SJaishankar Terrorism continues to be one of the gravest threats to humankind:S Jaishankar
New Delhi: India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said terrorism continues to be one of the gravest threats to humankind.
"Terrorism continues to be one of the gravest threats to humankind. It is a crime against humanity and violates the most fundamental human right - namely ‘the Right to Life’. As a long-standing victim, India has been in the forefront of the global action against terrorism,"S Jaishankar said while addressing the UN Human Rights Council.
"This is possible only when there is a clear realisation, including in bodies dealing with human rights, that terrorism can never be justified, nor its perpetrators ever equated with its victims. We presented, last month, at the UNSC, an 8-point Action Plan to deal with the scourge of terrorism. We will continue to work together with members of the UNSC and other States to ensure implementation of our Action Plan," he said.
He said human rights agenda continues to face severe challenges.
"The ongoing pandemic has complicated the situation in many geographies. There is a need for us to come together to overcome these challenges. At the same time, multilateral institutions and mechanisms need to be reformed to be able to deal with these effectively,"S Jaishankar said.
He said India’s abiding commitment to promotion and protection of basic human rights has been manifest in the nation's strategy to deal with COVID 19 pandemic.
Jaishankar said: "By giving direct food support to 800 million Indians and financial support to 400 million, many of them women, we ensured that basic needs were very effectively addressed even during the lockdown."
"And as we addressed the health front at home, we responded to the world in equal measure. We provided essential medicines and equipment to more than 150 countries to assist them in this fight. In the same spirit, India has pledged to use its vaccine manufacturing capacity to make vaccines accessible and affordable to all,"he said.
"From Bangladesh to Brazil and from Morocco to Fiji, the pharmacy of the world is today supplying millions of vaccine doses to more than 70 countries,"he said.
