21 January 2003
U.N. Security Council Calls for Intensified Fight Against Terrorism
(Resolution 1456 calls all terrorist acts "unjustifiable") (1520)
United Nations -- Declaring its resolve to intensify the fight against
terrorism, the Security Council January 20 unanimously adopted a
resolution calling on all nations to redouble their efforts -- at both
the national and international levels -- to stop the scourge.
The council adopted Resolution 1456, a four-page declaration, at the
end of a high-level public session attended by the foreign ministers
of 13 of the council's 15 member nations.
The declaration calls on nations to take a number of steps to prevent
and suppress all active and passive support of terrorism. Saying that
"terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the
most serious threats to peace and security," the council stated that
"any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of
their motivation."
The council called on nations to become a party to all international
conventions and protocols relating to terrorism; help each other to
the maximum extent possible to investigate, prosecute and punish
terrorist acts wherever they occur; and cooperate closely to fully
implement sanctions against al-Qaeda and the Taliban, especially
denying them access to financial resources.
The council said that nations must help each other bring to justice
those who finance, plan, support or commit terrorist acts or provide
safe havens to terrorists.
The council also said that international and regional organizations,
especially technical agencies that control the use of or access to
nuclear, chemical, biological and other deadly materials, must
evaluate ways in which they can enhance their effectiveness in the
fight against terrorism.
Following is the text of the resolution:
(begin text)
United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1456
The Security Council,
Decides to adopt the following declaration on the issue of combating
terrorism.
The Security Council,
Meeting at the level of Ministers for Foreign Affairs on 20 January
2003 reaffirms that:
-- terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of
the most serious threats to peace and security;
-- any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of
their motivation, whenever and by whomsoever committed and are to be
unequivocally condemned, especially when they indiscriminately target
or injure civilians;
-- there is a serious and growing danger of terrorist access to and
use of nuclear, chemical, biological and other potentially deadly
materials, and therefore a need to strengthen controls on these
materials;
-- it has become easier, in an increasingly globalized world, for
terrorists to exploit sophisticated technology, communications and
resources for their criminal objectives;
-- measures to detect and stem the flow of finance and funds for
terrorist purposes must be urgently strengthened;
-- terrorists must also be prevented from making use of other criminal
activities such as transnational organized crime, illicit drugs and
drug trafficking, money-laundering and illicit arms trafficking;
-- since terrorists and their supporters exploit instability and
intolerance to justify their criminal acts the Security Council is
determined to counter this by contributing to peaceful resolution of
disputes and by working to create a climate of mutual tolerance and
respect;
-- terrorism can only be defeated, in accordance with the Charter of
the United Nations and international law, by a sustained comprehensive
approach involving the active participation and collaboration of all
States, international and regional organizations, and by re-doubled
efforts at the national level.
The Security Council therefore calls for the following steps to be
taken:
1. All States must take urgent action to prevent and suppress all
active and passive support to terrorism, and in particular comply
fully with all relevant resolutions of the Security Council, in
particular resolutions 1373 (2001), 1390 (2002) anti 1455 (2003);
2. The Security Council calls upon States to:
(a) become a party, as a matter of urgency, to all relevant
international conventions and protocols relating to terrorism, in
particular the 1999 international convention for the suppression of
the financing of terrorism and to support all international
initiatives taken to that aim, and to make full use of the sources of
assistance and guidance which are now becoming available;
(b) assist each other, to the maximum extent possible, in the
prevention, investigation, prosecution and punishment of acts of
terrorism, wherever they occur;
(c) cooperate closely to implement fully the sanctions against
terrorists and their associates, in particular Al-Qaeda and the
Taliban and their associates, as reflected in resolutions 1267 (1999),
1390 (2002) and 1455 (2003), to take urgent actions to deny them
access to the financial resources they need to carry out their
actions, and to cooperate fully with the Monitoring Group established
pursuant to resolution 1363 (2001);
3. States must bring to justice those who finance, plan, support or
commit terrorist acts or provide safe havens, in accordance with
international law, in particular on the basis of the principle to
extradite or prosecute;
4. The Counter-Terrorism Committee must intensify its efforts to
promote the implementation by Member States of all aspects of
resolution 1373 (2001), in particular through reviewing States'
reports and facilitating international assistance and cooperation and
through continuing to operate in a transparent and effective manner,
and in that regard the Council;
(i) stresses the obligation on States to report to the CTC, according
to the timetable set by the CTC, calls on the 13 States who have not
yet submitted a first report and on the 56 States who are late in
submitting further reports to do so by 31 March, and requests the CTC
to report regularly on progress;
(ii) calls on States to respond promptly and fully to the CTC's
requests for information, comments and questions in full and on time,
and instructs the CTC to inform the Council of progress, including any
difficulties it encounters;
(iii) requests the CTC in monitoring the implementation of resolution
1373 (2001) to bear in mind all international best practices, codes
and standards which are relevant to the implementation of resolution
1373 (2001), and underlines its support for the CTC's approach in
constructing a dialogue with each State on further action required to
fully implement resolution 1373 (2001);
5. States should assist each other to improve their capacity to
prevent and fight terrorism, and notes that such cooperation will help
facilitate the full and timely implementation of resolution 1373
(2001), and invites the CTC to step up its efforts to facilitate the
provision of technical and other assistance by developing targets and
priorities for global action;
6. States must ensure that any measure taken to combat terrorism
comply with all their obligations under international law, and should
adopt such measures in accordance with international law, in
particular international human rights, refugee, and humanitarian law;
7. International organizations should evaluate ways in which they can
enhance the effectiveness of their action against terrorists,
including by establishing dialogue and exchanges of information with
each other and with other relevant international actors, and directs
this appeal in particular to those technical agencies and
organizations whose activities relate to the control of the use of or
access to nuclear, chemical, biological and other deadly materials; in
this context the importance of fully complying with existing legal
obligations in the field of disarmament, arms limitation and
non-proliferation and, where necessary, strengthening international
instruments in this field should be underlined;
8. Regional and sub-regional organizations should work with the CTC
and other international organizations to facilitate sharing of best
practice in the fight against terrorism, and to assist their members
in fulfilling their obligation to combat terrorism;
9. Those participating in the Special Meeting of the Counter Terrorism
Committee with international, regional and sub-regional organizations
on 7 March 2003 should use that opportunity to make urgent progress on
the matters referred to in this declaration which involve the work of
such organizations;
The Security Council also:
10. emphasizes that continuing international efforts to enhance
dialogue and broaden the understanding among civilizations, in an
effort to prevent the indiscriminate targeting of different religions
and cultures, to further strengthen the campaign against terrorists,
and to address unresolved regional conflicts and the full range of
global issues, including development issues, will contribute to
international cooperation and collaboration, which by themselves are
necessary to sustain the broadest possible fight against terrorists;
11. reaffirms its strong determination to intensify its fight against
terrorism in accordance with its responsibilities under the Charter of
the United Nations, and takes note of the contributions made during
its meeting on 20 January 2003 with a view to enhancing the role of
the United Nations in this regard, and invites Member States to make
further contributions to this end;
12. invites the Secretary General to present a report within 28 days
summarizing any proposals made during its ministerial meeting and any
commentary or response to these proposals by any Security Council
member;
13. encourages Member States of the United Nations to cooperate in
resolving all outstanding issues with a view to the adoption, by
consensus, of the draft comprehensive convention on international
terrorism and the draft international convention for the suppression
of acts of nuclear terrorism;
14. decides to review actions taken towards the realization of this
declaration at further meetings of the Security Council,
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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