MOSCOW, November 1 (RIA Novosti) — Australia will use its presidency of the UN Security Council to promote the country's national interests and priorities as well as strengthening the international cooperation against terrorism, a statement published on Australian Foreign Ministry's website said.
"The Presidency provides an important opportunity to advance Australia's national security interests and priorities… We will focus our Presidency on strengthening international cooperation to combat terrorism, including tackling the threat of foreign fighters and countering violent extremism. The terrorist threat we face today is exceptional because of the spread of ISIL and Al Qaida's toxic ideology. We must maintain momentum on international cooperation to tackle this scourge," the statement said.
According to the statement, Australia will also seek to advance the deployment of more women in the police components of the United Nations.
"Australia has served with distinction on the Security Council. We will use our second Presidency to build on our strong reputation for making practical, innovative and constructive contributions to the Council's work on the maintenance of international peace and security," the statement added.
The presidency of the UN Security Council is held by each of the members for a period of one month. Australia assumed the presidency on November 1.
Terrorism has taken a central place on Australia's political agenda of late. The country has reconsidered its security policies due to possible terror attacks by introducing new anti-terror legislation that allows the country's intelligence to exercise greater surveillance in a variety of forms. The adoption of the legislation, which was significantly criticized by some of the country's politicians, came amid terror threats by the Islamic State (IS) militant group. According to media records, some new national legislative acts against possible terror attacks are yet to be considered by the country's parliament.
