President Yoweri Museveni has criticized the United Nations ( UN ) for not doing enough to combat terrorism globally.
In a speech, Museveni accused the UN of inadvertently “conserving” terrorism through its actions and policies. Museveni argued that the UN has been too lenient in its approach to dealing with terrorist groups and nations that support them.
“ Part of the terrorism in Africa is either created or conserved by some of the actors that try to be global policemen. The chaos in Libya and the surrounding countries of the Sahel ( Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, etc) was caused by some of these actors.”
He believes the UN needs to take a stronger, more forceful stance against terrorism by imposing tougher sanctions and taking military action if necessary.
According to Museveni, the UN has often reacted slowly to terrorist threats. He cited examples of UN inaction in places like Libya and Sudan that have allowed terrorist organizations to thrive.
Museveni said such behavior sends the message that terrorism can be tolerated to some degree.
The Ugandan president also claimed some UN members secretly back terrorist groups for their own political interests.
He said this undermines the UN’s credibility and integrity as organizations meant to fight global threats like terrorism.
In Museveni’s view, the UN’s unwillingness to crack down hard on terrorism has allowed it to spread unchecked in some regions. He called on the UN to adopt a “no-nonsense” approach and to punish all forms of terrorist activity, funding and support much more severely. Museveni believes a strong, united global response is needed to defeat terrorist networks.
But he expressed doubt that the UN in its current form has the will or ability to coordinate such an effective anti-terrorism campaign.
While concluding his statements he congratulated the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) for averting planned attacks during the Nyege Nyege festival held in Jinja last weekend following the travel advice the US and UK issued warning nationals not to attend the festival due to security concerns.
