My delegation, which has the honour to speak on behalf of the States
members of the Rio Group, wishes to thank
the Secretary-General for his report on agenda item 164, entitled "Measures
to eliminate international terrorism"
(A/55/179 and Add.1) and to draw particular attention to the reference
it contains to the initiatives that have been
taken within the framework of the Organization of American States to
develop mechanisms for hemisphere-wide
cooperation to prevent, combat and eliminate terrorism.
Mr. Chairman,
The fight against terrorism is one of the gravest challenges that
our Organization faces. Despite the efforts of the
international community, terrorism continues to endanger innocent lives,
the stability of democratically elected and
constitutional governments and the socio-economic development of our
countries. The perpetration of terrorist
attacks in various parts of the world is a continuing reminder that
no State is immune to this scourge.
The Rio Group emphatically and unequivocally rejects and condemns
terrorism, whomsoever the authors and
whatsoever the manifestations, practices, methods, motivations or place
where the act is carried out. We are
convinced that the strengthening of international cooperation in the
fight against terrorism, at both the bilateral and
multilateral levels, will lead eventually to the elimination of this
scourge. Thus, by convening two Inter-American
Specialized Conferences on Terrorism, our countries have promoted and
advocated concerted action in the
American hemisphere to strengthen the existing cooperation between our
Governments in this field and to
introduce effective measures to adequately address the criminal phenomenon
of terrorism.
The First Inter-American Conference on Terrorism was held in Peru
in 1996 at which the Lima Declaration and
Plan of Action, key instruments to prevent, combat and eliminate terrorism,
were adopted. The Second
Conference, which was held in Argentina in 1998, adopted the Mar del
Plata Commitment, in which the
representatives of the States of the region reiterated their condemnation
of terrorist acts as serious common
crimes that affected peaceful and civilized coexistence, and pledged
to strengthen cooperation in the hemisphere
to combat this scourge on the basis of respect for , human rights and
fundamental freedoms, international law and
the principles of non-intervention and the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of States.
Pursuant to one of the recommendations contained in the Mar del Plata
Commitment, the General Assembly of
the Organization of American States (OAS) established on 7 June 1999
the Inter-American Committee on
Terrorism (CICTE), as an appropriate institutional framework for promoting
the development of Inter-American
cooperation in this field. At its first meeting, which was held in October
1999, the Committee considered its plan
of work which includes, inter alia:
1. The creation of an Inter-American databank on questions related
to terrorism, including information on
legislative and regulatory norms and on treaties in force in this area,
which may be of use to States;
2. Advocating measures to combat the collection of funds destined for
terrorist activities;
3. Designing technical cooperation programmes and activities to train
personnel responsible for leading the fight
against terrorism in our countries;
4. And providing assistance to States in the elaboration of national
anti-terrorist legislation.
Mr. Chairman,
In the United Nations, the Rio Group has actively supported all initiatives
aimed at strengthening the international
juridical framework for combating terrorism. In that connection, we
wish to draw particular attention to the work
of the Special Committee established pursuant to resolution 51/210 of
1996, whose concrete results we consider
highly satisfactory.
The adoption of the "International Convention for the Suppression
of Terrorist Bombings", in 1997, and the
"International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing
of Terrorism" in 1999, represents a concrete and
significant achievement of the United Nations in this field and a manifestation
of the effectiveness of the General
Assembly in taking up, debating and achieving consensus on important
issues of common interest.
We wish to highlight the importance of the entry into force of these
Conventions and at the same time hope that
the consultations being coordinated by the delegation of Australia on
the "Draft Convention for the Suppression of
Acts of Nuclear Terrorism" would lead to the finalization and adoption
of a text that reflects in a balanced way the
concerns of all delegations on this important subject.
Mr. Chairman,
The Rio Group notes with satisfaction that the Working Group of the
Sixth Committee has begun its negotiations
on a comprehensive legal framework of conventions dealing with international
terrorism, based on the draft
submitted by the delegation of India, to which we are grateful for this
valuable initiative.
In the light of the debates that have taken place in the Working Group,
we believe that the Special Committee
should take up on a priority basis at its next meeting two fundamental
questions, namely:
1. The legal description of the crime, and
2. The scope of the draft Convention and its relationship to international
treaties in force that regulate aspects of
international terrorism.
The Rio Group is aware of the broad mandate given to the Special Committee
by the General Assembly in its
resolution 54/110 and supports the negotiation and future adoption of
a Convention on Terrorism that is
comprehensive in its scope and content and which can become an effective
and universally accepted instrument
for increasing and enhancing cooperation and concerted action by States
in the prevention and suppression of
terrorism.
Mr. Chairman,
The Rio Group considers that terrorism is different from other crimes
because of its objectives. We believe that
the legal description, contained in article 2 of the draft Convention
proposed by India, should focus on this
objective t hat is characteristic of terrorism, which is to inflict
terror on a population or to oblige a Government or
an international organization to take or to refrain from taking some
action. On the other hand and in accordance
with the Inter-American norms in this field, we believe that none of
the provisions of this Convention should impair
the right of States to grant asylum where appropriate.
The countries members of the Rio Group contributed with concrete proposals
to the deliberations of the Working
Group and pledge to continue participating actively and constructively
in the negotiations on this draft Convention,
until its adoption by the General Assembly.
Mr. Chairman,
With regard to the proposal to convene an international conference
under the auspices of the United Nations to
formulate a joint and coherent response by the international community
to terrorism, we consider that the
objectives and possible results of such a conference must first be carefully
examined. The holding of the
conference could foster a climate of trust and facilitate consensus
among States on the elaboration of concrete
mechanisms for international cooperation to prevent, combat and eliminate
terrorism, thereby strengthening the
existing international legal framework in this area.
Mr. Chairman,
The Rio Group is alarmed at the persistence of this scourge and the
connections which it may sometimes have
with other serious criminal activities. We are convinced of the benefits
of multilateral action in this field and will
continue to actively support all initiatives by the United Nations to
prevent, combat and eliminate international
terrorism. We cannot and must not give any quarter to terrorism. We
must send a clear and unambiguous
message to those persons and groups that engage in terrorist activities
anywhere in the world about the
determination and firm commitment of the international community of
States to continue its fight against terrorism
in all its forms and manifestations.
We wish to conclude this statement by expressing our thanks to Mr.
Rohan Perera, the Chairman of the Special
Committee and of the Working Group of the Sixth Committee on Terrorism,
for the report that he has prepared
for us and for the high level of professionalism that he has shown in
guiding our deliberations. We also wish to
thank the Secretariat for the valuable cooperation which it provided
to us during our work.
Thank you very much.
