said Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of the Vietnamese permanent mission to the UN.

Addressing the UN Security Council’s online meeting on August 24 to discuss the 11th report of the UN Secretary General on the threat posed by the self-claimed Islamic State (IS) to international peace and security, the ambassador committed Vietnam’s anti-terrorism policy on the basis of abiding by the UN Charter and international law.

The diplomat stressed the need for comprehensive settlement of terrorism risk and the elimination of favourable conditions for terrorists, thus promoting economic development, dealing with conflicts and building an equal and united society capable of fighting extreme violence and terrorism.

According to UN Under-Secretary-General Vladimir Voronkov, over the past six months, the threat from IS terrorism temporary decreased in non-conflict areas. However, in many conflict zones such as Iraq and Syria, IS tended to regroup and increase activities.

Voronkov said COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on recruitment and fundraising activities remains unclear, as its socioeconomic fallout could exacerbate conditions conducive to terrorism and increase the medium- to long-term threat, both within the outside and inside conflict zones.

He said that the UN Office of Counter Terrorism (UNOCT)’s priorities included supporting member countries to protect, repatriate, prosecute, educate and rehabilitate terrorists from Iraq and Syria, as well as support victims, fight terrorism financing and cyber criminals, and strengthen law enforcement and management of border.

Meanwhile, Michèle Coninsx, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate called on all countries to renovate anti-terrorism methods, strengthen partnership and build a comprehensive strategy on the repatriation, prosecution, education and rehabilitation of terrorists.

At the meeting, many countries also showed concerns over IS’s activities in conflict zones as well as humanitarian matters in Syria’s detention camps. They stressed the need to enhance international cooperation in anti-terrorism./.VNA