Ambassador Dr Maleeha Lodhi has urged the UN Security Council to redouble its efforts to address long-standing conflicts and disputes.
Participating in a debate at the Security Council on “The Role of Youth in Countering Violent Extremism and Promoting Peace”, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative Maleeha Lodhi on Sunday said that this would be a major step in reversing the radicalization of youth.
She said the rise of violent extremism has a direct co-relation with conflicts and disputes, foreign intervention and occupation, religious, racial and ethnic discrimination or persecution as well as social and economic exclusion. She added, “Extremists use such injustices to lure youth into supporting their agenda”.
Emphasizing the importance of economic empowerment of youth, Ambassador Lodhi said that when economic opportunity fails to keep pace with demographics, young people become particularly vulnerable to being attracted to extremist narratives. “So if violent extremists are to be defeated the economic empowerment of youth must be a major component of a counter radicalization strategy,” she added.
She told the 15-member council that a distinction should be made between free speech and hate speech. Legislation to prohibit insults to religion would help to address the growing problem of Islamophobia in certain Western states.
Highlighting the multidimensional aspects of the rise in violent extremism, she said that radicalisation of youth cannot be understood, much less curbed, short of its political, social and economic context.
“Economic and political exclusion and social injustice fuels disenchantment that drives young men and women towards extremism and that, in turn, assures terrorist groups of a steady supply of recruits,” she added.
She said that throughout history, youth has been the engine of change – for good or bad. “The energy of youth can generate progress and prosperity; but equally it can exacerbate violence and war,” she said and added that it was up to states and societies to ensure that the energy and idealism of youth is directed towards promoting peace and progress rather than conflict and chaos.
