UN Pledges Continued Progress Against Terror

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From 'Xinhua': The UN Security Council concluded a two-day meeting on Thursday on measures to combat terrorism, pledging that the United Nations will continue to lead the global endeavor to fight terrorism despite the fact that considerable progress has been made in the process. Following Wednesday's open debate, which saw the attendance of senior UN officials and representatives from over twenty countries, the 15-member council unanimously adopted Resolution 1805 on Thursday, extending the mandate of its Counter-Terrorism Committee's Executive Directorate (CTED) until 31 December 2010 and endorsing its revised organizational plan.

Briefing the Security Council on Wednesday, Mike Smith, CTED's executive director, said that the international community has made considerable progress in the fight against terrorism. "Most countries had now criminalized terrorism," he said. "We have seen hundreds of new ratifications of the key counter-terrorism conventions and protocols... There has been an almost unprecedented level of international exchange of information and cooperation among relevant agencies across borders, with the purpose of disrupting planned terrorist attacks and enabling the arrest and prosecution of those engaged in terrorism," he said. Now the need is less to ensure that countries understand the seriousness of the challenge and more to make sure they have the capacity and expertise to implement the counter-terrorism measures contained in Resolution 1373, adopted in the wake of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, he added.

The resolution adopted Thursday underscored "the central role of the United Nations in the global fight against terrorism" and said the council remained "determined to contribute further on enhancing the effectiveness of the overall effort to fight this scourge on a global level." It urged CTED, whose "overarching goal" is to ensure the full implementation of Resolution 1373, "to continue strengthening its role in facilitating technical assistance ... aimed at increasing the capabilities of member states in the fight against terrorism by addressing their counter-terrorism needs." It also urged the executive office to intensify cooperation with member states and relevant international organizations "with a view to enhancing member states' capacity to fully implement Resolution 1372 and to facilitate the provision of technical assistance."

Resolution 1373 obliges all UN member states to criminalize assistance for terrorist activities, deny financial support and safe haven to terrorists and share information about groups planning terrorist attacks. Established in 2004, the CTED assists the council's Counter-Terrorism Committee in monitoring 1373's implementation.