UN Security Council debate on the work of the three committees (1267, 1373, 1540)

Veleposlanik Ranko Vilovic, privremeni otpravnik poslova Stalne misije RH pri Ujedinjenim narodima, održao je govor na raspravi Vijeca sigurnosti UN-a na temu briefinga predsjedatelja protuterostickih Odbora u svezi rada tih Odbora (1267, 1373, 1540)

Mr. President, At the outset, I would like to express our gratitude to Ambassador Mayr-Harting, Ambassador Lacroix and Ambassador Urbina, for today's briefings on behalf of the Security Council committees established pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1373 (2001) and 1540 (2004). Croatia aligned itself with the statement to be delivered by the Czech Presidency of the European Union. Mr. President, Croatia supports the work of the three Security Council Committees, which constitute essential elements of the United Nations counter-terrorism and non-proliferation structure. Croatia also supports the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. We are committed to working with the counter-terrorism bodies of the United Nations system in a coordinated way. Furthermore, we will continue to reiterate that any measures undertaken to prevent and combat terrorism must comply with our obligations under international law, in particular human rights law, refugee law and international humanitarian law. Mr. President, Regarding the 1267 Committee, we would like to emphasize the need for further improvements of the Consolidated list in order to increase its legitimacy, and to ensure that it accurately reflects the continuous threat that Al-Qaida and the Taliban pose to international peace and security. The list needs to be regularly updated if we want to retain effectiveness of the 1267 sanctions regime. The adoption of resolution 1822 (2008) represents a significant step in the evolution of this targeted sanctions regime and contains important due process innovations. We welcome the adoption last December of the revised Guidelines which allowed the Committee to move forward. The review of all names on the list is currently a priority in the work of the Committee. We believe it is necessary for all Member States involved to assume their share of responsibility to do a proper review, and to make sure this process is concluded before the deadline set by the Council. In this context, we fully support the intention of the Chairman to regularly update Member States on the progress in the review process. The implementation of the Al-Qaida and Taliban sanctions regime, particularly the listing and delisting procedures, is increasingly subject to challenges in national and regional courts. In this respect, we believe that the Committee must continue to ensure that fair and clear procedures are strengthened in order to enhance the efficiency and transparency of the regime. We agree with the Chairman that further steps in this regard may be included in the new Security Council resolution, to be adopted by end of this year. Mr. President, Croatia attaches great importance to the work of the Counter-Terrorism Committee and highly values the assistance provided to it by the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED). We support the ongoing activities in the Committee, with particular emphasis on the stocktaking exercise. This review of the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001) by all Member States should enable the Committee and CTED to understand in greater detail the progress and the remaining shortfalls in counter-terrorism measures employed by countries around the world. Continued cooperation by Member States is vital if we want the Committee to conclude the stocktaking exercise expeditiously. In the same vein, we expect the Committee to adopt the remaining two preliminary implementation assessments (PIAs) as soon as possible. We are pleased to see the positive effects of the revised organizational plan of CTED, which introduced a more flexible approach to country visits, particularly by engaging in shorter, focused visits, as well as in regional visits and those to developed countries. We commend the proactive approach by CTED in facilitating technical assistance, especially by nurturing closer contacts with potential donors. We look forward to receiving the revised version of the Survey on the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001), with priority recommendations for the Committee's future action. The revised Survey should be based on more fine-tuned assessments of the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001) as a result of the stocktaking exercise and the work of five technical groups in CTED. We also recognize the importance of the technical guide, which is currently under consideration in the Committee. As we speak, the Committee is conducting an interim review of CTED and should soon submit a report to the Council. We see this as a good opportunity for the Council to consider past achievements and to provide guidance to CTED on how to more effectively deliver on its mandate. Mr. President, We welcome the adoption of the 1540 Committee's annual Program of Work, as well as its continuous efforts to actively engage all States in the implementation of the resolution 1540 (2004) through continuing dialogue and participation in numerous outreach events. At the same time, we find particularly important the continuation of productive cooperation between the Committee and other international bodies and relevant international, regional and sub-regional organizations. Having in mind the important assistance function entrusted to the Committee by resolution 1810 (2008), we salute the Committee's intensifying of efforts to develop its clearing house function for channeling assistance for the implementation of resolution 1540 (2004) through matching, as appropriate, assistance requests with available offers for assistance. We welcome the establishment of the four Working Groups with the main tasks of effective implementation of the Program of Work and we express our readiness to actively contribute to their activities. We are looking forward to the Comprehensive Review of the status of implementation of resolution 1540 (2004) and we hope that early next year, following the completion of the review, we will have a clear picture regarding the risks and threats that awaits us on our path towards the fullest possible implementation of the resolution, as well as the ways and means to address them. We are ready to take part in this important process that should eventually result in new and inventive approaches for the implementation of the resolution 1540 (2004). Finally, Mr. President, as was expressed in the common message, we welcome closer interactions between the Committees and their expert groups, and we appreciate the support and assistance provided by the experts to Committees in our joint action against terrorism. Thank you.

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