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Regional anti-terror meeting ends in Bali with pledge to do more

PLA Daily 2004-02-06

BALI, Indonesia, Feb. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- The Asia-Pacific ministerial meeting on counter terrorism concluded here Thursday, with a consensus that more needs to be done by countries through enhanced cooperation in preventing and combating terrorism.

During the two-day meeting, delegates from 25 countries agreed to explore new ways of enhancing counter-terrorism collaboration among countries and encouraging more effective cooperation among the law enforcement agencies in the region.

According to the co-chairs' statement issued by Indonesian Foreign Minister Hasan Wirayuda and his Australian counterpart Alexander Downer, the ministers agreed to work towards developing more effective information sharing arrangements within the region, to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the activities and foundations of terrorist networks, their sources of financing, support and any linkages with other forms of transnational crime.

They recommend a series of measures to strengthen the mechanisms for regional cooperation and collaboration between law enforcement and other relevant agencies. Practical steps should be taken to enhance national counter-terrorism coordination between law enforcement agencies and other relevant organizations.

States should take steps to identify ways of enhancing counter-terrorism cooperation and encouraging more effective coordination, including information sharing among respective law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the region, with the aim of dismantling terrorist networks and enabling closer cooperation to prevent terrorist attacks.

States should work together to enhance those law enforcement capabilities required to combat terrorism and should work on collaborative capacity-building efforts to achieve those capabilities, including through overseas development assistance programs.

States should work together to investigate terrorist attacks, including through provision of relevant technical expertise and equipment, to ensure perpetrators can be speedily identified, detained and brought to justice.

States should recognize the importance of law enforcement agencies having appropriate powers and resources to combat terrorism, including a sufficiently broad range of offenses in national law to prosecute and punish those responsible for committing or supporting terrorist acts, while respecting democratic values, human rights and due process of law.

States should encourage the development of appropriate skills among prosecutors and judges to ensure sufficient legal expertise exists to deal with terrorism.

States should strengthen the legal frameworks for cooperation between national jurisdictions, including through concluding mutual legal assistance arrangements.

Extradition arrangements should be adopted to ensure that offenders are prosecuted in the most appropriate jurisdiction and to prevent them escaping justice by moving jurisdiction. In transnational cases, states should cooperate in making their best endeavors to bring known or suspected terrorists to justice.

Concerted efforts should be made to suppress financial support for terrorism, including through meeting existing international and regional commitments on terrorist financing and money-laundering.

States should consider adopting confiscation of the proceeds of crime provisions to prevent funds obtained through illicit activities being used to fund terrorist activities.

States should further encourage the role and active involvement of the business community in the spirit of partnership and within the framework of shared responsibility to suppress and combat transnational crime, in particular, terrorism.

States should support counter-terrorism efforts by coordinating the implementation of effective border controls to combat identity fraud and illicit cross-border trade in arms, drugs and people smuggling.

States should enhance maritime security, especially in combating sea piracy and armed robbery at sea, to prevent and suppress maritime terrorism.

Further steps should be taken to ensure aviation security to prevent aviation terrorism.

National measures should be taken and strengthened, as appropriate, to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction, their means of delivery and materials and technologies related to their manufacture.

Appropriate steps should be taken to meet the obligations of UN Security Council Resolution 1373 and other relevant UN resolutions, and ratify and implement the twelve UN counter-terrorism-related conventions.

Mechanisms to assist regional states including small island developing states to meet their international obligations in the area of counter-terrorism need to be further strengthened.

In order to ensure the implementation of the above recommendations, the ministers agreed on the establishment of two ad hoc working groups of senior legal officials from around the region to follow up the recommended actions.