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Thank you Mr. President,
We would like to join others in extending a warm welcome to Ambassador Parry
(UK) in our midst and look forward to working with him in the spirit of
friendliness and traditional cooperation which characterizes our bilateral
relations.
I also wish to thank Ambassador Munoz for his first briefing as the Chairman of
the 1267 Sanctions Committee to the Security Council on the work of the
Committee, the Monitoring Group and its future plans. We have full confidence in
his leadership and capabilities and we wish him good luck for his term as
chairman of the Committee.
Mr. President,
We appreciate the role the 1267 Sanctions Committee has been playing in the
fight against terrorism. The consolidated list maintained by the Committee has
been rightly described as the key tool in this regard. We have also noted
efforts of the Committee to improve the content and format of the list.
As the Committee needs international cooperation to fulfill its mandated tasks,
it is important that member states continue to extend to it their fullest
cooperation. We believe the improved guidelines of the Committee would
facilitate this process and encourage member states to comply with their
obligations under UN Security Council resolutions. Committee’s efforts to bring
more transparency in its work would also be helpful in encouraging greater
cooperation with the Committee.
Clarification of the roles of the 1267 Sanctions Committee and the Counter
Terrorism Committee would remove confusion, if any, about the work the two
committees perform. We also believe that this clarification would lead to a
better understanding of, and appreciation for, the work of each committee.
We share the views of the Chairman about the role country reports play in the
analysis of the Committee on how best to deal with the fight against terrorism.
However, we need to address the factors which may lead to reporting fatigue and
are responsible, at least in part, for a low response from member states to
submit reports to the Committee.
I would also take this opportunity to appreciate the role the Monitoring Group
has been playing in furthering the work of the Committee and in monitoring
compliance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions. We hope that the
recent addition of supporting staff to the Group would help improve its
performance further. We hope that the Group would maintain and improve its
analytical reporting to the Council.
Mr. President,
When it comes to terrorism, Pakistan speaks from its own experiences based on
the sacrifices our citizens and law enforcement officials have made especially
in the last two decades. Pakistan has had to face a heavy price during this
period for its principled position against terrorism and in support of the right
of people for self determination.
But to the dismay of terrorists, these incidents have served to strengthen
Pakistan’s resolve to fight this menace with ever greater conviction and
resolution. We have captured about five hundred al Qaida terrorists since 9/11.
Our message to the terrorists and their supporters is clear and unequivocal: We
can not be cowed down by acts or threats of terrorism and that we continue to
stand undeterred in the face of terrorism.
Mr. President,
Terrorism has become the bane of all countries alike. It is no longer a
localized problem which could be solved through domestic actions alone. The
modern manifestations of terrorism endanger peace and security of the entire
world. The measures to combat this problem, should therefore, be based on
international cooperation and coordination.
As we proceed with the fight against terrorism, it becomes increasingly clear
that we would need long term solutions to address this problem. We will have to
move beyond administrative and legal responses. At the policy level, the
international community would need to pay greater attention to factors which lie
at the root of most cases of terrorism. There is a certain correlation between
poverty, religious and political persecution and injustice and terrorism.
Our policy response to terrorism should be broad and multifaceted, not limited
only to administrative, legislative or legal measures but should also encompass
measures that address factors which are partly, if not fully, responsible for
its growth. It may not be possible to vouchsafe for the elimination of all acts
of terrorism through those policy measures. But at least, through these
measures, we would have deprived many potential terrorists of causes or
justifications for resorting to terrorism.
As noted at the Open meeting of the Security Council on 23 July, the emotional
impact of events of 9/11 is now decreasing. It is therefore, important that we
sustain our fight along lines which ensure maximum cooperation of all states as
it is no longer a concern of a few states but of the whole humanity.
Mr. President,
A legal definition of terrorism is necessary to prevent its abuse by certain
states who visit all kinds of hardships on innocent civilians all in the name of
fighting terrorism. Unless we control our actions by subjecting it to the
limitation of a legal definition and a political commitment to addressing this
problem in its entirety, it would not be possible to avoid abuse of human
rights, denial of right of self determination or prevention of state terrorism.
Securing consensus for a definition of terrorism might be difficult, but is not
impossible.
We need to re prioritize our goals in the fight against terrorism to ensure we
continue to be on track and do not lose sight of our long term objective of
ensuring and maintaining international peace and security.
I thank you Mr. President..