G20 leaders vow to take action against terrorism

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.