Mightier than bombs: “Dialogue”

United Nations
UN News Center photo

UNGA President Al-Nasser, UNSG Ban Ki-moon convene “Understanding, Countering Terrorism Appeal” symposium

 Re-reporting, editing by Carolyn Bennett

This is some of what the top UN leaders had to say about an effective international relations paradigm characterized by unwavering civility and respect, conversation (talking, interaction) and active listening, and understanding in a large and diverse world.

United Nations General Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser

“Intolerance, ideological factors, social marginalization and discrimination of minority communities are some of the factors that lead to radicalization.” Knowing this, we must develop better and deeper understanding, Al-Nasser said. By considering these factors, we can be in a better position to identify the best policies for successfully addressing these challenges.

By promoting dialogue, tolerance and understanding among civilizations, cultures, peoples and religions, we help promote mutual respect of all. “We must work to effectively combat the defamation of all religions and the incitement to religious hatred.

We can take essential steps to ensure that we foster more open and inclusive societies, Al-Nasser said.

We must address also “the related issues of de-radicalization, re-habilitation in prison settings, and efforts to defeat violent extremism.”

Through appropriate education and the necessary political will, we can remove the conditions that are conducive to the spread of terrorism. “Using obligations under national and international laws to prohibit and prevent incitement to commit terrorist acts,” we can succeed.

Meeting cross-cultural understanding challenge—dialogue, conversation

We should make progress in enhancing dialogue in order to combat violent extremism, the UN General Assembly President said.

We should draw lessons from successful educational programs so we can become more conversant with the challenges of countering the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes. In these efforts, “we must always listen to voices of victims.”

The symposium is an opportunity and guide for later generations “to defeat the extremist narrative” and “stop the violence and bloodshed that often result from extremism.”

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Hate and violence have no place in a “globalizing” world.

Let us build together “a culture of dialogue and understanding, and ensure that terrorist dogma never finds fertile ground,” the UN Secretary-General said at the start of the “Symposium on Promoting Dialogue, Understanding and Countering the Appeal of Terrorism.” With the children in mind, he said, let us spare no effort in providing for all people an environment in which the young learn early to “cherish values that bind us as human beings; nourish the diversity that enriches our souls.”

Norway to Nigeria, Ban Ki-moon recalled, acts of terror have shown that intolerance leads to violence and loss of innocent life.

“Social disharmony and a climate of intolerance for people defined as ‘other’ are simply out of step with the rapidly globalizing world.” These attitudes “stand against the values and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.”

National governments must take action to foster engagement between and among communities. Help build “tolerant and resilient societies that reject hate-filled narratives of terrorists.”

The seminar on new approaches in countering the appeal of terrorism opens an avenue for new ideas, he said, for sharing good practices, and further contributing to building a global culture of dialogue and understanding.


Sources and notes

“Remarks at the seminar on dialogue, understanding and countering the appeal of terrorism,” Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, President of the 66th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, New York, June 27, 2012, http://www.un.org/en/ga/president/66/statements/counterterrorism270612.shtml

H.E. Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, President of the 66th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, http://www.un.org/en/ga/president/66/about/index.shtml

http://www.un.org/en/ga/president/66/about/index.shtml

Secretary-General’s remarks at Symposium on Promoting Dialogue, Understanding and Countering the Appeal of Terrorism Latest Statements New York, June 27, 2012, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=42334&Cr=terror&Cr1=

http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=6159

“United Nations top officials today called for new approaches to address global terrorism and foster dialogue among nations,” June 27, 2012, UN Press News Center


Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser

Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser is the 66th Session President of the United Nations General Assembly.

For the past 13 years (1998-2011), Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser has been Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations.

He has taken leading roles such as chairing the General Assembly’s Special Political and Decolonization (Fourth) Committee (2009-2010) and presiding over the General Assembly High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation (2007-2009). He has chaired the Group of 77 and China at the United Nations in New York (2004), guiding action that paved the way for the Second South Summit of the Group, which took place in Doha, Qatar, in 2005 and led to the establishment of the South Fund for Development and Humanitarian Affairs, a financing mechanism aimed at assisting the countries of the South in addressing issues such as poverty, hunger and natural disasters.

Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser represented his country on the United Nations Security Council during the two-year term of Qatar as a non-permanent member (2006-2007). He was Security Council President for the month of December 2006, when the Council took action on a range of complex peace and security issues, including international cooperation to combat terrorism and the protection of journalists in armed conflict. He also presided over three of the subsidiary bodies of the Council.

During his term as Ambassador to the United Nations, Al-Nasser was a vice president of the fifty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly (2002- 2003) and represented his country at numerous international and regional conferences and other forums. At the same time, he served as non-resident Ambassador to a number of countries in the Americas, including Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser was elected President of the Sixty-Sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly on June 22, 2011 and assumed the Presidency on September 13, 2011.

Al-Nasser was born on September 15, 1953, in Doha, the capital city of Qatar, located on the east coast of the Qatar Peninsula in the Persian Gulf.

Ban Ki-moon

Ban Ki-moon is the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations and has had ties to the United Nations dating back to 1975 when he worked for the Foreign Ministry’s United Nations Division. This early work expanded over the years with assignments such as chairing the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization and Chef de Cabinet during the Republic of Korea’s 2001-2002 presidency of the UN General Assembly. He has also been actively involved in issues relating to inter-Korean relations.

At the time of his election as Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon was his country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. His 37 years of service with the Ministry included postings in New Delhi, Washington D.C. and Vienna, and responsibility for a variety of portfolios, including Foreign Policy Adviser to the President, Chief National Security Adviser to the President, Deputy Minister for Policy Planning and Director-General of American Affairs.

The Secretary-General was born in the Republic of Korea (June 13, 1944) [The Republic of Korea extends to August 15, 1948, when it was inaugurated, with Seoul as the capital. The previous military government ended; and in December 1948, the UN General Assembly declared that the Republic of Korea was the only lawful government in Korea.] He received academic credentials in international relations from Seoul National University and public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The Secretary-General speaks English, French and Korean.

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