BackgroundThe Sixth Committee (Legal) met this morning to conclude its consideration of the item on measures against international terrorism. It had before it a report of the Ad Hoc Committee established by General Assembly resolution 51/210 of 17 December 1996 (document A/58/37 and Corr.1) concerning the subject; a draft resolution continuing the report of the Working Group elaborating two conventions (document A/C.6/58/L.10); and the Secretary-General’s report on measures to eliminate international terrorism (document A/58/116 and add.1). (For background, see Press Release GA/L/3233 of 15 October.)
Statements
MWELWA C. MUSAMBACHIME (Zambia) said his country condemned international terrorism and believed it could be effectively combated with an international convention under United Nations auspices. Zambia had actively participated in the drafting of the African Union convention on the prevention and combating of terrorism, which it would soon ratify. It hoped the divergent views on the framing of a comprehensive convention on international terrorism would be narrowed for a consensus text to be adopted. His delegation would cooperate with others towards that end.
ANDREI POPKOV (Belarus) said further radical measures were needed to combat and eradicate terrorism and called for political will to ensure the achievement of compromises in the negotiations on the draft comprehensive convention against international terrorism. His country shared the concerns about nuclear materials falling into the hands of terrorists. It supported the efforts of the Security Council and the General Assembly to prevent the access of terrorists to weapons of mass destruction. It believed that the adoption of the international convention for the suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism could minimize that threat.
He said counter-terrorism activities should not be politically motivated. There should be cooperation between the Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee and regional organizations. Belarus had acceded to 11 of the
12 sectoral United Nations conventions against terrorism, and had taken measures nationally to combat and eliminate terrorism.
SABRI CHAABANI (
Tunisia) said it was a welcome development that multiple organs of the United Nations were working on combating the scourge of terrorism. The Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee should work closely with regional organizations.
The financing of terrorism should be closely controlled, he continued, and he commended the creation of the terrorism-prevention branch in the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna. Technical support must be provided to those who needed it. He said the threat of nuclear terrorism was especially serious. It was, therefore, imperative to finalize both conventions and to consolidate efforts, as his country and region had done.
IBSEN KONE (
Burkina Faso) said the period between 9/11 (2001) and the attack in August this year on the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad had driven home the fact that terrorism required a global, firm and urgent response. No cause justified terrorism. His country had completed all the domestic legislative and administrative work to become party to the 12 anti-terror instruments of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) convention.
He said terrorist organizations had proven they could penetrate through all defences that could be erected; they were able to attack any peaceable person. To combat terrorism, a general convention should be elaborated to take in the full scope of the problem without attaching the phenomenon to any group.
ANIS MOHAMED AHMED QUDAV (
Yemen) said his country was working through all measures to fight the scourge of terrorism. The global response to the threat should aim at three goals: first, efforts must be unified, concerted and coordinated; the draft conventions must be finalized on an urgent basis; and finally, a high-level conference must be held to elaborate a unified global effort against terrorism. As a target of terrorism, his country knew the importance of cooperation in fighting the scourge. At the same time, the comprehensive convention must make the distinction between terrorism and the rights of people to achieve independence.
HAHN MYUNG-JAE (
Republic of Korea) said his country condemned all acts of terrorism as unjustified, wherever they occurred and whoever committed them. He called for political will and a spirit of compromise by States to deal with the threat they posed. All States must become party to international anti-terrorist instruments. His country had this year acceded to eight of the 12 sectoral United Nations conventions and protocols related to terrorism. It had submitted the remaining two to its parliament for ratification. He stressed the need for international cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
GERALDO SARANGA (
Mozambique) said terrorism continued to pose a threat to international peace and security, and was a major impediment to development, freedom and democracy. The fight against it should be global, and should never be understood as a conflict between nations, religions or civilizations.
Mozambique was fully committed to combat the scourge. It believed the United Nations was the most appropriate and effective forum to address the problem and should play the leading role in the fight against it. Last February, Mozambique deposited with the Secretary-General another set of four sectoral instruments against terrorism covering the punishment of crimes against internationally protected persons, the taking of hostages, terrorist bombings and financing of terrorism. He urged cooperation from all States on outstanding issues in the negotiations for a comprehensive convention on international terrorism.
MERIAM MAC INTOSH (
Suriname) said it was likely that deterioration of economic and social conditions, leading to increased poverty, ill health, poor sanitation, injustice and discontent could form a breeding ground for terrorism. Therefore, it was necessary to be careful in linking terrorism to any religion, civilization, or nationality. There must be more tolerance and understanding among peoples. Associating terrorism with any religion would certainly do injustice to the dialogue among civilizations.
She said Suriname had submitted national reports to the Counter-Terrorism Committee. It had signed the Inter-American Convention against Terrorism last year, and currently was in the process of ratification. Fully committed to the fight against terrorism, her Government also supported the convening of a high-level conference to address the need to eliminate terrorism. Countries should take part in such an event at the highest political level.
AMOS WAKO, Attorney General of Kenya, said his country was determined to work with all States in full observance of the principles and standards of international law to eliminate terrorism. It believed the United Nations constituted a unique forum for promoting counter-terrorism activities and international cooperation to combat the scourge. International cooperation must be undertaken in an atmosphere of mutual respect for the principles of equality and non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign States. He called upon the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee to intensify its efforts to promote the implementation by the United Nations of all aspects of the Security Council anti-terrorism resolution (1373) which, he said, provided wide-ranging comprehensive steps and strategies to combat international terrorism.
He said Kenya continued to develop and enhance its capacities and measures to fight terrorism. A national counter-terrorism centre had been established to coordinate efforts. A prosecution unit would soon be established in the office of the Attorney General. Legislation had also been published which provided measures for the detection and prevention of terrorist activities in Kenya.
ABDALLAH BAALI (Algeria) said success in the fight against terrorism could be achieved only if its underlying causes were attacked. Legitimate struggle against colonialism and occupation must be recognized. There should be no unilateral acts in the face of the global threat which demanded a global response.
He said Algeria favoured a high-level conference under United Nations auspices to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Consultations and cooperation at the regional level were essential to supplement international efforts. He noted the Algerian convention on terrorism and its plan of action adopted at an Organization of African Unity Conference in Algiers, to combat terrorism in Africa. The plan established a framework for action. Similar instruments had been adopted by the League of Arab States and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
He announced a number of proposals made by his Government for combating terrorism, and said they included establishment of data banks by the United Nations on terrorist groups; updating of legislation on terrorist groups and their activities; training and exchange programmes on measures to combat terrorism, and the creation of an international fund to help carry out those programmes.
TRAORE SAFIATOU KONATE (Mali) said terrorism must be fought with every effort, but in a way that did not violate human rights. In no way should it be identified with Islam. She said Mali had become party to all 12 conventions on terrorism, and had worked with the United Nations centre on crime prevention to put mechanisms in place to fight related activities such as money laundering.
Describing national and regional actions in which her country had been involved, she said joint patrol of borders with neighbours had been particularly successful. She added that all countries should sign the convention on transnational organized crime, and a high-level conference on terrorism should be held.
LIOW TIONG LAI (Malaysia) said individual efforts of States to fight terrorism were welcome, but the scale of the threat to international peace and security required that such efforts be undertaken on the regional and global level. The United Nations could provide the basis for a truly global response.
He described measures his country had taken at the national and regional levels, and said it was crucial to elaborate a clear understanding of what constituted “terror”. Without a clear and common definition, perpetrators of terrorist acts would continue to justify their actions in the name of State security or national liberation. That definition should come out of a high-level international conference. The fight against terror must not diminish the need to acknowledge the legitimate struggle of people against foreign occupation.
JOEL NHLEKO (Swaziland) said the basic challenge now was to ensure a concerted international response to terrorism, which would make it much harder for terrorists to accomplish their objectives. He was grateful that the Security Council continued to take the lead in that area. Much had been achieved through its resolution 1373 (2001), but much remained to be done.
Mozambique, he said, had satisfied its obligations under resolution 1373 and had deposited instruments of accession to all 12 conventions. The country continued to work closely with the Counter-Terrorism Committee and the Commonwealth to address possible gaps in the measures it had adopted internally to prosecute terrorist activities.
There was an urgent need to conclude negotiations on the conventions on international terrorism and on suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism. Existing differences should not result in a state of paralysis. With the necessary political will, it was possible to take the steps to ensure security.
REHAM AL-GHANEM (Kuwait) called for the holding of a high-level conference to organize a unified response to terrorism. She said it was vital to define terrorism clearly; one of the worst forms was State terrorism, especially when it was perpetrated on neighbours such as had been committed against Kuwait by Iraq. The former leaders of that country should be prosecuted for war crimes. Such action was also being carried out against the Palestinian people.
She reviewed the national and regional actions her country had taken to curb terrorism, including the signing of nine United Nations instruments related to it. She said one of the most important ways to fight the scourge was to close up the flow of money being handed to terrorists through well-intentioned charitable funding. Her country would submit its third report to the Counter-Terrorism Committee within days, which was indicative of its commitment to the fight.
KARIM MEDREK (
Morocco) said that recent events had highlighted, more than ever, the threats posed to international peace and security by terrorism. Morocco itself had, on 16 May, been a victim. The entire nation had spontaneously joined in condemning the heinous act, and the country’s resolve to build a democratic society had not been shaken. Terrorism would not succeed, and Morocco would remain faithful to its international obligations. It had acceded to all international instruments related to terrorism, and had presented reports on measures taken by the government to combat terrorism as required under Security Council resolution 1373.
He said he regretted the lack of political will hindering the completion of work on a comprehensive convention against terrorism based on a text originally presented by India. Any attempt to define terrorism –- one of the problems delaying agreement on the convention -- must necessarily take account of the struggle of the Palestinian people and distinguish it from wanton terrorist acts such as those against the United States, Saudi Arabia and his own country. He said Morocco supported the convening of an international conference to consider terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
ALBERT HOFFMANN (South Africa) said that, in fighting terrorism, it was important to focus on the root causes and to develop strategies to address them. Concerted efforts must be made to end perennial conflicts such as the conflict in the Middle East. South Africa also felt the international campaign against terrorism should include a worldwide joint commitment to eradicate poverty and underdevelopment. The issue of terrorism should not push development off the international agenda, he said, and the global war against terrorism should not be conducted at the expense of human rights, civil liberties and the rule of law.
The main task of the Sixth Committee was to elaborate a comprehensive international legal framework to combat terrorism. This framework had been immeasurably strengthened through the adoption of the existing conventions and the almost universal acceptance that some of them had already attained. It was necessary to resolve the outstanding issues relating to both the draft comprehensive convention on international terrorism and the draft convention for the suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism. It was unfortunate that little progress had been made during the last two sessions of the Ad Hoc Committee and the working group.
BENJAMIN GILMAN (United States) said the world had swung into action to fight the scourge of terrorism since 9/11, when 3,000 people from 90 countries had been killed. The United Nations response had been swift, unanimous and unprecedented. Still, agreement had not been reached on the two conventions. Unfortunate realities impeded work. Not every State had concluded that terrorism was unacceptable in all circumstances. Until they did, those who wanted to see the world unite against terrorism would confront a different reality.
He said progress had been made in fighting terrorism, but more concerted action was needed. For example, some 150 States had still to sign all
12 terrorism instruments. Many still needed to put domestic legislation in place to regulate the banking sector, charities or borders. It must never be forgotten: States that did not do all they could to combat terrorism put all States at risk. At the same time, he went on, supporting the global campaign against terror meant more than condemnation or submitting reports. It called for full implementation of Security Council resolution 1373 on the ground, and commitment to coordinating a broader counter-terrorism agenda on the diplomatic, financial, military, intelligence and law enforcement fronts. There was a need to work together to identify needs, to develop capacity-building programmes to meet them, to strengthen collaborative relationships and to use shared resources and expertise to make real advances.
CHOISUREN BAATAR (Mongolia) said a global strategy, comprehensive approach and solid legal framework, as well as cooperation, were required to deal with the struggle against terrorism. The United Nations was well placed to play a central role in that struggle. He hoped all States would display political will, wisdom and flexibility for a compromise to be achieved in the negotiations on the comprehensive convention against terrorism and the convention on the suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism.
He said serious attention should be paid to the root causes of international terrorism, and added that the United Nations should undertake a study on that. The fight against international terrorism should not become justification for violations of human and civil rights. Without a clear-cut legal definition of terrorism, there was danger that that fight could easily become a terror itself.
Mongolia had consistently condemned all forms of terrorism and had taken a range of measures to deal with the problem. It had also become party to all the global multilateral instruments relating to terrorism.
