Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said "When it comes to combating terrorism, we must stand as one against this global threat. And we are,"

This came at the beginning of the United Nations Third High-Level Conference on Counter-Terrorism.

Guterres said: "Through the Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact, the UN is providing practical coordination support to member states, and helping countries implement the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. "

"In fact, human rights can be the greatest weapon we have in fighting terrorism. Evidence shows that counter-terrorism efforts that are solely security-focused rather than human rights-based can inadvertently increase marginalization and exclusion, thereby perpetuating the same conditions that can lead to terrorism in the first place. We need to ground firmly all counter-terrorism policies and initiatives within human rights. And this must include repatriation efforts," he added.

"Terrorism affects every region of the world. It preys on local and national vulnerabilities and the instability of political, economic and security systems," he said.