INTERNATIONAL PROCESS ON GLOBAL COUNTER-TERRORISM

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 001006 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2017 TAGS: PREL PTER SZ SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL PROCESS ON GLOBAL COUNTER-TERRORISM LAUNCHED REF: USUN 1002 Classified By: Carolyn Willson, Minister-Counsellor for reason 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. At an informal gathering of approximately 30 UN member states representatives, the Swiss Mission presented a plan to consider ways of implementing the UN Counter-terrorism Strategy. This NGO driven effort is being launched to create a "process" to review the Strategy and produce a report to be presented next year. Comment. Running on a track parallel with the UN Working Groups set up to implement the Strategy, it is not yet apparent whether this process will complement or compete with UN efforts. End Comment. End Summary. ¶2. (U) At an informal gathering at the Swiss Mission, November 7, the Swiss Counter-Terrorism Co-ordinator Amb. Christine Schraner Burgener announced that Switzerland, Costa Rica, Japan and Slovakia are joining with a U.S. based NGO, the Center on Global Counter-Terrorism Co-operation, to "provide food for thought" for UN members prior to the September 2008 review of the UN Counter-terrorism Strategy. Following her introduction, Eric Rosand, a Senior Fellow at the Center (and former S/CT and USUN employee) outlined the plans for the process which he said would offer an independent, comprehensive assessment of the UN's institutional arrangements for addressing the evolving threat of terrorism. ¶3. Rosand noted that the Secretary-General's Task Force, which handles implementation of the UN CT Strategy, has not been provided with the necessary resources or mandate to oversee implementation effectively over the long-term, stimulate a more effective UN response, and coordinate the activities of the different parts of the UN system and other multilateral bodies. He added that to the extent that the Task Force must rely on voluntary contributions, presumably from the usual donors in the North, the global nature of the Strategy may be diminished. (Note. The U.S. recently contributed more than $400,000 to the Task Force. End Note.) Rosand added that the "Process" would offer "outside the box" analysis and recommendations on how to overcome the institutional limitations and challenges being faced by the Task Force within the UN system. He said that it would involve a group of experts from different disciplines who would be free of the political constraints of operating within the UN. ¶4. (U) The "Process" plans to hold three to five workshops which would produce a final report endorsed by participants, including UN member states. The co-sponsors would present the report at the September 2008 review. The Swiss expect the first workshop will be held in January 2008, possibly in Zurich and indicated that they will contact MFA Counter-terrorism Directors concerning the details. Swiss Permanent Representative Peter Maurer urged those present (25-30 UN members) to inform their governments of the plan and let him know if they are interested in participating. Most member state reps in attendance listened but did not comment on the plan. ¶5. (C) After the meeting, a Swiss delegate told USUN Legal Adviser that they had consulted with UN Assistant Secretary General Robert Orr and he supported the process. In a subsequent conversation, Orr told USUN that the Swiss Perm Rep had described the program and Orr had indicated that he welcomed Switzerland's engagement in so far as it complemented the work of the Strategy. The Swiss did not, however, invite Orr to the launch of the "Process" or give him the papers distributed at that meeting. He said the line was fuzzy between the role of the Swiss and other governments would play in this process and the role of Rosand's NGO. Orr said he would need more details about the plan to determine whether this is a useful development. ¶6. (C) Comment: Orr has been fully engaged with member states in other informal discussions and has done a credible job of driving the UN process to devise and implement the CT Strategy. It is not clear however whether this NGO driven process, even with sponsorship of Switzerland, Japan and other states, will detract from Orr's efforts or support them. End comment. Khalilzad