(Check against delivery)
Statement by Mr. Hiroshi Ishikawa,
Minister, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations
At the Open Debate of the Security Council
On Terrorism and Cross-Border Crime
19 December 2014
Mr. President,
At the outset, I would like to express my appreciation to you for holding today's open debate on Terrorism and Cross-Border Crime and the impact it has on international peace and security, with a special focus on Africa. I am also grateful for the detailed concept paper prepared by Chad on this issue.
Japan highly values this cross-cutting initiative, to have not only operational discussions on specific issues such as terrorism, trafficking and cross-border crime, but also multi-dimensional and strategic discussions, keeping a broader perspective in mind on conflict prevention and resolution.
Mr. President,
Japan has been taking the initiative to hold TICAD (the Tokyo International Conference on African Development) for more than 20 years with the consistent theme of social and economic development in Africa. One of the main pillars of the TICAD process has been consolidating peace and stability as a prerequisite for development, in coping with the so-called “root causes” of conflicts, and avoiding the recurrence of conflicts by enhancing good governance.
Thus, Japan has been consistently advocating for the significance of establishing peace and security from a much broader perspective in order to promote development in Africa.
Mr. President,
Japan supports the idea that the Security Council should be engaged not only in specific and operational discussions, but also strategic and cross-cutting discussions, keeping in mind the broader perspective of conflict prevention and resolution. For example, Japan is of the view that the discussions should review the possible linkage that activities on the ground such as peacekeeping operations and special political missions could have with other specific operations undertaken by the U.N. Such an approach will enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the actions by the U.N. system as a whole, thus maximizing our efforts.
Therefore, we support the idea of conducting a strategic review as suggested in the concept note, and we hope that this review will be a practical and productive one, rather than a conceptual one, so that we can make a concrete difference on the ground.
Mr. President,
In this context, let me share with this Council one concrete project that my Government is undertaking on the ground. This might be a good example of a project that could have a multidimensional and cross-cutting effect.
Controlling the border in Africa, especially in the Sahel region is not an easy task for anyone, since it is as if doing the job in the sea, due to the existence of Sahara Desert. We should bear in mind this characteristic, not only the lack of capacity of border countries.
Japan has been promoting “the One-Stop Border Post (OSBP)” in Africa, which aims to eliminate the daily cumbersome border procedure with an efficient high-technology system that embraces all border procedures, such as customs, immigration and vehicular clearances. The idea of this project is to promote trade by shortening the time necessary for goods to cross the border by enabling all the necessary procedures to be done at once at a one-stop border post, instead of stopping twice at both sides for exit and entry.
Adapting the local system to a globalized market has indeed been making difference. It turns out that taking measures to improve procedures at borders also has a much broader effect. Measures for reinforcing border procedures can make a positive impact in the fight against trafficking in drugs, firearms and persons, transferring of terrorists, and terrorist financing. The opposite is true as well. Taking measures against terrorism and cross-border crime can have a positive effect on promoting trade and investment.
Mr. President,
It is true that we should tackle and take operational measures on the issues in question one by one. But it is also true that we should implement such specific measures with a more cross-cutting and bird’s eye view in mind, in order to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of our efforts. I believe taking the broader perspective on the OSBP project is a good example of such an approach, and Japan hopes this way of thinking will be mainstreamed in future discussions in this Council.
Mr. President,
Let me conclude my statement by reaffirming Japan’s resolute position to fight against all the problems which could undermine international peace and security, including terrorism and cross-border crime. As a responsible member of the U.N., Japan will continue to play an active role in the discussions on more effective and efficient ways to fight against these problems, hand in hand with the international community.
I thank you for your attention.
