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Bear Grylls Met Zelenskyy, In War-Torn Country

By LokMarg 2nd December 2022

British adventurer and TV presenter Bear Grylls recently met Ukraine President Volodymyr in the war-torn country.

Taking to Instagram, Grylls penned a note sharing he wanted to know how Zelenskyy was coping for an upcoming programme “but got so much more.”
“This week I had the privilege to travel to Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and spend time with President Zelensky. It has been an experience for me like no other. As the country goes into winter, and with their infrastructure under attack, survival for millions of people is a very real daily struggle. Through this special programme the world will see a side of President Zelensky that has never been shown before. What I wanted to ask was how he was really coping… I got so much more. The programme is coming soon. Thank you @zelenskiy_official for your hospitality in such a difficult time. Stay Strong,” Grylls wrote.

He also shared a few pictures from his meeting with Zelenskyy.

Reacting to the post, a social media user commented, “Wow….can’t wait for the programme.”

“Stay strong Ukraine. Thank you Grylls for paying a visit to Ukraine,’ another social media user wrote.

Russian attacks in Ukraine have damaged about 32,000 civilian targets and more than 700 critical infrastructure facilities since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, according to CNN.

“As one would expect of the terrorists, Russians target civilian targets. To date, about 32,000 such targets have been damaged by Russian missiles and shells. These are primarily private houses or civilian apartment buildings,” Yevhenii Yenin, a Ukrainian diplomat, said in an interview with Ukrainian media recently.

“Only 3 per cent of recorded attacks have been on military facilities..As of now, more than 700 critical infrastructure facilities — airfields, bridges, oil depots, electricity substations, etc — all of these got hit,” Yenin said.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy called on United Nations Security Council to support Ukraine’s ‘peace formula.’

In a virtual address at the UNSC on Wednesday, Zelenskyy stressed that there must not be any room for terror in the world.”I emphasize once again – it’s time to support the Ukrainian Peace Formula! There must be no opportunity left for terror in the world!” Zelenskyy said at the UNSC. (ANI)

Threat Of Terrorism Is Growing…Jaishankar At UN counter-Terror Meet

By LokMarg 29th October 2022

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday highlighted the global threat of terrorism is growing and expanding, particularly in Asia and Africa, despite the UN Security Council’s (UNSC) best efforts to combat the “gravest threat to humanity”.

Addressing the UNSC’s special meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Committee in the national capital, Jaishankar said, “Terrorism remains the gravest threat to humanity. The UN Security Council in the past two decades has evolved an important architecture built, primarily around the counter-terrorism sanctions regime to combat this menace. This has been very effective in putting the countries on notice that had turned terrorism into a state-funded enterprise.”
“Despite this, the threat of terrorism is only growing and expanding, particularly in Asia and Africa, as successive reports of 1267 sanctions committee monitoring reports have highlighted,” he added.

India is hosting the two-day anti-terrorism meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The ongoing meeting in Delhi is being held under India’s chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC).

Jaishnkar told CTC members that their presence in Delhi at the special meeting demonstrates the importance that the UNSC member states and a wide range of stakeholders, place on this critical and emerging facet of terrorism.

“That the council is holding this special meeting of its counter-terrorism meetings in India, is also a product of the fact that counterterrorism has become one of the top priorities during our ongoing tenure in the security council,” he added.

Highlighting the flip sides of emerging technologies, Jaishnakar said technologies like virtual private networks, encrypted message services, and blockchains, have also thrown up new challenges for governments and regulatory bodies.

“The technologies have also thrown up new challenges for governments and regulatory bodies due to their potential vulnerability for their misuse by non-state actors, given the very nature of some of these technologies and the nascent regulatory environment,” the minister said.

“In recent years, terrorist groups, ideological fellow travelers particularly in open and liberal societies, and lone wolf attackers have enhanced their capabilities by gaining access to tech. They use tech, money, and ethos of open societies to attack freedom, tolerance, and progress,” he added.

Furthermore, Jaishankar said internet and social media platforms have turned into potent instruments in the toolkit of terrorists and militant groups for spreading propaganda, radicalization, and conspiracy theories aimed at destabilizing societies.

“Another add-on to the existing worries for governments around the world is the use of unmanned aerial systems by terrorist groups and organized criminal networks,” he added.

Lastly, Jaishankar announced that India will be making a voluntary contribution of half a million dollars to the UN Trust Fund for Counter Terrorism this year to augment the efforts of UNOCT in providing capacity-building support to member states in preventing& countering the threat of terrorism. (ANI)

UNSC Anti-Terror Meet In India To Focus On Threat From Tech Misuse

By LokMarg 26th October 2022

A meeting of the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee will be held in Mumbai and Delhi on October 28 and 29 and the overarching theme is ‘Countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes.

Addressing a joint media briefing here, Ruchira Kamboj, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations who is also Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, said that terrorism remains one of the most serious threats to international peace and security and misuse of emerging technologies was an issue of increasing concern.
She said over the past two decades, member states have made tangible progress in countering terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism yet terrorist threat persists and “despite our best efforts has evolved”

“Terrorism remains one of the most serious threats to international peace and security. With the growing prevalence of technology and rapid rise in digitization, addressing the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes has become an issue of increasing concern,” she said.

“Mindful of addressing this issue whilst also recognizing the potential of technologies to increase the effectiveness of counterterrorism efforts, Committee has come together in India to hold its special meeting countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes.

She said the focus will be on the increasing threat of use for terrorist purposes of three significant technologies – the internet, including social media, new payment technologies, and fundraising methods, and unmanned aerial systems including drones.

Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs said the meeting will begin with a tribute to victims of terrorism.

“UNSC Counter-Terrorism Committee will be hosted in Mumbai and Delhi on October 28 and 29 respectively. The overarching theme would be ‘Countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes. It will begin with a tribute to victims of terrorism,” he said.

David Scharia, Head of Branch, UN The Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate also addressed the press conference.

India is currently the Chair of the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee. (ANI)

Growing Support For UNSC Permanent Seat To India: Jaishankar

By LokMarg 21st September 2022

By Reena Bhardwaj

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday stated that there is greater support for India’s case to be a permanent member of the UN Security Council and that there is a broad global consensus over the need to reform the Council.

“I do believe that each passing year, I sense in the world that there is greater and greater support for India to be there (UNSC).”

The Minister said that a reform, particularly as it does not reflect the realities of the world, asserting that an expanded Council is not only in India’s favor but also in favor of other unrepresented areas.

“Within a few years India will be the third largest economy in the world, it will be the most populous society, and not to have such a country in the council- it’s obvious it’s not good for us, but I also think it’s good for the global council,” Jaishankar said while speaking at the Columbia University, New York.

Earlier, he also said that it is in the mutual interest of India and China to find a way to accommodate each other as the “Rise of Asia” is contingent on the economies of the two countries getting along well.

“The biggest thing we have seen in the world is the rise of China. It has risen in a dramatic manner. It’s in mutual interest to accommodate each other because the rise of Asia is contingent on the three biggest economies getting along with each other,” said Jaishankar at an event at Columbia University.

Over the last three days, Jaishankar has met with envoys and heads of states from around the world on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and has more than 50 official engagements in total. The highlights of Jaishankar’s meetings particularly with developing countries from Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Small Islands are sharply focused on the reform of the UN Security Council.

” We do command the confidence and trust of a very large part of the world. I do not want to compare it with the current permanent 5 (P5) but I would say a lot of countries, perhaps think that we speak for them with a high degree of empathy and accuracy,” Jaishankar added.

Jaishankar will address world leaders at the General Assembly on Saturday, after which he will leave for Washington and a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (ANI)