Speaker of the Shura Council H E Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanim and other delegates at the opening session of the Global Parliamentary Conference on Counter-Terrorism, in Istanbul, Turkiye, yesterday.
Istanbul: The State of Qatar, under the leadership of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, pursues a holistic approach to countering terrorism and violent extremism that is based on addressing the root causes of this phenomenon through development, justice, and respect for international law, Speaker of the Shura Council H E Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanim has affirmed.
The Speaker highlighted that Qatar has made support for education, funding of development programmes, and provision of job opportunities for young people in crisis-battered zones a core priority in its efforts to counter extremist ideology. Al Ghanim was speaking at the opening session of the Global Parliamentary Conference on Counter-Terrorism, hosted in Istanbul, Turkiye, with the participation of a host of speakers of parliaments, legislative councils, as well as representatives of international organisations.
The conference convenes at a critical time, as the need grows to unify efforts, strengthen international peace and security, and cooperate in confronting the scourge of terrorism that imperils societal stability and undermines development opportunities, His Excellency highlighted.
He noted that Qatar pursues a firmly rooted policy against terrorism and violent extremism, one that goes beyond mere security measures to address the economic, social, and political factors that lead to marginalisation and exclusion, the very environment in which extremist ideology takes root.
Doha is preparing, as part of its efforts to support sustainable development and strengthen global parliamentary work, to host the second World Summit for Social Development in November. The summit will feature a parliamentary forum organized in partnership between the Shura Council and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on investing in people and institutions: the role of parliamentarians in social development, he noted.
Al Ghanim further indicated that the forum will serve as a parliamentary platform to exchange experiences and best practices, and to discuss policies and legislation that bolster social development, thereby enhancing the role of parliaments in advancing communities and building human and institutional capacities.
He averred that the ongoing practices of the Israeli occupation reflect yet another face of terrorism, noting that occupation forces have committed blood-soaked massacres in the Gaza Strip, claiming the lives of tens of thousands of innocent civilians, including children, women, and the elderly, in an egregious breach of international law and human values.
The Israeli aggression has extended to target Qatar, which is mediating and spearheading international efforts to secure a ceasefire and alleviate the suffering of civilians in the Gaza Strip, he said, stressing that attacking the negotiating delegation at a civilian-safe location in Doha, which houses schools and embassies, constitutes state terror and a direct threat to civilian lives, in unconscionable violation of international law and diplomatic norms.
Al Ghanim called on the international community and all parliaments to assume their moral and legal responsibilities, condemn these crimes, hold Israel accountable, and work to suspend the Israeli Knesset’s membership in regional and international parliamentary organizations until it complies with international law and the principles of legitimacy, especially following remarks by the Speaker of the Knesset in which he described the aggression as a message to the Middle East, in presumptuous defiance of the international community and parliamentary values.
Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkiye, H E Numan Kurtulmus, underscored the depth of the brotherly relations and strategic cooperation between Qatar and Turkiye, lauding the Shura Council’s role in combating terrorism and boosting international cooperation in this field.
Terrorism is a complex human manifestation that no country can counter individually, but requires collective action and comprehensive global coordination, Kurtulmus highlighted.
