Briefings by Chairmen of SecCo subsidiary bodies – Statements – Verbatim record (excerpts)

 Provisional

Security Council
Sixtieth year

5293rd meeting
Wednesday, 26 October 2005, 10.00 a.m. 
New York
 

Agenda

Briefings by Chairmen of subsidiary bodies of the Security Council 

  Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999) concerning Al-Qaida and the Taliban and associated individuals and entities

  Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) concerning counter-terrorism

  Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004)

    The meeting was called to order at 10.15 a.m.

Adoption of the agenda 

  The agenda was adopted.

Briefings by Chairmen of subsidiary bodies of the Security Council 

    Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999) concerning Al-Qaida and the Taliban and associated individuals and entities

    Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) concerning counter-terrorism

    Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004) 

  The President : I should like to inform the Council that I have received letters from the representatives of Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Fiji, India, Israel, Liechtenstein, Samoa, Switzerland and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in which they request to be invited to participate in the consideration of the item on the Council’s agenda. In conformity with the usual practice, I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite those representatives to participate in the discussion, without the right to vote, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.

 There being no objection, it is so decided.

  At the invitation of the President, the representatives of the aforementioned countries took the seats reserved for them at the side of the Council Chamber .

 The President: In accordance with the understanding reached in the Council’s prior consultations, I shall take it that the Security Council agrees to hear briefings under rule 39 of its provisional rules of procedure by Ambassador César Mayoral, Chairman of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999) concerning Al-Qaida and the Taliban and associated individuals and entities; Ambassador Ellen Margrethe Løj, Chairman of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) concerning counter-terrorism; and the representative of Romania in his capacity as Chairman of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004).

 It is so decided.

/…

 The President: Before giving the floor to the representative of Israel, I wish to ask him to accept my deep condolences to the families of those killed in the Hadera explosion.

 Mr. Gillerman (Israel): Mr. President, I wish to thank you very much for your condolences, which I know are heartfelt and sincere, as are, I know, the condolences expressed by my colleague from Liechtenstein.

  Mr. President, allow me to thank you for your leadership of the Council during this rather busy month of October and for having convened this extremely important meeting.

  The statement I had prepared for this meeting is before the Council. However, even as we speak, five Israelis lie dead and 33 others, badly wounded, are being rushed to the hospital after terrorists struck again, this time in the market of the city of Hadera in central Israel, in a suicide bombing by a 20-year-old Palestinian.

  I will therefore — with your permission, Mr. President — forsake my statement and not read it out at this time of great grief and stark reality. Indeed, the bloody scene in Hadera, the body parts and the bloodstained streets speak far louder than any words or statement could. Indeed, anyone who expects Israel to re-embark on the road map must realize that so far, unfortunately, the road in Hadera is the real map — a map of blood, terror and pain.

  Terror for Israel — as is the case, unfortunately, for so many others around this table — is not a technical matter. It is far too real, far too ominous, far too deadly and far too daily an occurrence. In fact, Israel has experienced more than 25,400 terrorist attacks in the past five years alone. I repeat: 25,400 terrorist attacks in five years. That exceptionally high number, however, reflects only attacks that have actually been carried out. The number of attempted attacks is exponentially greater. We cannot overlook the attacks that are attempted but which, for some reason, fail. Those that are carried out overwhelm the headlines by nature of their imagery and the sheer horror they represent, as witnessed today in Hadera. Nevertheless, for every terrorist attack carried out, there are nearly five attempted attacks. Just think of it: if we did not manage to thwart them, we would have not 25,400 but 125,000 terror attacks in five years. There is such a miniscule distance between those that are successful and those that, for a technical reason, fail. Life and death depend on the smallest of fractions: a second, an inch, a glance.

  Responsibility for that heinous crime has been claimed by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, whose headquarters, like those of a dozen other terror organizations, is in Damascus, Syria, and Syria is a country that has been harbouring, financing and initiating terror throughout the region and the world. We have not yet heard any condemnation from the Palestinian Authority. But even if we do, words are not enough. We expect deeds, not words, and resolute action against terror now.

  Talking of words, the words of the President of Iran, voiced so loudly only yesterday, as he called for Israel to be wiped off the map, are being implemented in Hadera today with such grim immediacy. It is words like Iran’s, terror-harbouring and terror-abetting like Syria’s and inaction like that of the Palestinians that the Committees must address.

  Terror is the first world war of the twenty-first century and, today more than ever, we must all mobilize our forces to fight that pandemic. We must do so to save not only lives but also the very foundations of our civilization.

/…

The President : I now give the floor to the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic.

 Mr. Mekdad (Syrian Arab Republic) (spoke in Arabic ): My delegation would like to thank Ambassadors César Mayoral, Ellen Margrethe Løj and Ioan Motoc for their briefings on the work of the Committees. We would welcome the continuing opportunity for the Council to hold open meetings to discuss such an important question.

  Syria condemns international terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Syria itself has been a victim of terrible terrorist acts and was among the first to draw attention to the danger and to call for a national and global strategy to combat terrorism.

  Syria is committed to cooperating with the various Security Council committees fighting terrorism. We proved this when we were members of the Council, where we participated effectively in the work of the counter-terrorism committees.

  Syria also makes sincere efforts to develop its own legislation and to take effective measures to carry out its commitments in that respect. We are proud to submit our reports early. As part of its work, the Syrian parliament has also placed top priority on the implementation of our anti-terrorism commitments. Laws have been enacted and complete instructions on the laws have been issued. For example, about two months ago, a law was enacted to combat money-laundering. In addition, the executive authorities are making all necessary and sincere efforts in that respect.

  During its latest visit to Syria, the 1267 Committee saw for itself the great efforts my country is making in this respect. The United Nations is a unique forum for our collective work, which allows full coordination and cooperation among all countries in fighting terrorism and working against the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).

  In this respect, the Arab region suffers from terrorism in general and State terrorism in particular, namely the terrorism practised by Israel through its continued occupation of Arab land and its continuous killing of Palestinian citizens, the destruction of their property and the building of the separation wall on their land. My country was among the first to sign the Convention against Nuclear Terrorism and worked towards the acceptance of that Convention. We will participate effectively in the forthcoming discussions to conclude a comprehensive treaty on global terrorism by finding solutions that meet the needs for combating that scourge.

  We have submitted all the required reports within the framework of resolutions 1373 (2001), 1540 (2004) and 1267 (1999). The Syrian authorities are following up work with other regional and international organizations in this area.

  In the coming days, we will submit our third report pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004). We believe that the 1540 Committee should continue its work to fight WMDs, especially in the Middle East, and to prevent such weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists.

  All Arab countries have acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel is the only country in the Middle East which has not done so. This is a threat to regional and international peace and security, because Israel has hundreds of nuclear weapons and other WMDs. The protection of Israel by certain parties, and especially the fact that certain parties have covered up Israel’s terrorist acts, should not be accepted because of serious and dangerous consequences.

  Allow me to conclude by saying that the work of these three Committees is very important for the international community and we are hopeful that they will enrich our multilateral international cooperation in the maintenance of international peace and security.

/…

 The meeting rose at 2 p.m.

This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the interpretation of speeches delivered in the other languages. The final text will be printed in the Official Records of the Security Council . Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room C-154A.