Statement by Ms. Varduhi Melikyan, Counsellor of the Mission of Armenia to the UN, at the UNGA80 Sixth Committee under agenda item “Measures to eliminate international terrorism”

06 October, 2025

Mr. Chair,

At the outset I would like to congratulate you and other members of the Bureau on assuming the leadership of the 6th Committee.

International terrorism remains one of the greatest threats to peace, stability and human dignity of our times. It transcends borders, targets the innocent and undermines the foundations of security, rule of law, democracy, the enjoyment of human rights and trust upon which our world must be built. The international community should stand united and strengthen collective efforts to prevent and counter terrorism in all its manifestations in full compliance with international law.

Multiple challenges continue to persist, including those emerging from new technologies, social media and online platforms. The rise of hate speech, xenophobia, and polarization creates fertile ground for the recruitment of terrorists. Effectively addressing these evolving challenges calls for comprehensive analysis on the root causes, proactive strategies, and strengthened international cooperation to mitigate the risks they pose to global security.

Armenia continues to advocate enhanced international cooperation to fight terrorism and is actively cooperating with its international and regional partners through relevant cooperation platforms in implementation of the counter-terrorism conventions and their additional protocols:

• In January 2025, Armenia joined the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, underscoring its strong commitment to multilateral international efforts aimed at combating terrorism.

• As an active member of the Council of Europe’s Committee on CounterTerrorism (CDCT), Armenia has consistently contributed to the adoption of recommendations and guidelines for member States in combatting terrorism. As part of the CoE Counter-Terrorism Strategy 2023-2027 CDCT has recently successfully concluded the intergovernmental negotiations on the new Pan-European legal definition of “terrorism” that is meant to replace the existing definition of Warsaw Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism.

• Armenia has a longstanding active cooperation in the framework of MONEYVAL (The Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism) of the Council of Europe based on its firm commitment to combat money laundering, the funding of terrorism and of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in compliance with international standards. On these days the experts from MONEYVAL are assessing the country's progress and effectiveness in addressing money laundering and terrorism financing concerns.

• Recently, Armenia has officially joined the UN Countering Terrorist Travel Programme and in that connection conducted national consultations with UNOCT along with other UN specialized agencies, the OSCE, the INTERPOL, as well as local and international air carriers to come up with a roadmap which will ensure the consistent and smooth implementation of the API/PNR systems. We've also launched an expert-level working group meeting across four key areas (Legal, Operational, Transport Industry, and Technical) with 3 our international partners to advance the development of a fully operational Passenger Information Unit (PIU).

Mr. Chair,

We took note of the report of the Secretary-General on measures to eliminate international terrorism. Despite recent developments and positive dynamic in the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the national submission of Azerbaijan for this report, before the recent positive momentum in our region, regrettably includes false and misleading accusations against Armenia. Such statements distort reality and run counter to the spirit of dialogue and the efforts undertaken to normalize relations. We hope that Azerbaijan will abandon this outdated approach, as actions like this do not contribute to the establishment of general environment of trust and confidence in pursuit of peace and good neighborly relations.

Mr. Chair,

In conclusion, Armenia reaffirms its steadfast commitment to implementing effective measures to combat international terrorism. At the same time, we firmly reject any attempt to misuse this agenda for political purposes or to conflate it with humanitarian issues, which must be addressed in accordance with international humanitarian and human rights law. Armenia remains dedicated to peace agenda and is confident that lasting peace and stability can be achieved only through dialogue, mutual respect and building trust.

I thank you.

MFA RA
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