Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday, announced that the G20 members reached a consensus and adopted the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration. The consensus has been achieved “on all 83 paragraphs of the declaration” which also addresses issues such as terrorism and money laundering, said India's
G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant.
The G20 members stated that they condemn terrorism in “all its forms and manifestations, including those on the basis of xenophobia, racism and other forms of intolerance, or in the name of religion or belief, recognizing the commitment of all religions to peace”.
The declaration stressed that terrorism “constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security”.
The members of the grouping “strongly condemned” all terrorist acts perpetrated against critical infrastructure such as energy facilities and other vulnerable targets. It said that all acts of terrorism are “criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed”.
According to the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration, counterterrorism measures, protection of human rights, and support for victims of terrorism “are not conflicting goals, but complementary and mutually reinforcing”.
The declaration underlined that a “holistic approach on the basis of international law” can help counter terrorism effectively. “Efforts to increase the effectiveness of international cooperation should be strengthened to deny terrorist groups safe haven, freedom of operations, movement and recruitment, as well as financial, material or political support,” the declaration said.
The G20 members also expressed concern about the illegal trafficking and diversion of small arms and light weapons. They said international cooperation among nations is “critical” to tackle this issue.
The grouping also reaffirmed its support to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and FATF Style Regional Bodies and urged others to do the same, “including for the next round of mutual evaluations”.
The members said it will remain committed to the “timely and global implementation of the revised FATF Standards on the transparency of beneficial ownership of legal persons and legal arrangements to make it more difficult for criminals to hide and launder ill-gotten gains”.
“We reiterate the importance of countries developing and implementing effective regulatory and supervisory frameworks to mitigate risks associated with virtual assets in line with FATF Standards, especially for terrorism financing, money laundering, and proliferation financing risks,” the declaration stated.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
