Stalni predstavnik RH pri Ujedinjenim narodima, veleposlanik Neven Jurica u funkciji predsjedatelja Odbora za protuterorizam (CTC) je Vijecu sigurnosti UN-a podnio polugodišnje izvješce o djelovanju tog Odbora.
Mr. President,
In my capacity as Chairman of the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001), known as the Counter-Terrorism Committee, it is my honor to brief the Security Council and the wider membership on the work of the Committee in the past six months.
As terrorism remains one of the major threats to international peace and security, the Committee represents a crucial instrument of the international community to address that global scourge. As the Chairman of the Committee I intend to abide by its guiding principles and focus on concrete results and achieving realistic objectives. I believe the Committee should adopt a pragmatic approach in order to fulfill obligations entrusted to it by the resolutions 1373 (2001).
Before entering into the core of this presentation, I would like to extend the Committee's gratitude to Mr. Mike Smith, Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), and his team, for their valuable assistance. I also appreciate the constructive atmosphere in the Committee which greatly contributes to fulfilling its mandate.
Transparency is one of the basic principles in our work, and therefore, together with the Executive Director, I briefed the Member States of the United Nations on the work of the Committee and CTED on 29 April, and we intend to continue with this practice in the future.
Mr. President,
At the outset, I am pleased to report that since the last briefing in November 2007, the Committee has initiated or accomplished several key initiatives which established sound basis for our future work.
The first accomplishment is the adoption of the new organizational plan of CTED. The Security Council heard a detailed presentation of the plan by the Executive Director at its meeting on 19 March 2008. Without unnecessary repetition, for the purposes of this briefing I would like to reiterate its main elements.
The adjustments to CTED's organization and methods of work will have the effect of improving the quality and consistency of its technical judgements and will enhance the ongoing dialogue between CTED and the Member States. It will also strengthen CTED's cooperation with relevant international, regional and sub-regional organizations.
The plan further envisages an addition to the existing practice of conducting full-scale assessment missions through organizing more flexible visits, tailored to the specific circumstances and the nature of the terrorist threat in the countries belonging to all regions. The increased flexibility should make the work of CTED more efficient and allow it to focus on issues of the highest priority to the Committee and to the visited country. The organizational plan also gives greater priority to engaging donors and matching their capacities with the needs of recipient countries, as well as implementing a more proactive communications strategy and strengthening collaboration among Security Council expert bodies active in the counter-terrorism field.
The plan charted the way forward for CTED, and was affirmed in the Security Council resolution 1805, adopted on 20 March. The resolution extended the mandate of CTED until the end of 2010, but also set the direction for the Committee in the next few years. The resolution contains provision for an interim review by 30 June 2009 and a comprehensive consideration of CTED's work prior to the expiration of its mandate.
Mr. President,
The second major initiative is the adoption of Preliminary Implementation Assessments (PIAs), which are basically tools geared towards intensifying dialogue with Member States on the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001). By the end of last year, 158 PIAs were adopted, and since then the Committee has continued to analyze, through its subcommittees chaired by France, the Russian Federation and Viet Nam, and adopt the remaining documents. Thus far, the Committee has adopted some 167 PIAs, and the rest should be formally approved by the Committee in the next months. One of the goals of the current Chairmanship is to make sure that every Member State receives a copy of its preliminary assessment.
The Committee adopted its work programme for the period from 1 January to 30 June 2008, and divided its activities into several main categories. Within the first category, monitoring and promoting the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001), besides adopting the PIAs, the Committee has commenced its consideration of a revised version of a document entitled “Survey of the implementation of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) by Member States”. This document was first discussed in the Committee in May 2007 and was subsequently revised on the basis of views of Committee members and the updated evaluations of implementation contained in the PIAs. The survey examines the implementation of counter-terrorism efforts in all regions and sub-regions, pinpoints to areas for further improvements and identifies shortfalls and vulnerabilities that need to be addressed either in particular regions or on the global level.
In this context, let me remind you that resolution 1805 (2008) directs the Committee to submit an annual report on the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001). While the decision on the status of the survey is still being discussed, many delegations have stated that this document could serve as a useful tool for the Committee to define its priorities in its future programmes of work.
Another important activity of the Committee is organizing visits to Member States. Throughout this year, the Committee is performing visits that were approved at the end of 2006. These visits, which are carried out with the consent of the countries involved, constitute a fundamental component to effectively monitor and promote the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001) and allow CTED to gain first-hand experience on the ground. Since our last briefing, the Committee has concluded successful full-fledged on-site visits to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Niger and Saudi Arabia, and as we speak the Committee is in Cambodia, followed by a visit to Lao People's Democratic Republic.
These visits typically include experts from CTED and other international and regional organizations, and result in a comprehensive assessment of all counter-terrorism measures. This not only enhances the Committee's understanding of the counter-terrorism measures in place including challenges, best practices and technical assistance needs or programmes, but strengthens its cooperation with the other international organizations involved. Furthermore, following the proposal in the organizational plan to conduct flexible visits, the Committee conducted a fact-finding mission to Jamaica.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Governments of those Member States for their valuable cooperation in the preparations for the Committee's visits. In addition, the Committee will continue encouraging Member States to become party to and implement the 16 international counter-terrorism instruments.
Mr. President,
Regarding the second category, facilitation of technical assistance, the Committee and CTED in particular are engaged in continuous dialogue with Member States, and their role in facilitating technical assistance is growing in importance. With this in mind, as part of its reorganization, CTED is reviewing the existing strategies and mechanisms for facilitating technical assistance and refine them with a view to strengthening the Committee's contribution and recording its impact in the technical assistance field. The challenge in the forthcoming period will be to devise more creative approaches so that the Committee, through CTED, can exercise its brokering role as effectively as possible.
In its dialogue with Member States, the Committee continued reminding them that they must ensure that any measures taken to combat terrorism comply with all their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law.
The Committee also posted on its website two helpful tools: the technical assistance matrix, which is targeted at donors to help them guide their assistance programmes and decision-making, and a directory of assistance, enabling recipients to view and identify the programmes that best suit their needs.
With respect to the implementation of resolution 1624 (2005), the Committee submitted to the Council its second report regarding progress made by Member States in its implementation. Likewise, in its work programme, the Committee has agreed to initiate discussions to explore the technical assistance needs of States to implement this resolution, as well as to facilitate the provisions of such assistance, while encouraging those States that have not yet reported to do so.
The Committee continues to play its part in the implementation of United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, and CTED is participating actively in the work of the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force. The Committee is also assisting Member States to implement those provisions of the Strategy that fall within its mandate. The Committee has included in its work programme a discussion on its contribution to the implementation of the Strategy.
The Committee continued to cooperate with other relevant parts of the UN system and specialized bodies, and in particular with the two other Security Council committees that deal with counter-terrorism as requested by the Council in its resolution 1805 (2008). Furthermore, as you have heard in the joint message earlier today, the second workshop in the framework of the common strategy by the three Security Council committees for non-reporting and late-reporting states was organized for States of the South African Development Community from 29 to 30 November 2007 in Gaborone, Botswana.
Finally, Mr. President, as part of its cooperation and exchange of information with counter-terrorism partners during its meetings in New York, the Committee heard several briefings by representatives of relevant organizations and United Nations' bodies.
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