TERRORISM

 The item regarding international terrorism was first placed on the agenda of the General Assembly by the Secretary-General in 1972. States, however, were unable to agree on the definition of international terrorism and were divided on how to address the problem, especially as regards to whether more emphasis should be put on practical measures to prevent international terrorism or on the study of its underlying causes.

 The Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee on International Terrorism established by the General Assembly in 1972 was not able to resolve these fundamental differences. Instead, it adopted a set of recommendations, focusing in particular on the legal obligations of States and on measures for international cooperation, which have become the basis of subsequent Assembly resolutions on the matter.

 Responding to grave incidents of acts of international terrorism, the General Assembly and some UN agencies were, at the same time, able to achieve the adoption of a number of conventions relating to the prevention and suppression of specific terrorist acts, in particular terrorist acts directed against civil aviation and maritime navigation and against internationally protected persons, as well as hostage-taking and the use of certain substances or devices for terrorist purposes.

 In 1987, a proposal was made in the Sixth Committee to convene an international conference to define terrorism and to differentiate it from the struggle of peoples for national liberation. However, a number of States continued to favour instead a practical sectoral approach to the question.

 In the Secretary-General's report (A/51/336) he suggested that consideration should be given to terrorist bombings, terrorist fund-raising and to the prevention of the use of weapons of mass destruction by terrorists.

 In 1994, the General Assembly adopted the Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism (contained in annex to resolution 49/60). The Declaration is the most comprehensive document on the fight against international terrorism so far adopted by the General Assembly.

In 1997, the Assembly established, by resolution 51/210, an Ad Hoc Committee to draft an international convention for the suppression of terrorist bombings, and subsequently, an international convention for the suppression of nuclear terrorism (currently being worked on) and to address means of further developing a comprehensive legal framework of conventions dealing with international terrorism.

The Assembly adopted the Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings on 15 December 1997 (A/RES/52/164). To date 34 countries have signed; no countries have ratified. 22 ratifications would be needed in order for the Treaty to enter into force.

As of 28 September 1998, the following have signed this Convention: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Burundi, Canada, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Philippines, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Togo, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Uzbekistan and Venezuela.

The International Convention was the eleventh United Nations legal instrument meant to identify, define and punish specific terrorist acts as international crimes. It calls on States to adopt measures to prevent terrorism and strengthen international cooperation in combating such crimes.

The above is a brief idea of what governments are doing to develop legal instruments to combat terrorism. Backing them up, the Secretary-General is requested to collect data on an annual basis on the status and implementation of existing multilateral, regional and bilateral agreements relating to international terrorism; prepare a compendium of national laws and regulations on the subject on the basis of material made available to him; prepare analytical review of existing international legal instruments relating to international terrorism; and review existing possibilities within the United Nations system for assisting States in organizing workshops and training courses on combating international terrorism, and provide this information on a regular basis to States.

In June 1997, the Secretary-General appointed Pino Arlacchi of Italy, a renowned expert on transnational organized crime, to head the UN office in Vienna. His mandate is to strengthen the United Nations capacity to coherently and systematically address threats to the stability and development of society arising from transnational crime in all its manifestations - from drug trafficking and money laundering to international terrorism. Since taking office in January 1997, Secretary- General Kofi Annan has touched on the subject of terrorism more than 50 times in statements, speeches and reports.

September 1998

See also international law on the UN web site

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