20 October 1999
New UN Security Council Action Strengthens Fight Against Terrorism
(Resolution declares all terrorist acts indefensible) (1090) By Judy Aita Washington File United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- By adopting a resolution declaring that there are no excuses for terrorism nor should terrorists be given safe havens, the Security Council spoke with one unequivocal voice October 19 and added to an expanding list of international laws and legal instruments to counter the growing threat of terrorism at the end of the century. "The United States' policy on terrorism is clear and simple: Terrorism is a criminal activity -- regardless of circumstance or reason. There are no gray areas. There are no mitigating factors. There are no questions," U.S. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke told the U.N. Security Council. "We do not tolerate terrorism, and we will continue to pursue its perpetrators until they are brought to justice. This was the case with those accused of the Lockerbie bombing, and it is the case with those responsible for the bombings of our Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. We will continue to pursue, arrest and prosecute those responsible for these heinous crimes," Holbrooke said. But terrorism is a global problem that demands a global response, Holbrooke said. "In the eyes of terrorists, we are all fair game." Russian Ambassador Sergey Lavrov, President of the Council during October, said that "inhuman terrorist acts in which hundreds of innocent people in various countries of the world become victims, hostage taking and attacks against U.N. personnel, and the development of transborder channels for training and financing terrorist acts convince us that it is necessary to step up the uncompromising fight against this evil." Lavrov, who initiated the council session, said that the Security Council should be actively involved in the antiterrorist efforts of the international community. Calling it "an antiterrorist manifesto" Lavrov said that the latest council resolution declares the firm intention of the Security Council to create durable safeguards against the threats to peace and security originating from terrorism. "It's inadmissible to grant shelter to terrorists who should find a burning soil underfoot wherever they go," Lavrov said. Malaysian Ambassador Agam Hasny added, "That these acts may be of a political character do not make them any less reprehensible." British Ambassador Sir Jeremy Greenstock noted that the resolution emphasizes that for the condemnation of terrorism to be effective and credible, it cannot in any way be equivocal or selective. "Sadly, not all members of the international community appear ready to accept this principle and it is right that the council should reiterate it firmly in this resolution," he said. "Unanimous adoption of the resolution sends a firm message that the international community distances itself from those who attempt to argue that terrorist methods may be justified in certain circumstances because of the nature of the cause," Sir Jeremy said. Over the past 36 years the international community has negotiated eleven international anti-terrorism conventions which cover such acts as hijacking of aircraft and shipping, hostage taking and the illegal use of explosives. Taken together the conventions represent a body of international law which lay the foundation of the international community's response to terrorism and provides a framework for cooperation between states, the British envoy noted. Among the international conventions on terrorism are: the 1963 Convention on Offenses and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft; the 1970 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft; the 1971 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation; the 1973 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents, the 1979 Convention against the Taking of Hostages, and the 1997 International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings. A draft convention for the suppression of the financing of terrorism is expected to be adopted by the General Assembly in December. There is also general acceptance of Russia's proposal for an international convention for the suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism and negotiations on that text is getting underway. The latest Security Council resolution continues reinforcing a "extradite or prosecute" regime for acts of terrorism, thereby eliminating refuge for terrorists anywhere in the world. In the early 1990s, Security Council set up sanctions against Libya until it turned over two Libyans accused of bombing Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1989 in which 270 were killed. The sanctions were in effect until the two arrived in The Hague for trial in April 1999. On October 15, the council also imposed sanctions on the Taliban of Afghanistan which will take effect on November 14 unless it turns over Osama bin Laden, accused mastermind of the bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, for trial. In the October 19 resolution, resolution number 1269, the Security Council unequivocally condemned all acts, methods, and practices of terrorism and called on states to strengthen international cooperation in fighting terrorism and bringing terrorists to justice. The Security Council "unequivocally condemns all acts, methods and practices of terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, in all their forms and manifestations, wherever and by whomever committed, in particular those which could threaten international peace and security," the resolution declares. The resolution calls on states to deny terrorists a safe haven or means of financing their operations and to make sure that any asylum-seeker has not participated in terrorist acts before granting refugee status. It asks states to cooperate with each other, particularly through bilateral and multilateral agreements, to bring terrorists to justice and to exchange information and cooperate on administrative and judicial matters in order to prevent terrorist acts. The resolution also for the first time asks the Secretary General to pay special attention in his reports to threats to international peace and security as a result of terrorist activities. The resolution, Holbrooke said, "represents a major step forward in the fight against international terrorism." Nevertheless, Holbrooke pointed out that in spite of the eleven international conventions against terrorism and other initiatives, international terrorism shows no signs of letting up. "All of us have a stake in this fight and all of us have a responsibility to act accordingly," Holbrooke said. "Despite the risks involved, we must summon the political courage to address this threat at home and abroad. And we must not be dissuaded by phony arguments about so-called 'just causes.' Too many innocent lives have been lost." (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.)
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