STATEMENT BY H.E. MR. KAZUO KODAMA
DEPUTY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF JAPAN TO THE UNITED NATIONS
AT THE BRIEFINGS BY THE CHAIRS OF SUBSIDIARY BODIES
OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL
15 November 2010

Mr. President,

           At the outset, I would like to express my appreciation to the Chairs of the Council’s three counter-terrorism-related committees for their respective briefings on the developments during the last six months.

           The recently uncovered cargo plane bomb plot and last year’s attempted bombing of a United States commercial aircraft remind us yet again that terrorism continues to be a global and imminent threat and that deep-seated problems surrounding terrorism such as radicalization and terrorist safe havens need to be addressed in an appropriate manner.

           To eradicate terrorism, a multifaceted approach by all stakeholders is vital. These three committees play a significant role in this context and should continue their efforts to develop further effective and efficient measures.

Mr. President,

           As we are all aware, the threat of terrorism posed by Al-Qaida and the Taliban continues unabated. The sanctions imposed against individuals and entities associated with Al-Qaida and the Taliban under resolution 1267 and its successor resolutions, namely, travel bans, freezing of assets and arms embargoes, continue to play a crucial role in countering terrorism.

           In order for the 1267 sanctions regime to be fully effective and legitimate, continued efforts to ensure the credibility of the Consolidated List are indispensable. In this context, we regard the improvement of the 1267 regime pursuant to resolution 1904 as instrumental in enhancing due process and raising the List’s transparency and efficiency. We also welcome the recent successful review of the Consolidated List pursuant to paragraph 25 of Security Council resolution 1822 and the commencement of work by Ms. Kimberly Prost, who was appointed Ombudsperson on 3 June this year.

           We are grateful to the Chair of the 1267 Committee, Ambassador Mayr-Harting, the Austrian Mission and the Monitoring Team for their devoted work to review the

Consolidated List. We continue to support the efforts to improve the sanctions regime without compromising its effectiveness and efficiency as a counter-terrorism measure.

Mr. President,

           I welcome the excellent work done by CTC/CTED, the Counter-Terrorism Committee and its Executive Directorate, to encourage Member States to fully implement resolution 1373.

           We recognize that, in recent CTC meetings, we have had fruitful discussions on substantive and regional issues. It is our hope that we will have further discussion on thematic issues and that these discussions will facilitate the formulation of best practices and effective recommendations in the field of counter-terrorism.

           Japan supports the stock-taking exercise for the review of the implementation of resolution 1373 by all Member States. This exercise is contributing to identifying the challenges that Member States face in this area and the technical assistance that they require. In this regard, we would like to stress that all Member States should cooperate fully with CTC/CTED and make a determined effort to submit their PIAs on time.

           We also would like to highlight the importance of the country visits which have been conducted by CTC/CTED. Country visits, through direct contact with the relevant authorities, provide a means to ascertain the situation of counter-terrorism in a given country and to identify the concrete technical assistance needs for capacity-building. To further enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of its operations, we hope to see a more strategic execution of country visits by CTED such as by prioritizing certain regions and fields.

           We note that the draft Security Council resolution to extend the mandate of CTED will be discussed in the Security Council next month. Japan attaches great importance to the role of CTED to determine essential technical assistance needs among Member States in the field of counter-terrorism. From this point of view, Japan will participate in the discussion on the draft resolution in a constructive manner.

Mr. President,

           Japan appreciates the enhanced work of the 1540 Committee throughout this year. We believe the Committee’s work has become more effective and better coordinated under the leadership of the Chair, particularly from the perspective of expanding the scope of its cooperation with regional and international organizations. Japan is delighted to have been able to support the Chair’s efforts through its role as coordinator of the Working Group on monitoring and national implementation. It is our strong desire that the 1540 Committee will deepen its cooperation with other relevant bodies, above all with the 1267 and 1373 Committees, in order to ensure that Member States will fully implement the obligations stipulated under the resolution.

           The mandate of the 1540 Committee will expire next April. Given the important role the committee plays in the area of non-proliferation, Japan hopes that, in discussing the renewal of its mandate, all the experiences gained and lessons learned from its past activities will be fully taken into account. One of the key features of the Committee’s work is its cooperation with Member States to secure the full implementation of the resolution. Needless to say, Japan will continue to extend its assistance in promoting the objectives of resolution 1540, in close cooperation with the 1540 Committee and in other international fora, including the G8. Through such assistance, joint efforts of like-minded countries and close coordination among relevant organizations, the work of the 1540 Committee will move on from the stage of awareness-raising to that of strengthening capacities among Member States to advance the aims of non-proliferation.

Mr. President,

           Lastly, we appreciate the close cooperation among the three subsidiary committees to maximize their functions mandated by the respective Security Council resolutions. We also commend the contribution of their work within the framework of the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF). The cooperation, coordination and coherence in this area should make the most of the committees’ limited capacities and resources by avoiding duplication and overlap.

           I thank you.