Statement by H.E. Mr. Kazuo Kodama
Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations
At the Open Debate at the Security Council
15 January 2013

Mr. President,

       At the outset, I would like to congratulate Pakistan on assuming the Presidency of the Security Council for the month of January. I would also like to express appreciation to your Excellency for your leadership in convening this debate. I would also like to express appreciation to the Secretary-General for his comprehensive and informative briefing.

       In order to prevent and eliminate international terrorism, the enforcement of more comprehensive responses is crucial. And it is necessary to tackle international terrorism not only by the states where terrorism threats are real, but also by the international community as a whole.

       Although individual state circumstances concerning terrorism conditions, capacities regarding countering terrorism, and the available capacities for international contributions differ, each state should take actions as a responsible member of the international community.

Mr. President,

       What are the measures available for states facing difficulty in raising resources and enhancing capacity to take meaningful actions? We believe that even those states can make efforts, such as tackling outstanding socio-economic issues that can pose extremism and also by conducting dialogues with neighboring countries and civil societies. On the other hand, those states that have been successful in achieving advanced results can share their experiences widely with other states to contribute to enhancing their capacity.

       In addition to enhancing our own capacity, Japan has been conducting bilateral and multilateral dialogues and consultations. We have been making full use of our own know-how and lessons learned through these activities, and we have also been making international contributions by dispatching experts and holding seminars, especially in South-East Asia, focusing on areas such as immigration control, aviation and maritime security, law enforcement cooperation, and counter-financing of terrorism.

       It is our firm belief that each state must embrace counter-terrorism as its own policy agenda if we are to succeed in implementing international counter-terrorism efforts.

Mr. President,

       Let me touch on our ongoing effort in addressing conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism.

       At the debate on the situation in Afghanistan in the Security Council last month, we agreed on the importance of international cooperation to Afghanistan with the purpose to establish its self-reliance and not to allow conditions to spread terrorism again. We can interpret such a commitment not to allow those conditions to continue any more as an important part of our international counter-terrorism efforts. I believe that all member states should participate in such efforts more actively.

        In this regard, Japan hosted the Tokyo Conference on Afghanistan last July to commit to international efforts not to make Afghanistan a hotbed for terrorism again and is conducting follow-up support. We have also been engaged for a long time in efforts to move closer to final agreement at the Mindanao Peace Process, where the Framework Agreement was signed last October. In this way, we have been contributing to several measures taken to eliminate the conditions to spread terrorism in several regions.

Mr. President,

       Since one of the priorities regarding international counter-terrorism must be the issue of terrorist financing, it is necessary for the international community to make more efforts to address this issue. Japan welcomes that the special meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Committee on preventing and suppressing terrorist financing was held last November for all U.N. member states and relevant organizations, to have the opportunity to exchange experiences and challenges. Japan is making positive progress especially to the efforts regarding updating measures of terrorist financing discussed in the meeting.

Mr. President,

       January starts the beginning of a new year. In order to make 2013 truly meaningful in terms of international counter-terrorism, this open debate is a good opportunity to review efforts made in the past and reconfirm the objectives and measures to international counter-terrorism in the future. I expect that today’s debate could be a springboard for all member states to reaffirm the importance of a comprehensive approach and to take further positive steps on international counter-terrorism.

       Japan will continue to take all possible measures for international counter-terrorism and to cooperate positively in the efforts of the Security Council and U.N. relevant entities.   

I thank you.