India, Brazil, SA seek action against terror organisations

The Foreign Ministers of India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York and issued a statement condemning terrorism and sought action against UN-listed terrorist organisations, including those based in Pakistan.

G4 nations for UN Security Council reforms

• The foreign ministers of the 'Group of Four' (G4) countries — India, Brazil, Germany, and Japan — have called for United Nations Security Council (UNSC) comprehensive reform. They emphasised that such reform is essential for making the UN reflect contemporary geopolitical realities.
• In a joint statement, the Ministry of External Affairs revealed that the meeting took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. It was attended by Mauro Vieira of Brazil, Annalena Baerbock of Germany, S Jaishankar of India, and Yoko Kamikawa of Japan
• The G4 ministers highlighted that reform of the UNSC remains a top priority, especially following discussions at the UN's "Summit of the Future" in New York. They reiterated the need for the expansion of the UNSC to include both permanent and non-permanent categories of membership
• The ministers also reaffirmed their mutual support for each other's bids to become new permanent UNSC members

A statement issued after the meeting said the ministers called for concerted action against all UN-listed terrorists and terrorist entities including Al-Qaida, ISIS, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), other proxy groups and their facilitators.

The JeM and LeT are Pakistan-based terror organisations that have repeatedly carried out terror attacks against India and its interests. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Foreign Minister of Brazil Mauro Vieira and the Minister of International Relations of South Africa Ronald Lamola were at the meeting.

The ministers reiterated their resolve to step up joint efforts for the expeditious adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the UNGA.

The IBSA condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and called upon the international community to establish a genuinely broad international counter-terrorism framework in accordance with the principles of international law and support the United Nations’ central coordinating role in international counter-terrorism cooperation.

IBSA was created more than 20 years ago to promote coordination on global issues between three countries. All these are also part of the BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.