SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS THEMATIC DEBATE ON "THREATS

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001162 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER UNSC SUBJECT: SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS THEMATIC DEBATE ON "THREATS TO INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY CAUSED BY TERRORIST ACTS" REF: STATE 129048 ¶1. This is an action request. Please see paragraph 8. ¶2. Summary. On December 9, the Security COUNCIL held a thematic debate on the item "Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by Terrorist Acts." President Stjepan Mesic of Croatia chaired the meeting, and UN Security General Ban Ki-Moon made opening remarks. All speakers condemned the recent terrorist attack in Mumbai, India. All fifteen members of the Security COUNCIL made statements, in addition to many other UN Member States. After the conclusion of the debate, the Security COUNCIL issued a strong Presidential Statement, in which the COUNCIL welcomed condemnations of all forms of terrorism, including suicide bombing, and highlighted the problem of "safe havens" for terrorists. End Summary. ¶3. Among the statements, the most notable were those by India and Pakistan, which focused on the recent Mumbai terrorist attack. In a spellbinding speech, delivered extemporaneously, the Pakistani Permanent Representative called for a Northern Ireland-like process to address the Kashmir conflict and suggested that Indian and Pakistani mullahs join in issuing a fatwa against terrorist attacks. ¶4. India's statement was delivered by Minister of State for External Affairs Ahamed. He provided detail on what India's investigations had revealed so far about the attack. India reported that the interrogation of the sole terrorist captured by India revealed that the terrorists were "trained in Pakistan and were launched from a ship from Karachi." India said that it had "requested the Security COUNCIL to proscribe Pakistani group Jammat-ud-Dawa since it is a terrorist outfit and should be proscribed under Security Council Resolution 1267." (On December 10, the Security Council's 1267 al-Qaeda/Taliban Sanctions Committee designated Jammat-ud-Dawa as an alias for the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) group. As a result of this action, UN Member States are obligated to freeze JUD's assets wherever they are found.) India also called for the immediate adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. ¶5. Following India's lead, many delegations called for the finalization of the Comprehensive Convention. South Africa called for reaching agreement on a definition of terrorism and preventing "the abuse of the 'counter-terrorism' label to advance political agenda." South Africa went on to say that "International solidarity also ought to include the avoidance of rash and unsubstantiated usage of damaging terms such as 'terrorist safe havens' and refraining from the issuance of factually inaccurate travel advisories against other countries whose cooperation and assistance is required in addressing the terror threat. All too often these statements are directed against those developing countries that pose the least threat." Liechtenstein said that the UN Special Rapporteur on the protection of HUMAN RIGHTS while countering terrorism has given numerous relevant examples of measures where public and individual security interests are not always properly balanced against the HUMAN RIGHTS of affected individuals, and said that the "Council should lead by example when dealing with the difficult question of balancing security interests and HUMAN rights." ¶6. Other speakers welcomed the unanimous adoption and reaffirmation of the UN Global Counter-terrorism Strategy, which was reaffirmed by the UN General Assembly in September of this year. Several speakers praised the Strategy as a departure from the "security-centric paradigm". Others noted that the Strategy takes a "holistic" approach, including by addressing the root causes of terrorism. Vietnam said that "(p)olitical, economic and social inequalities, double standards, selectivity, as well as the use of force in international affairs, all create conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism." ¶7. Most delegations emphasized the importance of honoring human RIGHTS while countering terrorism. Libya, among others, made this point. ¶8. Action Request. Embassy Zagreb may wish to approach the Foreign Ministry at a high level to commend Mr. Neven Jurica, Croatia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and his delegation, for their outstanding performance and cooperation with the United States. Khalilzad