الفهرس

‮The role of international and specialized

organizations in countering terrorism

Mr. Trevor M. Rajah*

Good afternoon, Excellency, Honourable Minister of the Republic of Tunisia; distinguished delegates; ladies and gentlemen. My name is Trevor Rajah, and I am a Senior Legal Officer in the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), based in New York. On behalf of CTED, I wish to express my appreciation to the Government of the Republic of Tunisia; the Organization of the Islamic Conference; the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; and our United Nations colleagues, for organizing this very important conference on “Terrorism: Dimensions threats and Counter-Measures”.

The Counter-Terrorism Committee and its mandate

In an effort to provide a little background, I shall begin by briefly outlining the role of the Security Council and, in particular, the Counter-Terrorism Committee, in combating terrorism.

The Security Council, which regards terrorism as a major threat to international peace and security, which undermines the core values of the United Nations, has adopted several key resolutions relating to terrorism. Resolution 1373 (2001), adopted by the Council on 28 September, 2001, established a broad counter-terrorism mandate for the international community. The resolution also established the Counter-Terrorism Committee to monitor and assist States’ implementation of the resolution, and called upon Member States to:

- Take active steps to prevent and suppress the financing of terrorism.

- Suppress the recruitment and training of members of terrorist groups.

- Eliminate the supply of weapons to terrorists.

- Deny safe haven to those who finance, plan, facilitate or commit terrorist acts.

- Prevent the movement of terrorist groups, through effective border controls and through controls on the issuance of identity papers and travel documents.

- Become a party to, and implement the international conventions and protocols relating to counter-terrorism.

In 2004, the work of the Counter-Terrorism Committee was further enhanced when the Security Council established the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), whose role is to help the Committee to strengthen and coordinate the process of monitoring the implementation of Resolution 1373 (2001). The Committee and CTED are also engaged in facilitating the provision of technical assistance to United Nations Member States. This is achieved through close cooperation with Member States, international organizations, and regional and subregional bodies.

The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, adopted by the General Assembly in September 2006, assigned responsibilities to Member States themselves, as well as to United Nations Bodies, including the Committee and CTED. The role of the Counter-Terrorism Committee and its Executive Directorate is to help Member States implement, not just the requirements of Resolution 1373 (2001), but also those of the Global Strategy. This work includes the facilitation of technical assistance to Member States.

In its section on “Measures to build States’ capacity to prevent and combat terrorism and strengthen the role of the United Nations system”, the Global Strategy encourages

“the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee and its Executive Directorate to continue to improve the coherence and efficiency of technical assistance delivery in the field of counter-terrorism, in particular by strengthening its dialogue with States and relevant international, regional and subregional organizations and working closely, including by sharing information, with all bilateral and multilateral technical assistance providers”.

The progress made by the Committee and CTED in the area of capacity-building includes the development of the Committee’s technical assistance matrix, the identification of best practices, and the convening of regional forums for technical assistance providers and Member States. Those forums have included, for example, the forum for West African States held in New York in July 2007, and the Committee’s fifth special meeting with international, regional and subregional organizations on “Prevention of Terrorist Movement and Effective Border Security”, held in Nairobi, Kenya, in October 2007. CTED is also an active participant in the Secretary-General’s Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF), which seeks to ensure coordinated and coherant efforts among United Nations and other entities in countering terrorism.

Security Council Resolution 1624 (2005)

It is against this background that I now turn to Security Council Resolution 1624 (2005), which goes to the heart of a number of issues on the agenda of this conference.

As is the case with Resolution 1373 (2001), many elements of Resolution 1624 (2005) are closely related to the provisions of the Global Strategy. For example, under the heading “Measures to address the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism”, the Strategy refers to the prohibition of incitement to commit terrorism. This point is also addressed by Resolution 1624 (2005), in its provisions on “prohibiting incitement and promoting cultural dialogue”.

Resolution 1624 (2005) was adopted by the Security Council on 14 September, 2005. In adopting the Resolution, the Security Council condemned, in the strongest terms, the incitement of terrorist acts, and repudiated attempts at justification or glorification of terrorist acts. The Council also expressed deep concern that incitement of terrorist acts motivated by extremism and intolerance posed a serious danger to human rights, threatened the social and economic development of all States, undermined global stability, and should be addressed urgently.

The Security Council called upon States to:

1.(i) Prohibit, by law, incitement to commit a terrorist act or acts;

(ii) Prevent such conduct;

(iii) Deny safe haven to those guilty of such conduct.

2. Cooperate, inter alia, in strengthening the security of their international borders, including combating fraudulent travel documents and, to the extent attainable, enhancing terrorist screening to prevent those guilty of incitement-related offences from entering their territory.

3. Continue international efforts to enhance dialogue and broaden understanding among civilizations, in order to prevent the indiscriminate targeting of different religions and cultures and to take all measures as may be necessary and appropriate and in accordance with their obligations under international law to counter incitement to terrorist acts motivated by extremism and intolerance, and prevent the subversion of educational, cultural, and religious institutions by terrorists and their supporters.

The Council also stressed in the resolution that any steps taken to implement the measures outlined should comply with obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law, refugee law, and humanitarian law.

In adopting Resolution 1624 (2005), the Security Council also called upon States to report to the Counter-Terrorism Committee, as part of its ongoing dialogue with States, on steps taken to implement the Resolution. The Council also directed the Counter-Terrorism Committee to include in its dialogue with States their efforts to implement the Resolution and to work with Member States to help build capacity.

The work of the Counter-Terrorism Committee with Member States on Security Council Resolution 1624 (2005)

As part of its dialogue with States, the Counter-Terrorism Committee agreed on a number of questions for States in connection with implementation of Resolution 1624 (2005). These questions addressed each aspect of the Resolution, including:

- Measures put in place by the State to prohibit by law and to prevent incitement to commit a terrorist act or acts.

- Measures taken by the State to deny safe haven.

- International cooperation with other States in strengthening the security of the State’s international borders.

- International efforts of the Member State to enhance dialogue and broaden understanding among civilizations in an effort to prevent the indiscriminate targeting of different religions and cultures.

- Whether the measures introduced comply with all of the State’s obligations under international law.

Letters containing these questions were sent to all Member States. As of July 2007, 88 States had reported to the Committee on their implementation of Resolution 1624 (2005). Although certain conclusions may be drawn from the Committee’s dialogue with States, the Committee is mindful that, as many States have yet to report, the scope of its report on States’ implementation of the Resolution was necessarily limited. States’ responses reflect various interpretations of the steps that may be taken to prohibit and to prevent incitement to commit terrorist act(s). Some States reported having expressly forbidden incitement in their criminal laws, while others provided information about a range of other measures taken.

On the question of the “denial of safe haven”, the Committee was provided with information on the processing of claims for refugee status and the handling of extradition requests. With respect to the issue of enhancing dialogue, Member States described various steps taken to promote international efforts to enhance dialogue and broaden understanding among civilizations, including United Nations and other international initiatives and measures taken at the national level.

In general, Member States provided the Committee with a broad range of information on steps taken to ensure that any measures taken to implement the Resolution complied with all their obligations under international law, including the international obligations by which they were bound, and the specific ways in which they upheld those obligations.

Lastly, I would note that the Committee and CTED continue to actively engage with Member States on implementations of Resolution 1624 (2005), including by working with States to help build capacity and disseminate best legal practices.

On behalf of CTED, I would like to thank the Government of the Republic of Tunisia; the Organization of the Islamic Conference; the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and United Nations colleagues, for affording us the opportunity to participate in this conference. We look forward to building upon this constructive dialogue.

Thank you.

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* Senior Legal Officer,

CTED (Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate)

منشورات المنظمة الإسلامية للتربية والعلوم والثقافة ـ إيسيسكو ـ 1429هـ/2008م