UN, OSCE agree to expand joint counter-terrorism activities

VIENNA, 12 March 2004 - A two-day counter-terrorism meeting in Vienna ended on Friday with a call for greater co-operation between international, regional and sub-regional organizations in strengthening common defences against terrorism.

The meeting, hosted by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in co-operation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), adopted a Vienna Declaration, reaffirming the central role of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) in the global effort to combat terrorism.

The Declaration acknowledges the need to provide assistance to a large number of member states of the United Nations to enable them to implement the provisions of Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001) and 12 universal anti-terrorism conventions.

The document calls for the promotion of best practices and model laws and the provision of technical, financial, regulatory, legislative and other assistance programmes.

"What we need is serious, active, efficient and practical international co-operation, not co-operation on paper," CTC Chairman, Ambassador Inocencio Arias of Spain, said at a press briefing. "Full implementation of the existing UN conventions is vital in diminishing the terrorist threat."

Asked if better international co-operation could have prevented Thursday s bomb attacks in Madrid, Ambassador Arias replied: "Not for sure. Even with international co-operation, one can prevent terrorists 49 times. Maybe they succeed the fiftieth time." But effective international co-operation could help to reduce terrorist activity significantly.

OSCE Secretary General Jan Kubis said Thursday's bomb attacks in Madrid "grimly demonstrated that the global threat of terrorism remains all too real."

"We have one goal - security - and must be flexible in our approach to adapt our efforts to meet new and emerging threats. Our actions must speak, not just our words," he said.

The Vienna Declaration specifies several areas for further co-operation in fighting terrorism:

- co-ordination and exchange of information to meet the capacity-building needs of member states

- a comprehensive compilation of assistance programmes in order to avoid duplication and overlap in the provision of technical assistance

- joint technical assistance programmes and visits to member states requesting help

- provision of assistance information to CTC

- joint efforts in focusing anti-terrorism action plans in line with the targets and priorities of Resolution 1373

- intensified encouragement to member states to ratify and implement the 12 anti-terrorism conventions and protocols.

Participants recommended to hold a follow-up meeting on the Vienna Declaration within six months and took note of an invitation from the League of Arab States to host that meeting in Cairo.