Agenda Item 160: Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism

Mr. Chairman,

Unanimity is rare in politics, and rarer still in international affairs. But last month we witnessed the delegates of nearly all 189 countries come before the United Nations and denounce terrorism. 9/11 was the most recent big terrorist event and the occasion for this display. Its scale and horrific character galvanized the world unanimously to reject terrorism because the world knows that terrorism has become a mortal challenge to all nations, regional organizations, and the United Nations itself. No nation state, and no civilian population, is immune from this threat. Until it can be shown that the costs outweigh the benefits, extremists in every region of the globe increasingly will use terrorism to advance their agendas.

Mr. Chairman,

On September 11, the al-Q’aeda terrorists killed 3,000 people from more than 90 countries. In each decade from 1960 until now, the number of terrorist victims has increased by a factor of 10. There is every reason to think that terrorist attacks will continue to increase in number and destructiveness, unless all of us, including the United Nations, continue to take effective and sustained action. The war on terrorism must be fought cooperatively and internationally.

Mr. Chairman,

The international community and the United Nations have long recognized the threat that terrorism poses to the ideas enshrined in the UN Charter. Thus far, the United Nations is rising to this challenge. Its action in response to September 11th was swift, unanimous, and unprecedented. After 9/11, the General Assembly strongly condemned the "heinous acts" and urgently call[ed] for "international cooperation to prevent and eradicate acts of terrorism." This, the Sixth Committee, subsequently condemned all terrorist acts as criminal and unjustifiable and emphasized the importance of international cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

For its part, the Security Council determined for the first time that international terrorism posed a threat to international peace and security. It then adopted Resolution 1373, which imposed binding measures on all Member States to help prevent terrorism world-wide, including the suppression of the financing of terrorism. And, as we all know, this Resolution established the Counter-terrorism Committee (or the "CTC") to monitor, promote, and assist in implementation of this resolution.

The CTC has received unprecedented cooperation from the Member States during its first year of work. More than 170 States have submitted the status reports on their efforts to combat terrorism, as called for by Resolution 1373 and many of these have already strengthened their capacity to, among other things, track terrorist organizations, intercept them at borders, and block their financial transfers. We applaud that support and cooperation.

With the CTC set to embark on its second year of work, it is important that the General Assembly reaffirm its continued support for the CTC and encourage all Member States to continue to cooperate fully with it. As the Chairman of the CTC has noted : "95 per cent of the world’s territory properly protected against terrorism is not enough if the 5 per cent that’s left is able to foster and protect, supply and finance terrorists."

Mr. Chairman,

The General Assembly, through the work of the Sixth Committee, has an important role to play in the fight against terrorism.

For example, by adopting a consensus resolution under this agenda item, the General Assembly can deliver a strong message about the rejection of terrorism as a political instrument. Such a resolution could, for example, (1) call on all Member States to adopt additional counter-terrorist legislative and administrative measures; (2) urge all Member States to become parties to the 12 terrorism conventions and protocols; (3) stress the importance of enhancing the capacity of all Member States to combat terrorism; (4) highlight the important role regional, sub-regional, and functional organizations can play in this area; and (5) emphasize the importance of cooperation and communication between and among States in the fight against terrorism.

In addition, through the activities of a Working Group during the General Assembly and the Ad Hoc Committee on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism between sessions, the Sixth Committee still maintains the primary role in the United Nations system for the negotiation and drafting of international legal instruments concerning terrorism. Since its creation in 1995, the Ad Hoc Committee has made significant advances in strengthening the international legal regime to combat international terrorism.

Two of the Sixth Committee’s most recent accomplishments -- the International Convention on the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings and the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism -- are now among the international community’s most effective tools in this fight. There are nearly 70 parties to the former and more than 40 parties to the latter, with scores more Member States actively engaged in the ratification process. This effort reflects the broad support of the international community to put speedily into place additional legal means to enhance our collective fight against terrorism. The United States is pleased to report that it became a party to these two conventions on July 26, 2002, and is now a party to all 12 international terrorism conventions and protocols. We urge all Member States, as soon as possible, to join the 24 States that have adhered to all 12 of these instruments.

Mr. Chairman,

The Sixth Committee Working Group is now grappling with two important items: the negotiation of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism and the Nuclear Terrorism Convention. We support continuation of the constructive work already undertaken on these instruments. We hope to see the outstanding issues resolved in a way to enable both Conventions to be completed. One of the reasons for the successes of the Sixth Committee in the area of terrorism is that it has focused in a pragmatic way on practical measures to address particular forms of terrorism. In this regard, we look forward to participating in the two-day consultations on these draft conventions scheduled for October 15-16.

As work on these items continues, we must not lose sight of the Secretary-General’s statement last October that "there is a need for moral clarity [in these discussions]. There can be no acceptance of those who would seek to justify the deliberate taking of innocent civilian life, regardless of cause or grievance. It there is one universal principle that all peoples agree on, surely it is this."

Mr. Chairman,

Enhanced commitment, capacity, and cooperation at the international level are essential for the fight against terrorism to succeed. It took decades for terrorists to expand from local acts of violence to global attacks, from targeting individual states to attacking the very community of states, from killing tens of victims to slaughtering thousands of innocent civilians. Although the United Nations has responded quickly to this challenge, our collective response to terrorism will also require decades of sustained national efforts and effective international cooperation to rid the world of this scourge.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.