UNWTO Chief Critical of Travel Bans

The chief of the United Nations World Tourism Organization has urged governments to be more circumspect before issuing travel advisories, as this could aggravate the fight against terrorism. “You can’t punish the victim and reward the aggressor; that’s what we’re doing by putting travel bans,” UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai told reporters in Puerto Princesa, the Philippines, Inquirer.net reported. “These terrorists, these forces of darkness, they want us to hate each other. They want us to mistrust each other. Travel brings us together as a human community so we need to recognize what agenda are we serving and whose agenda are we serving,” Rifai said. “While we recognize that it’s the duty of every country to protect its citizens, you should do that [issuing travel bans] in an intelligent, responsible way."