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Report to the Security Council of the
Counter-Terrorism Committee by Ambassador Greenstock,
the Chairman of the Committee
Speech by
Ambassador Greenstock to the Security Council, 27 June
2002
Mr President,
The Counter-Terrorism
Committee has been in operation for nine months. Over
that period, it has focused on reviewing the reports
submitted by States on their implementation of
resolution 1373. So far, the CTC has received 160
reports from UN members and 4 others. It has completed
its review of 127 of these and is working hard to finish
reviewing the remainder of the reports received. The
Committee is also following up with the 29 States who
have not yet submitted a report. My letter to you, which
was circulated as document S/2002/673, explained the way in which
the CTC planned to do this. Let me reiterate: the CTC
and its experts are ready to discuss the submission of a
report at any time with States who are having
difficulty. I encourage them to make contact with the
CTC.
This achievement has been made by a team
which has become increasingly experienced by the day. I
should like to thank the Vice-Chairmen, Ambassadors
Koonjul, Lavrov and Valdivieso, for their professional
leadership of the Sub-Committees; and the whole
membership of the CTC for their consistent hard work and
cooperation. I should like to thank our team of experts,
including those who have already completed their tours,
for getting to grips with the substance so effectively.
And I should also like to thank the CTC's Secretariat
for the support they have given the CTC and its
Sub-Committees.
Mr President,
The CTC's
Work Programme for the fourth 90-day period issued as
document S/2002/700. The CTC will focus in the
coming period on reviewing for a second time the
implementation of 1373 in the States who have submitted
a further report to the Committee. The States concerned
can expect a slightly different letter from the CTC the
second time around. We intend to set out more clearly
the gaps identified by our experts together with
recommendations about the action needed to improve
implementation of 1373. We will be looking to many
States to submit a third report to the Committee setting
out their response to these recommendations and
including a timetable for action.
We expect our
experts to indicate where appropriate how a State might
benefit from technical or other assistance. If so, the
letter from the CTC will indicate what assistance is a
priority (and what might be required in slower time),
taking account of any request for assistance presented
by the State concerned. The letters may make
recommendations on which providers could be contacted by
the State concerned for help.
The CTC also
intends to be in close contact with potential providers
of assistance. Our team of experts will act as a source
of encouragement for the provision of assistance in the
areas covered by 1373. We have asked them to inform
providers about any trends in the implementation gaps as
this information emerges through the review process,
with a view to encouraging providers to develop new
programmes to meet these needs. And they will approach
potential providers, with the agreement of the State
concerned, to encourage them to react to the particular
needs identified by the CTC.
Let me reiterate
the Committee's agreed approach: the CTC does not intend
to declare any Member State 100% compliant with 1373. We
believe that there may always be further work to do to
meet the objectives of 1373 against a constantly
evolving background. We intend to move ahead more
intensively with some than others. But we will want all
States to remain in close contact with the Committee,
and to inform the CTC of any new developments which are
relevant to the implementation of 1373.
In all
of this, the CTC will proceed with the transparency and
openness which are, I hope, a hallmark of our work. I
will continue to brief the wider UN membership on a
regular basis on the activities of the CTC. I, the
Vice-Chairmen, and the Experts are available to address
the concerns and questions of individual member states
or regional groups.
Mr President,
The
CTC's outreach to international and regional
organisations has intensified since my last briefing to
the Council. I have visited the UN in Vienna, the OSCE,
the EU and NATO to discuss matters covered by 1373. The
Bureau met G8 representatives in New York earlier this
month. The CTC's experts have begun an intensive travel
programme, visiting Abu Dhabi for a conference on
Hawala, Prague for an OSCE seminar on terrorist
financing, Washington for contacts with the IMF and
World Bank, and Paris for a meeting with the Financial
Action Task Force. Today, one expert is in Sofia for a
regional meeting of the countries of South-Eastern
Europe.
The message to these regional players is
four-fold. They must be determined in dealing with
terrorism, and develop permanent mechanisms for doing so
in accordance with their respective mandate. They should
use these fora to get together to talk about
counter-terrorism on a regional level, because no State
is secure from this threat if their neighbour is a
back-marker. Many regional organisations are well placed
to facilitate the sharing of expertise and best practice
within a region, where a common culture and history
often makes the transfer of expertise easiest. And these
organisations should develop their own assistance
programmes.
Let me try to set out what the CTC
has achieved in nine months. Our most important success
to date is to direct very widespread attention to the
fact that 1373 both exists and is a powerful Resolution.
A broad range of international institutions and regional
and sub-regional organisations are now aware that there
is a global structure for countering terrorism, into
which they will be well advised to fit their activities.
We have also contributed in bringing out the connections
between terrorism and other forms of international
organised crime. The CTC is not a law-enforcement
agency, nor is it working on cases. So we do not have
any operational achievements to report. But we have a
strong interest in capacity-building. The fact that the
vast majority of Member States are now engaged with us
in that exercise, and that all States recognise their
responsibility to follow-up 1373, is a massive change
from the situation that existed when the Committee was
formed.
There is a further indicator that
demonstrates the activity of the international community
in this area and that is the ratifications of the 12
international Conventions and Protocols relating to
terrorism. Ratifications have gone up by over 15% since
last July. There are now 14 countries who have ratified
all 12 Conventions, when on September 11 there were only
two, Botswana and my own. The CTC urges all States to
continue to bring forward ratification of these
instruments. It is a requirement of 1373, but it also is
an indication that States are beginning to build up the
network of legislation they need to be able to take
effective action.
Let me end with an update of
where we are with practical support from the
Secretariat. I am most grateful to the Fifth Committee
for allowing the Secretariat flexibility in meeting the
demands placed by the Committee. I hope this will
translate into an immediate improvement in the speed of
the translation of documents and servicing of meetings.
The UN membership as a whole has confirmed time and
again the priority it places on action against terrorism
and the implementation of 1373. I urge the Secretariat
to reflect this priority in the allocation of resources.
Mr President,
My next report to the
Council will mark the year point since the adoption of
1373 and the establishment of the CTC. The
Vice-Chairman, Committee members and I are determined to
ensure that the CTC's story at its first birthday is one
of the UN translating international determination to
deal with a global threat into effective action
encompassing all our governments. The Security Council
should at that point have a well-prepared debate about
our objectives in this field in the Committee's second
year.
Thank you Mr President.
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