UN seeks implementation of strategy against terrorism

Dharam Shourie

United Nations, Sept 6 (PTI) The U.N. General Assembly
has expressed its "unwavering commitment" to strengthening
global cooperation against terrorism and asked member states
to accelerate efforts to implement the strategy drawn up by it
to deal with the scourge in all its aspects.

Adopted on September 8, 2006, the strategy united for the
first time all 192 U.N. member States behind a common
strategic framework.

They had agreed to take a concrete set of measures to
address terrorism in all its aspects, and, by that action, to
convey the same critical message -- terrorism is never
justifiable, whether on political, philosophical, ideological,
racial, ethnic, religious or any other grounds.

The two-day review meeting which concluded yesterday was
the first major assessment of their efforts to implement the
strategy's four pillars -- to address the conditions conducive
to the spread of terrorism; to prevent and combat terrorism;
to build state capacity to prevent and combat terrorism and to
strengthen the role of the U.N. in that regard; and to ensure
respect for the human rights of all as well as the rule of law
as the fundamental basis for the fight against terrorism.

In a resolution adopted by the Assembly, member States
reaffirmed the Global Strategy and its four pillars, as well
as their own primary responsibility to implement it.

The Assembly called on States, which had not yet done so
to consider becoming parties to existing international
anti-terrorism instruments, to make every effort to conclude a
comprehensive convention on international terrorism.

At the same time, the Assembly reaffirmed the need to
enhance international cooperation in countering terrorism,
recalling in that regard the role of the U.N. system in
promoting global cooperation and capacity-building as one of
the strategy's elements.

The Assembly, which renewed its "unwavering commitment"
to strengthening global cooperation against terrorism, decided
to interact with the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task
Force on a regular basis.

The Task Force was established by the Secretary-General
in July 2005 to ensure overall coordination and coherence in
the counter-terrorism efforts of the United Nations system.

The speakers affirmed the central role that the United
Nations, in particular the General Assembly, as the only body
with universal representation, had to play in the coordination
of international cooperation to combat terrorism.

They voiced support for institutionalising the
Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, stipulating that
it should have more interaction with the Assembly in order to
profit from member states' guidance.