India Calls for Zero Tolerance on Terrorism at UN, Says No Cause Can Justify Violence

India has made a strong appeal at the United Nations for a united, consistent and uncompromising global response to terrorism, stressing that no political argument, grievance or ideology can ever justify acts of terror.

Speaking during the Ninth Review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, said the international community must reject selective approaches and double standards while dealing with terrorism. He underlined that terrorism, in every form and manifestation, must be condemned clearly and without qualification.

India’s position was shaped by its own long experience as a victim of cross-border terrorism. Ambassador Parvathaneni said India has seen the heavy human cost of terror through lives lost, families destroyed and communities scarred. This experience, he said, has reinforced India’s belief that terrorism can never be explained away through political causes or strategic calculations.

He stated that the world must recognise one simple principle: a terrorist remains a terrorist. The global community, he said, must work together to defeat the ideology of violence rather than look for reasons to justify it.

India also called for stronger accountability against all those involved in terrorism. This includes those who carry out attacks, those who plan them, those who finance them and those who provide shelter or support. New Delhi stressed that member states have a responsibility to cooperate fully in bringing terrorists and their sponsors to justice.

A major focus of India’s statement was terror financing. India said the international community must improve the sharing of financial intelligence, strengthen the implementation of Financial Action Task Force standards and ensure that no country or jurisdiction becomes a safe channel for funding terrorist activities. Cutting off financial networks, India argued, is central to weakening terrorist organisations.

India also raised concern over the growing misuse of new and emerging technologies by terrorist groups. From digital platforms and encrypted communication to advanced tools that can be used for recruitment, propaganda, financing and attacks, the technological dimension of terrorism requires urgent global attention. India expressed disappointment that the latest review of the UN counter-terrorism strategy did not make stronger progress on preventing terrorists from accessing such technologies.

The statement also renewed India’s long-standing call for the adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. India first proposed this legal framework years before the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy was adopted in 2006. According to India, the absence of a universally accepted legal definition and framework continues to weaken international cooperation, prosecution, extradition and sanctions.

Ambassador Parvathaneni said the delay of nearly three decades has affected global efforts to combat terrorism. He called on member states to show political will and finalise the convention so that terrorists and their sponsors are denied safe havens, weapons, funds and legal loopholes.

India also highlighted its contributions to global counter-terrorism efforts, including major international discussions such as the Delhi Declaration on countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes and the No Money for Terror conferences. New Delhi expressed concern that important initiatives such as the Delhi Declaration had not received adequate recognition in the UN review process.

On the wider issue of prejudice and hate-driven violence, India said the UN must adopt a universal approach. It condemned acts motivated by hatred against any faith, ethnicity, nationality, geography or race. India said that while Islamophobia, Christianphobia and antisemitism must be condemned, the world body must also acknowledge hatred and prejudice directed against other faiths and communities.

India’s message at the UN was clear: terrorism can be defeated only through unity, political will, transparency and objective action. The fight against terrorism must not be weakened by selective narratives, artificial distinctions or attempts to classify terrorists as acceptable or unacceptable based on political convenience.

New Delhi urged the international community to act with consistency and seriousness. It said the world must reject the idea of “good” and “bad” terrorists, strengthen sanctions mechanisms, close financing routes and build genuine cooperation to protect the most basic human right — the right to life.

India’s intervention reaffirmed its long-held position that terrorism is a threat to all humanity. Its call at the United Nations was not only for condemnation, but for concrete action: stronger laws, better cooperation, financial disruption, technological safeguards and equal accountability for terrorists and their sponsors.