew the attendance of Raffi Gregorian, Deputy to the Under-Secretary-General of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and Director of the UNOCT; Reena Ghelani, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)’s Director of Operations and Advocacy Division; Helen Durham, Director of International Law and Policy at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); and Ambassador Fatima Kyari Mohammed, Permanent Observer of the African Union to the UN.

The Vietnamese ambassador underlined that anti-terrorism measures must be in conformity with the UN Charter and international law.

He underlined the need for all countries to effectively implement UN resolutions, evaluate negative impacts of anti-terrorism measures right from the process of building and applying them.

The best way to protect civilians is to prevent and settle conflicts, and maintain sustainable peace, Quy stressed.

Participants were worried about the accelerating risk of terrorism in Africa, calling on the UNSC to reaffirm the requirement to protect humanitarian action space and promote dialogue and experience sharing.

They confirmed their commitments to fight terrorism, protect civilians, create optimal conditions for humanitarian activities in line with humanitarian principles, and effectively implement UN resolutions in the field./.