High-level officials agree to coordinate fight against terrorism

LISBON, 13 June 2002 - High-level officials from governments and major international organizations, meeting in Lisbon on the initiative of the Portuguese Chairmanship of the OSCE, agreed on Wednesday to improve co-ordination and information-sharing in the fight against terrorism.

The meeting was opened by Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Durao Barroso.

Key participants included the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Foreign Minister Antonio Martins da Cruz, as well as the other ministers of the OSCE Troika, the Secretaries General of the OSCE, NATO and the Council of Europe and representatives of other major bodies (UN, EU, CIS, FATF, ODCCP, EUROPOL) involved in the prevention and combating of terrorism.

There was a general recognition that terrorism, as a collective threat, should be combated collectively and at many levels - political, economic, military and diplomatic.

"No country should be a sanctuary for terrorism," the Portuguese Prime Minister said.

Participants agreed on the need to reinforce the sharing of information and expertise and to strengthen co-operation in order to tackle effectively the problems which terrorism feeds off - in particular trafficking in arms, drugs and human beings, organized crime, money-laundering and persisting regional conflicts and sources of instability.

Police, border controls, judicial infrastructures and law enforcement capacities were identified as areas where international co-operation should be further developed.

Participants recognized that preventing and combating terrorism requires a comprehensive and long-term strategy based on the promotion and consolidation of the rule of law, democratization, respect for human rights, tolerance and religious and political freedom. The role of the OSCE in these areas was emphasized by all.

Organized in the spirit of the Platform for Co-operative Security and in recognition of the leading role of the United Nations, the meeting allowed participants to evaluate the current state of play in implementing strategies undertaken both at the international and regional levels.

Participants agreed that states must take action, in close co-operation with relevant international and regional organizations, to properly implement the legal framework set up by the relevant United Nations conventions and protocols and Security Council resolutions.

Special emphasis was put on the need to make the best possible use of comparative advantages and added value. There was agreement on the need for appropriate follow-up of the meeting.