The United Nations system and terrorism

If the international response to terrorism is to be effective, it must take many forms. In the United Nations, Member States, meeting in both the Security Council and the General Assembly have called for intensified international action and cooperation. The General Assembly is developing new international legal instruments, in addition to the 12 anti-terrorist treaties already operational. The UN is also a system of organizations, agencies and programmes -- collectively referred to as the UN system -- and these bodies have long played a key role in international efforts to defeat the scourge of terrorism.

The International Civil Aviation Organization, for example, has a brief to develop agreements and recommendations on the security of air travel, including on the threat of hijacks. Both piracy and other acts of violence against shipping that take place on the high seas (where no one country's laws apply) are key concerns of the International Maritime Organization. The World Health Organization, which assembles data on public health issues, is a prime source of information on ways both individuals and public health systems can combat the current spate of anthrax bioterrorism. And the International Atomic Energy Agency develops and promotes safeguards to prevent nuclear material falling into the wrong hands. The actions these organizations and many others have taken in the wake of 11 September are listed below. More information can be found on the web sites of the different organization, and links to those sites can be found at www.unsystem.org.

* International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) -- The IAEA will expand its ability to review security of nuclear facilities in its member States, identify necessary security upgrades, and organize contributions to carry out those upgrades, using a pledge of $1.2 million received on 29 October to strengthen global efforts to secure vulnerable nuclear material. The IAEA currently monitors more than 900 facilities around the world where nuclear material is stored. The donor, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) -- an international non-governmental organization -- said that there was little hope of an effective global system to secure nuclear material from terrorists without an effective well-financed safeguards system. The IAEA has also stepped up action to assist States in securing their nuclear facilities and reinforced its international programmes for nuclear security and safety. Its director general made a series of proposals for increasing security to the Agency's Board of Governors in late November, which -- if implemented -- he stated would lead to a powerful national and international security framework. These proposals -- which will cost between $30 and $50 million -- include a blueprint for international responses to nuclear threats from groups within States, and to attacks on nuclear facilities. Information on IAEA work to prevent nuclear terrorism can be found at www.iaea.org/worldatom/Press/Focus/Nuclear_Terrorism. The IAEA is the central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical cooperation on the peaceful uses of nuclear technology and is responsible for inspecting and verifying nuclear safeguards for civilian nuclear programmes. It was established as an autonomous United Nations agency in 1957.

* International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) -- The ICAO -- the UN body charged with developing international standards for aviation safety - held a ministerial conference in February to examine the effectiveness of existing regulations to prevent terrorism in the air, and to make any changes needed. Senior government representatives from 154 countries attended and endorsed a new strategy to improve airline security which includes a new regime of regular mandatory aviation security audits to evaluate airport security. The system will be implemented by both national governments and the ICAO, with the international agency then responsible for follow-up programmes to help rectify deficiencies identified by these audits. The ICAO was created in 1944 to set international standards for the safety, security, efficiency and regularity of air transport. News from the organization can be found at www.icao.int/cgi/goto.pl?icao/en/new.htm.

* International Labour Organization (ILO) -- In response to the crisis affecting the tourism industry, the ILO organized a meeting of Government, employer and worker representatives to exchange information on ways to ease the social impact of this downturn. The attacks of 11 September had severe consequences for the tourism industry, affecting its workers and particularly those holding temporary contracts. The ILO has already registered a decline of 5 to 20 per cent over this time last ear in the tourism sector. It also organized a think tank meeting on the impact of 11 September for civil aviation, because the strong fall in passenger demand led to airlines announcing 200,000 job reductions in the weeks immediately following the attacks. The meeting was attended by aviation industry experts as well as industry and employee representatives. The International Labour Organization was created in 1919, at the end of the First World War, to work for the promotion of social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights. More information about the organization can be found at www.ilo.int.

* International Maritime Organization (IMO) -- Twelve proposals to improve maritime safety and security have been developed by an IMO working group on maritime security, aimed at decreasing the likelihood of maritime terrorism and improving the ability of seafarers and others to respond to any crises that do arise. The proposals, drafted at a February meeting, include acceleration of the timetable for installing mandatory automatic identification systems on all ships over 500 tonnes working international waters and changed regulations that would require such ships to have ship security plans and ship security officers. Development of guidelines and criteria for port vulnerability assessments have also been proposed, as has urgent action on an up-to-date seafarer identification document, and new arrangements for cooperation with customs authorities and the prospect of secret anti-terrorist alarm systems on ships were raised. These proposals will be fleshed out by the IMO Maritime Safety Committee in March, and then presented to member States for approval. Review of the key international treaties targetting terror on the high seas continues, with the IMO Legal Committee seeking ways they could be strengthened. The key instruments are the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, and its Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf (both in part inspired by the 'Archille Lauro' terrorism incident in 1983). The Convention entered into force on 1 March 1992 and it ensures that action is taken against people who seize ships by force, commit violence against people on ships, or place explosive on ships. It obliges Contracting Governments to either extradite or prosecute offenders. Decisions on the Legal Committee's proposals, and those put forward by the IMO secretary-general in November 2001, are expected at a special conference on maritime safety scheduled for December 2002. More information on security at sea can be found on the IMO's website (www.imo.org). The IMO formally came into being in 1958. It is the UN organization responsible for helping Governments cooperate on regulations and practices affecting shipping engaged in international trade, including on maritime safety, navigation and prevention and control of marine pollution from ships.

* Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (ODCCP) -- The special database on terrorism developed by the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (ODCCP) has become a key tool for international decision-makers, since the 11 September attacks on the United States. This branch, which was established in 1999, researches trends in terror and assists countries to upgrade their capacity to investigate and prevent terrorist acts. Its terrorism prevention experts have recently provided advice to the IAEA and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and to many national governments seeking to incorporate international treaties against terrorism into domestic law. In addition, a special conference has been organized, to be held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, which will focus expert attention on developing means to strengthen international cooperation to combat terrorism. More can be found at the Terrorism Prevention Branch web site (www.undcp.org/terrorism.html). The Office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention was established in 1997 to enhance the United Nations capacity to address the related issues of drugs, crime and international terrorism.

* Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) -- Experts on mobilizing and coordinating international responses to chemical terrorist attacks gathered from 15 to 18 October, to ensure the most up-to-date information and strategies were in place to address possible terrorist use of chemical weapons. This meeting was hosted by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The OPCW also provides answers to questions like 'How can chemical weapons be detected?' and 'How can we protect ourselves from chemical attack?' on a special web page it maintains at the address www.opcw.nl/resp/index.html. The OPCW is a part of the UN system that provides research and information on the use and potential use of chemical weapons, including by terrorists. It also tracks the movement of chemicals that can be used to make such weapons globally. If asked by a State that has signed the Chemical Weapons Convention, it can carry out expert "challenge inspections" to ensure other States party are not breaking their commitment not to develop, stockpile or use such weapons. The OPCW was established to implement provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which entered into force in 1997.

* Universal Postal Union (UPU) -- Following the United States' recent anthrax-by-mail terrorism experience, the UPU arranged for a special presentation on security to representatives of 189 postal services from around the world -- by the United States Postal Service. As the US Post Office is the service with most experience of bio-terror, the UPU drew the attention of all other postal services to the updated US guidelines, and a link to those guidelines is now on the UPU website (www.upu.int/about/en/postal_security_25.html). In 1989, the UPU established a Postal Security Action Group, to raise awareness about security issues and the mail. It has established a world postal security network, in partnership with regional and international authorities. Through this network, it offers advice and training on ways to ensure not only that dangerous materials are not transmitted through the mail, but also on ways to eliminate the use of mail systems for drug trafficking, money laundering, fraud and child pornography. Established in 1874, the UPU is one of the oldest international organizations (much older than the UN system, to which it now belongs). It is the primary forum for cooperation between postal services and sets the rules for international mail exchanges as well as making recommendations on ways to improve postal operations.

* World Health Organization (WHO) -- On 18 October, the World Health Organization identified three lessons from the outbreaks of anthrax: public health systems have to respond promptly to the suspicion of deliberate infections; these systems must continue to be vigilant; and an informed and responsible public is a critical part of the response. On the same day, it released revised guidance for States on how to respond to suspected anthrax infections. Fact sheets on anthrax and other communicable diseases that could be used by bio-terrorists, such as smallpox, are available to the public on WHO's web site (www.who.int/inf-fs/en/index.html). The web site also provides answers to frequently asked questions on these diseases, and guidance about how to respond to the threat of what it terms "deliberate infection", as well as to the use of chemical weapons. Established in 1948, WHO promotes technical cooperation for health and carries out programmes to control and eradicate disease.

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