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H. E. MR. KOICHI HARAGUCHI
Permanent Representative of Japan
At the Open Debate of the Security Council
on the Item "Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by Terrorist Acts"
20 February 2003
Mr. President,
Thank you for convening this meeting to follow up the ministerial-level meeting held on January 20 on combating international terrorism.
Mr. President,
In a democracy, people express their views freely and differences of views are resolved peacefully through the ballot. On the other hand, terrorists seek to realize their objectives violently, through bullets. Terrorists try to justify themselves by insisting that they are denied democratic means and have no other recourse but terror to realize their goals. But acts of terrorism cannot be justified under any circumstances. All too often, it is the innocent who are the victims of terrorist acts. Such acts must be strongly rejected and condemned. But simple condemnation is not sufficient to protect democratic systems and ensure security. Efforts must be urgently made in order to implement the ongoing counter-terrorism measures even more effectively. At the same time, I would like to add that it is also important to make honest efforts to analyze the root causes of terrorism and try to redress them.
Mr. President,
In the past, terrorist activities generally targeted certain regions, but with the spread of globalization, and with advances in science and technology, terrorists now have a more global reach, with greater destructive and lethal capacities, as we witnessed in the September 11 attacks and the bombing incident in Bali. The situation would become even more dangerous if terrorists were to have access to weapons of mass destruction. Traditional means of deterrence cannot adequately address the threat of international terrorism. International terrorism is thus a new and grave threat to international peace and security in the 21st century, and demands resolute and concerted actions by the international community. The existing global cooperative mechanism and international rules must be strengthened.
Mr. President,
In the global fight against terrorism, Japan considers the following three objectives to be of particular importance: first, denying terrorist groups safe havens; second, denying terrorist groups the means to conduct terrorism; and third, eliminating the vulnerability to terrorism. In order to achieve these objectives, cooperative relations and networks among countries must be built in a wide range of areas, including not only military organizations but also law enforcement agencies and intelligence organizations. Capacity-building efforts in developing countries to strengthen their counter-terrorism measures are also vital. We appreciate very much the work by the CTC for this purpose. Japan, for its part, attaches particular importance to such efforts in the Asian region and has been holding seminars and training courses for developing countries, mainly in Asia, in the following six areas: immigration, aviation security, customs cooperation, export control, law-enforcement cooperation and anti-terrorist financing. It received 220 officials in fiscal year 2001, and approximately 250 in fiscal year 2002 for training in these six areas. In addition, Japan is planning to receive 30 trainees each year for the next five years, for a total of 150 trainees, with a view to enhancing the crisis and consequence management capacity of their respective countries in the event of a chemical, biological, radioactive or nuclear (CBRN) terrorist attack. Japan is also planning to hold a seminar to encourage accession to counter-terrorism-related international conventions, to which it will invite officials from Asian countries.
Mr. President,
Every member of the international community must actively take part in the global combat against terrorism. We have to mobilize resources available, including the expertise of all relevant international, regional and sub-regional organizations. From this viewpoint, Japan strongly endorses the sixth work program of the CTC and its intention to expand and deepen its contacts with these organizations. It goes without saying that global efforts must be well coordinated to avoid any duplication of work. We believe the dialogue between the CTC and these organizations which has already begun will greatly contribute to such coordination. The Special Meeting with representatives of international, regional and sub-regional organizations to be held next month will be an important occasion for both the CTC and other relevant organizations to assess their respective contributions to combat terrorism and explore ways of improving coordination.
Mr. President,
In its seventeen months of work, the CTC has made remarkable progress in implementing resolution 1373. For this I would like to reiterate our appreciation to Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, Chairman of the CTC, and other members of the bureau. But the fight against terrorism, especially international terrorism, is by no means complete; much more needs to be done. I trust that under the new leadership of Ambassador Inocencio Arias, the Committee will continue its highly effective efforts to combat terrorism.
Thank you very much, Mr. President. |
