PRESS BRIEFING BY CHIEF OF COUNTER-TERRORISM EXECUTIVE DIRECTORATE

PRESS BRIEFING BY CHIEF OF COUNTER-TERRORISM EXECUTIVE DIRECTORATE

Everybody knew a terrorist act when they saw one, the chief of the Security Council’s new anti-terror directorate insisted today as he vowed to press ahead in his quest to unite governments and international organizations in combating international terrorism, even as the General Assembly continued to grapple with a definition.

Responding to questions during a Headquarters press briefing, Javier Ruperez, head of the Counter-Terrorism Committee’s (CTC) Executive Directorate, said that the unsuccessful efforts by the Assembly’s Sixth Committee (Legal) to fashion a broad-based international anti-terror convention were widely known.  However, one recognized terrorism when it was carried out, without having specifically to define it.  A terrorist did not wait for definitions in order to cause pain and destruction, and neither would he wait to become a motivating force in the global movement to combat the scourge.

There were important international treaties on various aspects of terrorism, and the CTC itself, to point the way forward, he said.  “What everyone has to do is convince all the people of the world that any act of terrorism or violence –- regardless of alleged ideals or justifications -- is contrary to the principles of the United Nations.”

This past March the Security Council adopted resolution 1535 (2004) by which it restructured the CTC and asked the Secretary-General to establish an Executive Directorate (CTED) and appoint an official to head it.  The Directorate was created as a special political mission for an initial period ending on 31 December 2007, subject to a comprehensive review by the Council by the end of 2005.

Mr. Ruperez, a former Ambassador of Spain to the United States, was appointed as Executive Director in June.  Today, pledging to perform his duties in the best way to meet the urgent needs of the fight against terrorism in the twenty-first century, he stressed that he would strive to stick to the Council-mandated 30-day timeline to submit an organizational plan, and to develop ties with the Committee chairmanship, the United Nations Secretariat and other agencies within and outside the Organization.

He said he also planned to visit several regional groups and institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which had an excellent programme in place for tracking the funding of terrorist networks and individuals.  With informal consultations on the plan set to begin, he would attempt to create a “very lean and effective structure”, perhaps adding only 10 or 15 more staff to the 20 experts approved under the resolution.

In response to a question, he acknowledged that there was really no mechanism to compel governments to comply with international anti-terror initiatives.  But the Council’s resolutions and the decisions of the CTC did create direct national obligations, under the United Nations Charter, for governments to combat terrorism.  Whether the Council would eventually discuss the possibility of consequences was not being considered at the present time.

He said the work of the CTC had revealed groupings of countries that did not comply with Council resolution 1373 (2001), chiefly, those that said they lacked expertise or resources and those which should be able to comply but for a number of reasons did not.  One of his duties would be to explore ways to provide those States with the technical assistance and expertise they needed.

Asked about State terrorism, or the fact that some people who committed violent acts were often considered freedom fighters, he replied that he was well aware of the political difficulties in defining terrorism, “but a terrorist is a terrorist”.  Brutal violence could not be justified.  Regarding State terrorism, no United Nations resolution had spoken on the issue, but there were a number of remedies to bring them to justice without considering them terrorists.

Describing his own kidnapping by Spain’s Basque separatist group ETA in 1979, he said that at the time, the country had been struggling towards democracy and had thought that it might not succeed in its efforts to eradicate terrorism.  But the Government had persevered and prevailed, largely because it had left no doubt that democracy and freedom would triumph.  That was the message that he would give all governments striving towards that common goal.

* *** *