Threats to int’l peace and security – Verbatim records (excerpts)

Provisional

Security Council

Fifty-seventh year

4453rd meeting

Friday, 18 January 2002, 3.20 p.m.

New York

Agenda

Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts. 

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The meeting was resumed at 3.20 p.m.

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The President: I should like to inform the Council that I have also received a letter dated 18 January 2002 from the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, which will be issued as document S/2002/81, and which reads as follows:

“I have the honour to request that, in accordance with its previous practice, the Security Council invite the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations to participate in the meeting of the Security Council to be held today, Friday, 18 January 2002, regarding threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.”

I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite the Permanent Observer of Palestine to participate in the current debate, in accordance with the rules of procedure and the previous practice in this regard.

There being no objection, it was so decided.

At the invitation of the President, Mr. Al-Kidwa (Palestine) took the seat reserved for him at the side of the Council Chamber.

[…]

The next speaker on my list is the representative of Qatar. I invite him to take a seat at the Council table and to make his statement.

Mr. Al-Nasser (Qatar) (spoke in Arabic): …

[…]

We reaffirm the commitment of the Governments of the Islamic States to join in the efforts of all Governments, bilaterally and internationally, to struggle to eliminate terrorism. Such determination has been expressed at the highest levels, particularly at the emergency meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the member States of the OIC in Doha on 10 October 2001. In that meeting it was reaffirmed that all practical measures would be taken in cooperation with the international community in accordance with the commitments springing from all resolutions and international agreements to which the Islamic States are party.

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The above-mentioned emergency meeting of the Islamic Conference stressed the right of the Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian Arab peoples to combat occupation as a legitimate right enshrined in international laws and norms. The Conference condemned the terrorism by some States and refuted the link between terrorism and the right of peoples to resistance.

We in the OIC stress our commitment to work with the international community to combat terrorism according to international laws and conventions, as well as to human rights. We stress once again our strong rejection of all forms of international terrorism that threaten innocent lives and the dignity and security of people in all places. We condemn all terrorism that threatens the economic and social development of all States.

International terrorism is a very complicated, multifaceted issue, and it must be defeated through a comprehensive, integrated approach. Member States of the OIC have reaffirmed this effort through their participation in the current international campaign to combat terrorism.

The President: The next speaker on my list is the representative of Israel. I invite him to take a seat at the Council table and to make his statement.

Mr. Lancry (Israel): Allow me, at the outset, to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your assumption of the presidency for this month, and to congratulate your predecessor, the representative of Mali, for his most able leadership. I would also like to congratulate the Permanent Representative of Great Britain, Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, Chairman of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, for his outstanding leadership.

The issue before the Council today is one of particular relevance to the people and the Government of the State of Israel. The State of Israel has been threatened by terrorism since its independence in 1948, and acts of terrorism continue to threaten the lives and welfare of Israeli citizens.

Just yesterday, a Palestinian terrorist perpetrated another atrocity in the Israeli city of Hadera. At approximately 11 p.m., a terrorist from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade — a group linked to Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement — entered a wedding hall packed with hundreds of people and opened fire with an automatic rifle and hand grenades, killing 6 Israelis and wounding more than 30 others. After firing several rounds, the gunman’s weapon misfired. Had this fortuitous mishap not occurred, the terrorist rampage would surely have claimed the lives of dozens of others.

Because of such attacks, Israel has developed an extensive network of government authorities, a body of domestic legislation, a range of practical policies and an intense commitment to combat terrorism in all its aspects. The formation in 1996 of the Bureau for Counter-Terrorism within the Office of the Prime Minister, the establishment in December 2001 of the Department for Counter-Terrorism in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel’s continued efforts to engage in dialogue and cooperation with other countries, and the ongoing endeavour to improve an extensive body of legislation — all this emphasizes Israel’s enduring commitment to fight terrorism.

Our report submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) outlines the steps that Israel has taken to combat terror and to comply with the demands of the Council. The report describes in detail the extensive legal instruments Israel has created and the policies it has enacted to help protect its citizens from harm and to lend support to the international campaign against terrorism.

Cooperation with other countries and with the international community has been a mainstay of Israel’s anti-terrorism strategy for decades. Israel has long recognized that the increasingly global nature of the terrorist threat increases the need for cooperation among States, and this has continually been reinforced by Israeli legislation and in agreements reached with other States.

Consequently, Israel shares its knowledge, expertise and techniques in fighting terrorism with other States and constantly seeks to learn from the counter-terrorist experiences of others. This continued sharing of information and experience is vital and has always been central to Israel’s counter-terrorist strategy. Israel also attaches great importance to participation in international instruments designed to combat terrorism. Israel has already signed and ratified a number of international conventions, and many of the remaining conventions are in the process of ratification.

As numerous world leaders have stated in the aftermath of 11 September, terrorism cannot be fought by targeting only the terrorists themselves. Terrorists depend on the support, assistance and safe harbour granted by States, and it is the States that provide such assistance to terrorist organizations that must be targeted no less than the terrorists themselves.

The Security Council must therefore ensure that all States comply with the Council’s resolutions, and that there are consequences to face for failing to do so. In this regard, Israel warmly welcomes the establishment of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, which has a crucial role to play in helping States develop counter-terrorist strategies and ensuring compliance with resolution 1373 (2001).

Foremost among its objectives must be to carefully scrutinize the reports submitted under paragraph 6 of the resolution and to closely monitor the actions taken by States to bring their legislation and policies into accord with the will of the international community. The Committee should not be prevented from drawing attention to States that fail to fulfil their international responsibilities. No State can be allowed to believe that it can continue to support terrorism with impunity.

In addition to the numerous important measures stipulated in resolution 1373 (2001) and adopted by many responsible Governments, it is important that in our campaign against terrorism we make no distinctions between terrorist organizations on the basis of the causes they espouse and the objectives they purport to pursue. We must defend the principle that no cause justifies the deliberate and indiscriminate targeting of civilians. We must define terrorism on the basis of what one does, not what one does it for.

As the Secretary-General declared in the aftermath of the attacks of 11 September and has emphasized on other occasions,

“There can be no acceptance of those who would seek to justify the deliberate taking of innocent civilian life, regardless of cause or grievance. If there is one universal principle that all peoples can agree on, surely it is that.” (A/56/PV.12, para. 26)

Failing to uphold this principle will have disastrous consequences for the international campaign against terrorism, as it will bestow a measure of legitimacy on those who seek to achieve their goals through violence. This will serve to empower extremists at the expense of leaders willing to resolve disputes through peaceful dialogue. If the international community tolerates any act of terrorism as a legitimate tactic, it renders irrelevant the very methods it has championed for the peaceful resolution of disputes.

Israel has been a willing partner in the counter-terrorism effort and is committed to sharing and working with other States in order to assist the international effort against the scourge of terror. Israel hopes that its experience will be of value to other States and, at the same time, that it will be able to learn from the knowledge and expertise of others in our shared challenge of combating international terrorism.

We firmly believe that through the implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions, by increasing and enhancing international cooperation and by using the tools at our disposal to target State sponsors of terror, we can protect ourselves and succeeding generations from the horrors of terrorism.

As I come to the end of my statement, I must add that I truly regret the baseless allegations made here this morning by the representative of Syria. His statement was a transparent attempt to divert attention from Syria’s own record as a country that supports, encourages, finances and harbours a vast gamut of terrorist organizations. When Syria was elected to the Security Council, the international community had hoped that it would become a more responsible member of the family of nations. After listening to the Syrian statement this morning, I have to conclude that, unfortunately, Syria has so far failed to rise to this challenge.

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The President: I thank the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the kind words he addressed to me.

The next speaker is the Permanent Observer of Palestine. I invite him to take a seat at the Council table and to make his statement.

Mr. Al-Kidwa (Palestine) (spoke in Arabic): Permit me to express my satisfaction, Sir, at seeing you, the representative of the friendly country Mauritius, presiding over the work of the Security Council this month. It gives me pleasure also to convey our thanks to the friendly countries whose tenure as members of the Security Council has expired, including Mali, whose Permanent Representative served as President of the Security Council last month. It further gives me pleasure to congratulate the new members of the Council — Bulgaria, Cameroon, Guinea, Mexico and the Syrian Arab Republic — and to wish them success in their work.

We endorse the statement made by the Permanent Representative of Morocco in his capacity as Chairman of the Arab Group for this month. It was intended that members of the Group would be content with that statement, because of the Council’s wish to hear regional statements in today’s debate. But a statement made a short time ago, as expected, prompted us to request to participate in this important discussion; here, we thank you, Mr. President, and the other members of the Council for permitting us to take this valuable opportunity to participate.

I wish at the outset to express our respect for the efforts of the Counter-Terrorism Committee established pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) and for those of its Chairman, Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock.

In our statement to the Council on 14 December 2001, we said the following:

“On the question of terrorism, the Palestinian side has taken a clear stand against international terrorism and against terrorist groups with a global dimension. The Palestinian side joined the international consensus on this issue following the September disaster in the United States. In line with that clear position — as well as prior to those events — we have also rejected suicide bombings carried out in Israel targeting Israeli civilians. We condemn them as terrorist acts, and we view them as incompatible with Palestinian commitments and as acts that harm the national interests of the Palestinian people.” (S/PV.4438)

That position remains clear and fair, in spite of all the acts carried out by official Israel — not only by Israeli groups or organizations that committed acts of war against our people — and regardless of the facts — which were recalled by the representative of Israel — prior to and after the establishment of Israel. These were acts that took place under the British mandate, such as the assassination of Count Bernadotte, the Mediator of the United Nations and the massacres committed against our people over the years.

We also said, with regard to any acts of violence in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, that:

“We do not support or condone such acts, because we are trying to reach a peaceful negotiated solution. Moreover, we affirm that these acts are incompatible with our commitments, including our commitment to the ceasefire. But we absolutely do not accept any attempt to label those acts as terrorist acts. Over the years, resistance to foreign occupation has been, and it remains, a legitimate right under international law and international humanitarian law. In the Palestinian case, there are no protected Israeli civilians in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem. Israeli settlers are there illegally, and were sent in grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and of the first Protocol Additional to the Conventions. They came to colonize Palestinian lands and thus to deny the rights and the existence of our people. I would add that most of the settlers are armed, which makes them illegal combatants or members of militias. Over the years, they have terrorized and attacked Palestinian civilians. One example was the massacre committed by a settler at al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi at Hebron.” (S/PV.4438)

The acts of these settlers and their safety is the exclusive responsibility of the occupying Power.

Also, on the basis of the clear provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the First Protocol, we accuse the Government of Mr. Sharon — the Government of the occupying Power — of committing war crimes against our people. We also accuse Israel, the occupying Power, of committing State terror against our people. It has been involved in killing civilians and destroying establishments in order to spread terror among the population and to force them to accept its political point of view.

The responsibility of the international community is very clear, as is the responsibility of the Security Council, particularly in the light of this campaign against international terror. It was encouraging to listen here to the representative of Israel speaking in a very uncustomary way of the need to abide by the resolutions of the Security Council. In this respect, we admit that we did not understand the reference this morning to the lack of a legal basis for the term “State terrorism”. If a certain act constitutes terrorism, is considered terrorism, it is terrorism, whether it was committed by individuals, organizations or States.

Moreover, how could there be a term such as “State-sponsored terrorism” if there were no such thing as State terrorism? If individuals sponsored by a Government commit a terrorist act, it is terrorism. Israel is a State that sponsors terrorism. However, if the same act is perpetrated by people working within the structures of a State, is this not State terrorism?

We believe that this strange talk cannot serve our common objectives in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, whenever and wherever it happens.

Such a discussion may underline the importance of finishing the work of the General Assembly in putting the final touches on the comprehensive convention on terrorism. We and many Member States have adopted a very flexible position, hoping to crown our efforts with success. Unfortunately, some insist on using this flexibility in the service of illegitimate political interests. Worse still, some are actually trying to change some of the rules of international law and international humanitarian law. They are trying to accomplish what appears to be a negation of the First Protocol of the Geneva Conventions. This is illogical and does not serve the interests of the international community with regard to combating terrorism. We call on all Member States to make some additional efforts to arrive at the necessary solutions and accomplish this major achievement, which will assist the international community in combating international terrorism in a more effective manner.

The President: I thank the Permanent Observer of Palestine for his kind words addressed to me.

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The President: I thank Sir Jeremy Greenstock, Chairman of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, for his additional comments and responses.

I now call on the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic, who has asked for the floor.

Mr. Mekdad (Syrian Arab Republic) (spoke in Arabic): My delegation would like to reply briefly to the unfounded claims contained in the statement made by the representative of Israel.

It is well known that Israel was the party that brought terrorism to the Middle East, and I find no reason to recall — especially given that we are here in the Security Council Chamber — the millions of Syrian and Palestinian refugees, the Qana massacre, the Sabra and Shatila massacre and the massacre of the Cave of the Patriarchs, among others, let alone the continued Israeli occupation of Arab territories. Once again, we ask, if this is not terrorism, what is it?

Syria aids, assists and gives shelter to about a half million Palestinian refugees. The representative of Israel takes pleasure in calling them terrorists, while they have been victims of Israeli terror since 1948. We in Syria have only information and social offices that represent the Palestinian people and those who have been displaced.

The members of the international community have made clear their confidence in Syria: by more than the required majority, they elected Syria to membership of the Security Council. Syria did not succeed in that election by meeting Israel’s criteria for success: occupation, killing, terrorism and destruction. At any rate, we do not believe that Israel is in the best position to claim to speak for the international community.

Looking at this from another perspective, all delegations that spoke in the Council today warmly congratulated us on our accession to membership of the Council. That reflects confidence that we cherish and provides our response to the claims of the representative of Israel. We affirm to all present that we will most assuredly strive to be worthy of that confidence.

In short, let me reiterate on behalf of the Syrian Arab Republic that Syria, as it always has been, is prepared to work with every country in the world, from East to West, from North to South, to fight terrorism and to eradicate the scourge it represents. We are prepared to do this immediately and unconditionally. We have made that intention clear to all who have visited Damascus. We are engaged in close cooperation with all countries that have requested and sought such cooperation.

I reaffirm in conclusion that our struggle and resistance against Israeli occupation of Arab territories are a just and legitimate struggle by the terms of the Charter and international legitimacy.

The President: There are no further speakers for this meeting. I should like once again to thank Sir Jeremy Greenstock for his briefing today. This has been a most useful meeting.

The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.

The meeting rose at 6.35 p.m.

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