EU Presidency Statement - Open Meeting on Counter Terrorism Committee

Mr. President,

I have the honor to take the floor on behalf of the European Union. The Candidate Countries Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Croatia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this declaration.

The EU continues to attach great importance to Open Meetings of the Security Council on the issue of counter-terrorism, such as on the CTC. This gives the Membership of the Organization a chance to speak and be heard on this very important issue. The EU is of the opinion that Open Meetings will also help the Security Council in its decision making process on the issue.

The European Union wishes to express its appreciation for the comprehensive briefing provided to us this morning by the new Chairman of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, Ambassador Denisov. The European Union also thanks Ambassador Konuzin for his able chairmanship of the CTC during the first two months of the Russian Chair.

Mr. President,

The European Union considers these regular Open Debates in the Security Council very helpful. It not only gives us an opportunity to review the work and progress of the CTC, but it also maintains and strengthens the general acceptance and legitimacy of the CTC within the UN-family. Today's meeting deals with the Committee's work programme for the thirteenth 90-day period from 1 October to 31 December 2004. The European Union welcomes this document as part of the process of revitalization of the CTC pursuant to Security Council resolution 1535.

Mr. President,

The European Union would like to reiterate its full commitment to the implementation of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) as well as Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) and other counter-terrorism related resolutions of the Security Council. In this respect, the Counter-Terrorism Committee, its Executive Directorate, and the 1267 Committee play an important role and the European Union will continue to actively support and co-operate with these Committees.

Mr. President,

The European Union welcomes the recent adoption of Security Council resolution 1566 (2004). The Chairman pointed out very rightly that this resolution clearly prioritizes the following main tasks of the Committee:

Firstly, resolution 1566 calls for a more coordinated approach and closer cooperation of the CTC and other United Nations bodies. In this respect, the European Union welcomes the further strengthening of cooperation not only between the Security Council committees dealing with counter-terrorism, but also with other parts of the UN-system involved in counter-terrorism, in particular the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and the UNGA's Sixth Committee in its codification efforts on this matter, in particular on the draft convention against nuclear terrorism. The EU hopes for its early conclusion.

Furthermore, the EU welcomes the working group to be established under resolution 1566 as a useful tool in the efforts to strengthen UN action against terrorism. The EU will take an active interest in the work of the group, and would welcome information about, and possibilities to discuss, its programme of work.

Secondly, the CTC must more actively and effectively strengthen practical cooperation with international, regional and sub-regional organizations in all areas related to resolution 1373 (2004). In this regard the European Union welcomes that pursuant to resolution 1566 the CTC will prepare in consultation with the relevant international, regional and sub-regional organizations and UN bodies a set of best practices to assist States in implementing the provisions of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) related to the financing of terrorism.

The European Union will stand ready for close cooperation with the CTC and wants to reiterate that the European Council wholly supports the objective to fully and universally implement resolution 1373. In its Declaration on combating terrorism of 25 March 2004, the European Council emphasizes the importance of developing technical assistance strategies to enhance the counter-terrorist capacity of third countries. In the same Declaration the European Council also agreed on the establishment of the post of the EU Counter Terrorism Coordinator. The coordinator, Gijs de Vries, is working to promote greater cooperation between the various EU counter-terrorism initiatives, policies and activities. In our external policies we emphasize the importance of ratification, without reservation, and effective implementation of the relevant international conventions and protocols related to terrorism, and preventing the financing of terrorism. We put also emphasis on addressing other factors, which may contribute to the fight against terrorism such as non-proliferation and arms control, as well as continued efforts in lifting the veil of so-called charitable institutions.

As a third priority for the CTC, the Chairman mentioned this morning the importance of speeding up the revitalization process on the basis of the organizational plan of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) in order to achieve more effective structural and operative capabilities of the Committee. Foremost, the European Union would like to welcome the Security Council's endorsement on 12 August 2004 of the organizational plan for the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, submitted to the CTC on 29 July 2004. We are of the opinion that the establishment of the Directorate will be an effective way to enhance the Committee's ability tot monitor the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001) and effectively continue the capacity-building work in which it is engaged. We welcome the request of the Security Council in resolution 1566 (2004) to the Secretary-General to take, as a matter of urgency, appropriate steps to make the CTED fully operational.

With regard to this new Executive Directorate, the European Union would like to reiterate its wish to see a human rights expert included in this Directorate. We understand this is the intention of the Executive Director and we commend him for this. We furthermore attach importance to cooperation between the Executive Directorate and the UNHCR The EU has a longstanding position that counter-terrorism activities must at all times be undertaken with full respect for obligations under international law, in particular human rights, international humanitarian and refugee law. There can be no trade off between human rights and effective security measures. Respect for human rights must remain an integral part of any comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy.

As a fourth priority, the Chairman mentioned that the CTC must step up its efforts to develop direct dialogue and information exchange with Member States on all aspects of the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001) and the facilitation of technical assistance, in particular through the practical organization of the first visits to States with their consent.

In this context, the European Union supports a more proactive role of the CTC. We would welcome more direct dialogue and information exchange with both the States in need of assistance and the donor community, including close dialogue and co-operation with the Counter Terrorism Action Group of the G-8. We are convinced that in-country visits made by the CTC to States with the concerned State's consent are important to enhance the direct dialogue and information exchange on the implementation of resolution 1373.

In addition, the European Union would like to point out that the submission of reports by Member States remains an essential working tool of the CTC. Therefore, the European Union would like to call upon all States who have not submitted their reports on time to do so as soon as possible. We must maintain the universality and the speed of the response which resolution 1373 requires.

Lastly, the European Union took note of the Committee's efforts to integrate an analysis and assessment of each country's assistance and other needs into the report reviewing process. We appreciate very much the committee's reliance on the assistance assessment process in order to enhance the dialogue with Member States and the donor community with a view to making technical assistance efforts more effective and better adjusted to the real needs of Member States.

Mr. President,

The European Union is of the opinion that the Chairman has very pertinently addressed the priorities of the CTC in his briefing on the Committee's working programme. Allow me to conclude, Mr. President, by restating that the EU and its Member States remain strongly committed to our common goal to fully and universally implement resolution 1373. Thank you, Mr. President.

* Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process

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• EU Presidency Statement - Measures to eliminate international terrorism (18/10/2004)
• EU Presidency declaration on the application of specific measures to combat terrorism (28/6/2004)