G20 leaders vow to take action against terrorism By NAN

G20 Leaders

The G20 leaders have condemned the heinous Paris

attacks and vowed to fight terrorism.

The leaders made the pledge in a joint draft

statement on the fight against terrorism in Antalya

on Monday, the last day of the two-day summit

being held in Turkey.

One of their key pledges will be a crackdown on

networks that finance terrorism, said French

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

“We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the

heinous terrorist attacks in Paris and in Ankara on

October 10.

“They are an unacceptable affront to all humanity,’’

they said.

The leaders said that they remain united in

combating terrorism and vowed to fight it to a

standstill.

The leaders warned that terrorism must not be

associated with any religion, nationality, civilisation

or ethnic group.

They also promised to clamp down on the channels

by which terrorist groups and activities were

financed, by exchanging information on suspicious

transfers and freezing terrorist assets, while

threatening robust, targeted sanctions.

The leaders also highlighted the threat of foreign

terrorist fighters, people who travelled to Syria to

join extremist militia, and may return home

radicalised.

They promised to tackle it through better border

management to detect suspect travel and by

sharing more information.

“Other areas of focus include the use of technology

such as the internet to incite and plan terrorist acts,

and efforts to strengthen global aviation security,’’

they said.

The IS extremist group has claimed responsibility

for the near simultaneous attacks on three venues

in Paris that killed 129 and injured some 350.

The leaders also focused attention on the refugee

crisis, describing it a global concern with major

humanitarian, political, social and economic

consequences.

They noted that the Syrian conflict has led to a

surge of refugees in the region, with Turkey alone

taking in 2.2 million.

“Many have travelled on to Europe, which is

contending with its largest migration flows since

World War II,’’ they added.

They called on all states to share the burden of

resettling refugees, providing humanitarian aid and

offering asylum seekers services such as education

and access to the job market.

The G20 is predominantly an economic forum, set

up in the wake of the global financial crisis.

It comprised Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain,

Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia

and Italy.

Others are Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia,

South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the U.S. and the

EU.

Many of the group’s leaders are to meet again in

Paris in December, for climate talks aimed at

reaching a new deal to restrict a global rise in

temperatures.