19 December 2001
U.S. Submits Counter-terrorism Report to UN
(Lists legislation, activities, enforcement efforts) (850)
By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent
United Nations -- Complying with a UN Security Council anti-terrorism
resolution, the United States December 19 submitted a detailed report
on its efforts to fight terrorism by cutting off financing to
terrorist groups and their activities.
The report was mandated by resolution 1373, passed September 28, 2001.
It requires nations, among other things, to criminalize terrorist
activities, freeze the funds and financial assets of terrorists and
their supporters, ban others from making funds available to
terrorists, and deny safe haven to terrorists. The resolution set up a
committee to monitor implementation. The committee, which has been
called the Counter-terrorism Committee, set December 27 as the
deadline for states to submit an initial report on what they have done
to comply with the resolution.
The United States objectives are similar to those of the
counter-terrorism resolution, U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said at
a press conference announcing the report. "They are, first of all, to
prompt other nations to take aggressive actions against terrorists, to
increase the capabilities of all nations in fighting the war against
international terrorism, and to improve global cooperation so that
member states can counter the threat of international terrorism in a
sustained and effective manner for years to come."
The 24-page report details the most important actions by the United
States since the September 11 terrorist attacks, the ambassador said,
"but we intend to do even more in the months and years to come to
insure that we have taken all appropriate measures."
It describes a number steps that the United States has undertaken in
addition to freezing the assets of terrorists and their supporters.
They include tracking down terrorists already in the United States,
enhancing measures to deny entry to other terrorists, sharing
information with other law enforcement agencies, meeting with
multilateral groups and regional organizations, creating an
interagency Financial Investigation Group to examine financial
arrangements used to support terrorist attacks, designing a new
tamper-resistance US visa, and intensifying border discussions with
Canada and Mexico.
"This report represents only an initial, but important and
indispensable step in what is likely to be a painstaking process of
building an international consensus on practical ways of dealing with
international terrorism on a global basis," the ambassador said.
The United States also stands ready "to provide assistance to states
seeking to improve their abilities to combat terrorism," Negroponte
said. "We are preparing a compendium of available United States
technical assistance which we will submit to the Counter-terrorism
Committee shortly for dissemination to all member states."
Some of the U.S. anti-terrorism actions were planned before September
11, but the terrorist attacks prompted the executive and legislative
branches of the government to move quickly to set policy, the
ambassador said.
Negroponte, who is the U.S. permanent representative to the United
Nations, highlighted President Bush's executive order 13224 as a key
U.S. weapon in blocking terrorist financing and example of what other
nations can do to fight terrorism. The order blocks all property and
interests of persons committing, or posing a significant risk of
committing, terrorist attacks threatening the United States or U.S.
nationals.
Ambassador Ted McNamara, who is coordinating the U.S. response to
resolution 1373, pointed out that the resolution is "trying to
increase the level of competence and capability of all nations,
including the United States, and increase the cooperation so that,
when a nation decides that it wishes to take action against terrorists
or terrorism or a terrorist organization, it is capable of doing it."
Many nations, including the United States, don't have the capacity to
respond alone to terrorist threats, McNamara said. "But by getting
together we can raise...the overall level of that capacity," he said.
"That is what 1373 is all about. It is not about list-making; it's not
about declaring war. There are other resolutions to do that.
(Resolution) 1373 is about raising the capability of the international
community to respond to a threat to international peace and security."
Neither the United States nor the United Nations has a "timetable" for
each step in the war against terrorism, the ambassador said.
Nevertheless, there are a number of things that need to be done.
For example, the United States still has implementing legislation
dealing with two terrorism treaties it has signed but not ratified,
McNamara said. "We're also increasing the number and kinds of
international exchanges of information -- intelligence and law
enforcement and other information -- with respect to global terrorist
organizations and terrorists themselves," he said. "That needs to be
increased. There are mechanisms we are trying to put in place to
enable us to more fully fulfill 1373's injunction that states
cooperate more fully."
McNamara also cited the Organization of American States, the Gulf
Cooperation Council, and African regional groups for highlighting
terrorism at upcoming meetings.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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