10 January 2002
UN Committee Begins Work on Long-Term Effort Against Terrorism
(Response by member states called "extremely good start") (1010)
By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent
United Nations -- As the UN Security Council's Counter-terrorism
Committee begins the second phase of its work, its chairman has
announced a rigorous work schedule that he says is necessary because
"there is no time to be lost" in dealing with terrorism worldwide.
The committee was set up by Security Council resolution 1373 adopted
on September 28, 2001. The resolution 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 committee is to monitor implementation, and it set
December 27 as the deadline for states to submit an initial report on
what they have done to comply with the resolution.
In the next 90 days, or second phase of its work, the committee will
review and respond to all the reports, giving recommendations on what
each country should do to ensure that terrorists cannot operate in its
territory.
At a press conference January 10, British Ambassador Jeremy
Greenstock, chairman of the Security Council's Counter-terrorism
Committee, said the committee received reports from 117 of the UN's
189 member states, a 62 percent response, and that he was "satisfied
that it is an extremely good start."
"The history of the UN in getting member states to respond to
requirements of this kind is a mixed one," he noted. "We consider it
pretty well if we get 50 percent to respond with a complex report of
this kind by the due date."
Greenstock said that the committee does require reports from all
member states and will contact those who have not yet submitted
theirs.
In the meantime, the ambassador said, the committee and a group of
experts appointed by the UN secretary general to assist the committee
"have more than enough (work) to start."
"The overall objective of the work we are doing is long-term in its
nature and is aimed at raising the average global standard of
government action against terrorism," Greenstock said. That is in
contrast to the "shorter term, high profile, and extremely important
action that has been taken in Afghanistan" after the terrorist attacks
on the United States on September 11.
"Behind the basically military approach to the perpetrators of the
September 11 attacks must come a stronger performance against
terrorism in all its aspects worldwide and indefinitely into the
future by all members of the United Nations," the ambassador said.
"That is what (resolution) 1373 is all about."
"A global consensus on how to deal with terrorism is absolutely vital,
otherwise the practitioners of terrorism will just dive into those
areas where they find greater protection," he said. To have 95 percent
of the world's territory protected against terrorism "is not enough if
the 5 percent that's left is able to foster, and protect and supply
and finance terrorists."
The committee itself will not deal directly with acts of terrorism but
will be a "coordinating mechanism, a monitoring mechanism (and) also a
stimulant and catalyst for the UN member states to raise their game
against terrorism," Greenstock said.
The Counter-terrorism Committee is made up of representatives of the
15 countries currently sitting on the Security Council: the five
permanent members of China, France, Great Britain, Russia and the
United States plus the 10 nonpermanent members of Colombia, Ireland,
Mauritius, Norway, Singapore, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Guinea, Mexico and
Syria.
The committee has been divided into three subcommittees of five
members each. UN member states' reports have been assigned to one of
the subcommittees alphabetically. No country will be on the
subcommittee reviewing its own report, the ambassador said. Each
subcommittee is expected to review 5 reports a week for the next ten
weeks.
The subcommittee will invite the member state whose report it is
reviewing to be present for the discussion. Afterward the subcommittee
will prepare a letter with recommendations to the country that will be
reviewed by the committee as a whole before being sent to on to
capitals, he said.
"I'm driving them hard both because there is no other way to get
through the immense paper load at this time than to go for it,"
Greenstock said. "Secondly, we haven't got time on this subject."
"There is stuff out there that needs to be dealt with, and it is the
obligation of member states to deal with it on their territory, and
that obligation has got to be realized and made effective everywhere.
There is no time to be lost," the ambassador said.
"It is very important that the Counter-terrorism Committee should
establish its cooperative, helpful, transparent, open relationship
with member states to try to keep going the excellent response we've
had since the 11th of September worldwide on the need to address
terrorism operationally and comprehensively," he said.
The ambassador said that he didn't think any state "will be absolutely
100 percent on the ball in terms of (resolution) 1373."
"Even the United Kingdom has had to change its laws and has work to do
to meet all the requirements of 1373. I would say the United States is
in the same position. Nobody is perfect," he said.
Greenstock said he expects there will be one category of nations that
won't need a great deal of follow-up. In a second category, he said,
there will be "a majority of states who will be very keen to have a
clean nose...but will have a lot of work to get there and will want a
lot of assistance in getting there. Then (there will be) probably a
minority of member states who will need some persuasion to reach the
stages of full compliance with 1373, and we will have to go through a
number of rounds."
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
