New UN office of counter-terrorist inaugurated in Spain
Madrid, June 7 : Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares and Vladimir Voronkov, the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), on Tuesday inaugurated a new UNOCT office in Spain’s capital Madrid, the foreign ministry said.
“The Minister of the Interior, Mr. Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Mr. José Manuel Albares, and the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Vladimir Voronkov, inaugurated the new United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) Office in Madrid today,” the ministry said in a statement.
The new office will focus on providing technical assistance and capacity-building projects to countries from around the world, particularly in the areas of protecting vulnerable targets, including critical infrastructure and public places, preventing violent extremism, promoting and protecting human rights and supporting victims of terrorism.
After the opening ceremony, Albares said the new office ” represents an important milestone after several years of working closely with the United Nations to reinforce the fight against terrorism through multilateralism,” as quoted in the statement.
Grande-Marlaska reiterated “Spain’s firm and unquestionable commitment to the fight against terrorism and the protection and care of its victims.”
Voronkov thanked Madrid for supporting UNOCT, saying “the need to strengthen international counter-terrorism cooperation, an objective to which the UNOCT Madrid Office will actively contribute,” the statement read.