The viability of implementing several parliamentary proposals to support international efforts to combat terrorism and eliminate its sources of funding is currently being studied, according to Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, Speaker of the UAE Federal National Council (UAE Parliament) and President of the High-level Advisory Group on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism (HLAG) of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

She added that HLAG aims to host a global parliamentary summit in an effort to step up the fight against terrorism and extremism and raise levels of cooperation in this field among all parliaments of the world, with the cooperation of IPU and concerned bodies within the United Nations.

The announcement came on the sidelines of the second meeting of HLAG that commenced in Abu Dhabi today and concludes on May 3. The meeting drew the participation of presidents and members of parliament and IPU Executive Committee members spanning 15 countries – all key stakeholders of HLAG.

The agenda of the group’s second meeting included a review of the results of the joint program undertaken between the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The meeting also discussed HLAG’s achievements in fulfilling its wider objectives, namely strengthening national parliamentary capacities and exchanging best practices among parliaments in the global fight against terrorism, and the establishment of a global parliamentary network for national legislations combating terrorism and extremism.

In her address at the meeting, Dr Qubaisi said: “Terrorism has become an instrument used by some countries and regimes to achieve their foreign policy objectives. There is also the complex issue of financing and sponsoring terrorism directly and indirectly. This makes it difficult to hunt down agents of terror and bring them to book. We all concur that we need to employ concerted and sustained international cooperation to fight what has become the most dangerous threat to life and peace in the 21st century.”

For his part, Martin Chungong, Secretary-General of the IPU, said: “Terrorism knows no boundaries, therefore combating it requires global dialogue. So far, all international action has been reactive rather than preventive. High-level parliamentary intervention is far more effective in curbing this enemy than extreme measures.” (AETOSWire)

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