Director-General's remarks at high-level meeting between UNOG, the Council of Europe and the OSCE

I would like to return to the issue of the protection of human rights in the fight against terrorism, which of course itself seriously impairs the enjoyment of human rights. I would like to add a few remarks and refer to the link between terrorism and other threats, including weapons of mass destruction, financing of terrorism, organized crime and narcotics.

As you are aware, from 5 to 8 February, an international conference was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on counter-terrorism. In his message to the conference, the United Nations Secretary-General stressed that “every time we make the rule of law stronger, we make terrorists weaker”. I think this statement captures the centrality of the rule of law in our collective fight against terrorism. We cannot succeed without a clear, comprehensive and principled strategy and firm legal bases. The United Nations plays a central role in both areas. Other international organizations, including regional ones, can make valuable contributions by continuing and enhancing their support to these global efforts.

Let me address the issue of a counter-terrorism strategy first:

The many regional conflicts that have become exacerbated with the end of the Cold War have the potential to become seats of terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Extreme poverty, unemployment and latent socio-economic, inter-ethnic and inter-religious tensions may be other contributing factors. It is therefore important that we adopt broad counter-terrorism strategies that are sensitive to the connections between these political, economic and social dimensions. As the Secretary-General stated in his address to the Munich Conference on Security Policy on 13 February, he – as he had committed himself to in his note to the General Assembly will outline this strategy in Madrid next month.

Coupled with a strategy, we need to continuously strengthen and develop the international legal framework within which our collective fight takes place:

The 12 international counter-terrorism conventions and the relevant Security Council resolutions – including 1373, 1540 and 1566 – provide a solid, normative foundation. Countries that have not yet done so should adopt, ratify and implement the obligations of these anti-terrorism treaties. National enforcement legislation must be adopted, where it is not yet in place, and strengthened where there is already a foundation. Regional organizations can add particular value to our collective efforts, by ensuring that their membership have adopted and ratified the relevant conventions and by lending support to implementation efforts.

While the fight against terrorism must take place in accordance with international law, this legal framework must continuously be adapted and further developed for maximum effectiveness. In this respect, finalization of work by the United Nations General Assembly on the draft Comprehensive Convention On International Terrorism and the draft Convention on the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism is critical to fill existing gaps in the legal regime.

The United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee – the CTC – established pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1373 and responsible for monitoring its implementation plays a key facilitating and coordinating role in the international community’s counter-terrorism efforts. In January, the CTC informed the Security Council of delays in reporting by 75 Member States. It is imperative that the required reports are submitted to ensure universality and uniformity in the international response to global terrorism. It is hoped that the Committee’s planned first visits to Member States this spring will enhance the monitoring and facilitate the provision of technical and other assistance for implementation of the obligations under resolution 1373. The CTC engages actively with international, regional and sub-regional organizations and the support of all these is critical to the success of the global efforts.

In this connection, I would like to highlight two particular issues that call for enhanced efforts at all levels: (1) the link between terrorism and weapons of mass destruction and (2) the financing of terrorist activities.

Access by terrorists to chemical, biological and nuclear weapons is a source of growing global concern. Raising capacity to detect and prevent smuggling operations is particularly important. Security Council resolutions 1540 and 1566, adopted in 2004, fill a legal vacuum with respect to curbing the access of non-state entities to weapons of mass destruction and their components. The work of the Committee established pursuant to Resolution 1540 – the so-called “1540 Committee” – needs the full support of the international community.

The threat of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of terrorists highlights – as I said a few moments ago – the need for broader strategies that aim to enhance the rule of law, also in areas we may not immediately associate with the fight against terrorism. In this respect, we must keep in mind the importance of arms control and disarmament. As pointed out by the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, strengthening the non-proliferation regime is critical in this regard. At the recently concluded special meeting of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee, which took place in Kazakhstan in January 2005, the importance of universal adherence to and full implementation of treaties against the proliferation of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons as a complement to worldwide anti-terrorist efforts was emphasized. Thirty-six international, regional and sub-regional organizations took part in the meeting, which further underlined the CTC’s continued close cooperation with regional actors.

The forthcoming 2005 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which will take place in May, will provide another opportunity to highlight the connection between the fight against terrorism and non-proliferation, reaffirm our commitment to non-proliferation and thus further strengthen the rule of law in this critical area.

As also pointed out in the report of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, attempts to address the problem of terrorist financing have been inadequate. Many States have insufficient anti-money-laundering laws and limited technical capacity in the enforcement of existing legislation. At the same time, the evasion techniques of terrorists are highly developed, and many terrorist funds have legal origins, which make them harder to regulate.

In this regard, we need to be especially sensitive to the potential linkages between drug trafficking, organized crime and terrorist activity. Collaboration between relevant United Nations entities and regional organizations should be further strengthened in this respect.

When someone fights an enemy, he tries to put himself in his place so as to figure out his actions. But, terrorists have deliberately stepped over all norms of morality, and a normal human being finds it hard to foresee their next move – that is, in principle to imagine himself in this role. This unpredictability of terrorists, the unconventional methods that they employ and the connections among groups – or cells – across the world highlight the need for exchange of information, intelligence and expertise, both on a bilateral and a multilateral basis, to effectively target the funding channels of terrorists.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Terrorism is a global scourge. But the daily efforts take place predominantly at the national level. The scale of the terrorist threat thus places before States a number of internal legal problems. One of the most complex is how to ensure an effective struggle against terror while remaining within the bounds of international and national law. There are no ready-made solutions here.

It is therefore essential that efforts at international, regional and national levels be mutually reinforcing. Regional organizations have a particularly important role to play, as a link between the international and national levels. As non-compliance with international instruments often reflects lack of capacity, including human and financial resources, regional organizations could make an additional valuable contribution to the collective fight by helping strengthen national capacities. Measures could include providing additional technical assistance and facilitating or financing bilateral or multilateral cooperation at the operational levels. Such assistance is particularly helpful, as national enforcement measures must be adapted to suit local realities for them to be effective, and here regional organizations possess a particular strength.

Thank you very much.