New Delhi: The foreign ministers of India, Brazil and South Africa have called for action against UN-listed terror groups, including those based in Pakistan, such as Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his counterparts from the two countries—Brazil’s Mauro Vieira and South Africa’s Ronald Lamola—issued a joint statement on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York Thursday.
This was under the tripartite grouping founded in 2003, known as the India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue Forum that aims to bring together the largest democracies in the developing world. The three are also members of BRICS.
“They concurred that terrorism is a global scourge that must be fought and that terrorist safe havens eliminated in every part of the world… The ministers called for concerted actions against all UN listed terrorists and terrorist entities including Al-Qaeda, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), other proxy groups and their facilitators,” read the joint statement.
This comes four days after Home Minister Amit Shah, during an election rally in Jammu and Kashmir, said that there can be no dialogue with Pakistan until terrorism is eliminated.
The IBSA statement also called for an international counter-terrorism framework, as well as prevention of cross-border movement of terrorists, financing of terrorist networks and terrorist actions from their territories.
The three countries are also a troika in the G20. India held the presidency in 2023, Brazil holds it this year and South Africa will take over in 2025.
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‘Upholding independent foreign policies’
In their joint statement, the three foreign ministers noted that there is a “strategic significance” of the IBSA in safeguarding the interests of the so-called ‘Global South’. They further highlighted the importance of reforming global governance and “upholding independent foreign policies”.
The foreign ministers also took note of the Russia-Ukraine and Gaza wars. “The Ministers recalled that all parties to armed conflicts must respect and protect civilians and take constant care to spare civilian objects, in compliance with the humanitarian principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution,” read the joint statement.
“They stressed the need for valuing dialogue and diplomacy as a primary instrument for the peaceful resolution of conflicts and the need for strengthening tools for conflict prevention, such as mediation and negotiation,” it added.
Reforms in the UN Security Council (UNSC) were referenced, as they have been in previous IBSA joint statements by the ministers.
India, Brazil and South Africa are also countries vying to be permanent members of UN’s top decision-making body.
UNSC reform would allow “countries from the Global South…[to] meaningfully participate in global decision-making in multilateral institutions,” the three foreign ministers stated.
When first formed, IBSA was expected to be an alliance that can strengthen its “bargaining power” in international dialogues and negotiations. “The three anchor countries are among the largest in the developing world, giving the grouping a high political leverage,” pointed out Romy Chevallier, senior researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs, in a 2008 research paper.
Yet, the IBSA did not hold a ministerial meeting for a gap of seven years from 2011 to 2017.
Since gaining momentum eight years ago, every annual joint statement by the foreign ministers has called for combating terrorism, though this year’s named terror outfits.