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Madam President
I have the honour to speak on behalf of Canada and New Zealand in addition to Australia.
There is no greater contemporary threat to international peace and security than terrorism, including the risk of proliferation of WMD to terrorists. This is a threat which affects all States and all regions, as has once again been made clear by bombings in the last week in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Thailand.
The threat of terrorism requires a robust response from all States gathered here in the UN General Assembly. That is why CANZ warmly welcomes the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, which all 192 UN member States adopted by consensus.
We thank the former President of the General Assembly, HE Jan Eliasson, and the two co-Chairs he appointed to convene consultations on the Strategy, HE Vanu Menon of Singapore, and HE Juan Antonio Yanez-Barnuevo of Spain. Without their efforts, we would not have the Strategy before us today.
States resolve in the Strategy to consistently, unequivocally and strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes. CANZ sees this unified message as being of fundamental importance.
States resolve in the Strategy to address conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism. While making clear that they cannot excuse or justify acts of terrorism, the Strategy lists some factors which may contribute to the spread of terrorism, including lack of the rule of law, and a lack of good governance. CANZ agrees we must all address these issues.
But the Strategy should also have identified extremist ideologies in the illustrative list of conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism. Terrorists often seize on such ideologies to attract support from those most affected by other societal weaknesses.
States resolve in the Strategy to take concrete measures to prevent and combat terrorism, and to build States’ counter-terrorism capacities. CANZ welcomes the Strategy’s focus on the need for further action, both by States and by the UN system, to ensure all States are able to suppress terrorism effectively. CANZ believes that bilateral and regional programs are important in building State capacity. But much of today’s terrorism is global, and a global response is also important.
At the global level, the UN has been effective in establishing counter-terrorism norms. All States should become Parties to the existing 13 sectoral counter-terrorism conventions. But more is required. We appeal to all States to conclude a comprehensive convention against international terrorism as a matter of urgency. This would ensure that all terrorist acts are criminalised in international law.
Finally, States resolve in the Strategy to ensure respect for human rights as the fundamental basis of the fight against terrorism. CANZ agrees this is of basic importance. All States should respect their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law.
The Strategy reflects many, but not all, of the proposals put forward by the UN Secretary-General in his report entitled ‘Uniting Against Terrorism’. CANZ continues to strongly support the Secretary-General’s recommendations. We regard his report as a valuable contribution to the UN counter-terrorism agenda. It remains highly relevant.
Madam President,
CANZ has appreciated the Security Council’s leadership of UN counter-terrorism efforts, particularly since the horrific attacks of 11 September 2001. We support strongly the work of the 1267 Al Qaeda-Taliban Sanctions Committee, the Counter-Terrorism Committee, and the 1540 WMD Proliferation Committee. All States must continue to meet their obligations under relevant Security Council resolutions.
But we also welcome the General Assembly’s contributions to the UN counter-terrorism agenda, of which this Strategy is the most recent example. By adopting the Strategy, the General Assembly has shown it can act decisively on contemporary international issues. This gives hope for the ongoing revitalisation of this Assembly in the future, and for further General Assembly action to defeat the scourge of terrorism.
Thank you, Madam President.
