03 May 2006
U.N.'s Annan Outlines Counterterrorism Strategy, Focus on Victims
Secretary-general calls for sustained campaign against "vicious global scourge"
By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent
United Nations -- Responding to the call by world leaders at the 2005 U.N. summit to help nations combat terrorism, Secretary-General Kofi Annan unveiled a global counterterrorism strategy for the General Assembly to consider.
In presenting his 32-page report, Uniting Against Terrorism, May 2, Annan said that the recommendations it contains stem from "a fundamental conviction which we all share: that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes, is unacceptable and can never be justified."
All nations are vulnerable to terrorism, stand to benefit from a strategy to counter it, and have a role to play in shaping such a strategy, he said in a speech to the General Assembly. "By rising to that challenge, you will demonstrate the resolve of the international community and lay the foundations of a truly global response to this vicious global scourge."
At the 60th anniversary summit in September 2005, leaders of the 191 U.N. member states, including U.S. President Bush, condemned terrorism in all its forms in a declaration that was seen as a major step toward universal recognition of the unacceptable consequences of terrorism. The summit welcomed Annan's outline of a counterterrorism strategy and asked him to move the process forward by submitting proposals to the assembly. (See related article.)
The General Assembly will debate the report’s recommendations beginning May 11. General Assembly President Jan Eliasson of Sweden has appointed Ambassador Juan Yanez-Barnuevo of Spain and Ambassador Vanu Menon of Singapore to co-chair negotiations to finalize the U.N. counterterrorism strategy before the 60th assembly session ends in September.
The secretary-general said his strategy is built on the "five D's" he first outlined in a 2005 speech in Madrid at an international conference on the causes of terrorism: dissuading people from resorting to terrorism or supporting it, denying terrorists the means to carry out an attack, deterring states from supporting terrorism, developing state capacity to defeat terrorism, and defending human rights.
Calling for a broad based and sustained campaign by governments, the private sector, and civil society denouncing terrorism and countering the terrorists' message of hate, Annan said that one of the most powerful ways to do that is to focus attention on terrorism's victims.
VICTIMS ARE THE TRUE FACE OF TERRORISM
For the first time, a counterterrorism strategy is placing the victims front and center by emphasizing attacks on civilians and the violation of human rights, according to a senior U.N. official who discussed the report on the condition of anonymity.
"Of course we need to focus on technocratic terms and state capacity building, but if you really want to win the battle, you do need a human face on this problem," the U.N. official said.
According to the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, 14,500 noncombatants were killed in 2005 in 11,100 terror incidents. Fatalities included 1,000 children, 171 clerics or religious leaders and 100 journalists. (See related article.)
Defending human rights, the secretary-general said, "runs like a scarlet thread" through the report linking the strategy's different components. Not only the rights of those suspected of terrorism, but also of the victims of terrorism and those affected by the consequences of terrorism must be part of the strategy.
Emphasis is on the victims "because their fundamental rights are violated," the senior U.N. official said. "The ripple effects of terrorism are quite broad and deep and tend to affect the most vulnerable in society. We need to talk about that."
BIOTERRORISM AND THE DEFINITION OF TERRORISM
Another element of the secretary general's proposals is the need to work together to prevent the use of biological weapons.
Bioterrorism presents a threat that nations cannot address individually. It requires a comprehensive program developed by all stakeholders -- governments, industry, science, public health, security -- to ensure biotechnology's advances are used for the public good and kept from terrorists, the U.N. official said.
The member states have been negotiating a comprehensive convention on terrorism. That text is ready for adoption except for agreement on the definition of terrorism. The senior U.N. official said that, in his address, Annan called for consensus on the convention but said that ongoing debates on that document should not delay agreement on and implementation of a global counterterrorism strategy.
"The convention and the strategy are complementary but not contingent," the official said, explaining that the convention sets legal precedent and norms while the strategy is an operational plan to fight terrorism.
"We can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. We need to make progress on the things that we know we can do," the he said.
The full text of Annan’s May 2 statement to the General Assembly is available on the U.N. Web Site.
For additional information, see Response to Terrorism.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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