The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has reiterated its stance on terrorism, saying that the concept of extremism does not just affect a particular region, race or creed, as it is a real lesion affecting all human communities.

Addressing the UN Human Rights' Council session, the Saudi Ambassador to the UN European Headquarters and the Kingdom's Permanent Representative to the UN and other UN agencies, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al-Wassel said, "Terrorism poses an ongoing and ferocious threat to a great number of countries and that that threat, exercised by individuals and groups under different justifications and pretexts that are only present in their deformed mindsets." He re-affirmed the Kingdom's commitment to an anti-extremism strategy 'to fight thought with counter-thought', in all fields and at all levels.

Saudi Press Agency, SPA, quoted Mr. Al-Wassel as saying that Saudi Arabia is an active partner in every international effort exerted to eradicate terrorism and that it has translated this stance into polices, with strong cooperation from the council, explaining that the Kingdom had welcomed the UN Special Envoy for Consolidating and Protecting Human Rights and Basic Liberties in November 2016, in the context of anti-terrorism, who paid a consultative visit during a regional tour.

He concluded by saying that the awarding of the George Tenet Medal to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior, by the US Central Intelligence Agency for distinction in counter terrorism intelligence field, is another recognition of achievements of the Saudi security apparatus and an upshot of the Saudi leadership's continuous endeavours to bolster intelligence as well as security tasks in order to eradicate terrorism in particular, and extremism in general.