Pakistan hosted this event as part of the UN Office of Counter Terrorism (UNOCT)’s “Memories” campaign that was launched in Malaga, Spain in May 2022, also reflected in the first UN Global Congress of Victims of Terrorism that was held in September 2022 at the UNHQ in New York.
The Army Public School (APS) terrorist attack killed more than 140 innocent civilians, including 132 children, at the hands of TTP terrorists. This was one of the most gruesome terrorist attacks in the history of Pakistan.
The event was held in United Nations Headquarters on 16th December 2022. The Honorable Foreign Minister of Pakistan, H.E. Mr. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, hosted the event as Keynote Speaker. Among notable speakers includes Director and Deputy to the Under-Secretary-General office of the UNOCT Mr. Raffi Gregorian, survivor and President of the oxford Union Ahmad Nawaz, Student survivor Raheem Khan, Teacher survivor Angleeb Bano, Therapist and co-founder of The Grief Directory 2015 Dr. Fatima Ali Haider, and Consultant for Tuesday’s Children Ms. Sallie Lynch.
The participants observed a minute of silence in memory of the martyred victims and a short video, presented and developed by the Pakistan Mission. Brochures were also distributed amongst the member states to apprise them of the horrific incident. Distinguished representatives of Azerbaijan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, China, Oman, Malaysia, Italy, the United States, Morocco, Indonesia, Tajikistan, Argentina, Mexico, Japan, Egypt, The Russian Federation, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Qatar, provided their remarks to honor the martyred victims of the APS attack and to share their solidarity with Pakistan. Closing remarks were made by Ambassador Munir Akram, the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN.
