OSCE Chairman urges action on social, economic causes of terrorism

PORTO, 5 December 2002 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Portuguese Foreign Minister Antonio Martins da Cruz, called on participating states and their Asian partners on Thursday to tackle the economic and social problems which can form a fertile breeding ground for terrorism and crime.



Speaking at a meeting of the OSCE Troika - Romania, Portugal and The Netherlands - with the OSCE’s Asian Partners for Co-operation, the Chairman-in-Office said terrorists now operated through highly sophisticated international networks which threatened all parts of the world.



"As we saw with the recent terrorist attacks in Bali, Moscow and Mombasa, no region is safe from these types of threats," he told representatives from Japan, Thailand and South Korea.



"Democratic deficits, disparities in the levels of economic and social development between nations and regions, social inequalities and regional conflicts - these represent a fertile breeding ground for terrorists and criminals," Minister Martins da Cruz said.



"Overcoming these problems is an essential part of a sound strategy for combating terrorism."



Foreign ministers from the 55 OSCE participating States, gathering in Porto on Thursday for the 10th OSCE Ministerial Council, expect to adopt an OSCE Charter on Preventing and Combating Terrorism on Saturday.



The Chairman-in-Office said the OSCE attached great importance to its co-operation with Japan, South Korea and Thailand.



"No single organisation can respond to the new threats to global security on its own," he added. "For the OSCE, strong and close cooperation with other international organisations and third countries such as our Asian Partners for Co-operation is essential."



The Chairman-in-Office underlined the excellent work undertaken this year on furthering co-operation between the OSCE and its Asian Partners, a good example of which was the OSCE-Thailand Conference in Bangkok in June.



The Asian Partners put forward several initiatives to enhance their partnership with the OSCE, which were welcomed by the Troika. These included the organization of a Ministerial Conference on Preventive Diplomacy in Japan in February 2004.