Counter-terrorism assessments near completion, chair of UN body says

By the end of May 2007, assessments of counter-terrorism measures taken by all United Nations Member States will have been presented to the Security Council committee that monitors the global fight against the menace, its chairman said today.

Ambassador Ricardo Alberto Arias of Panama, the chairman of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), established by resolution 1373 (2001) after the 11 September terrorist attacks against the United States, said that this will give the Committee a comprehensive picture of the implementation of that resolution, as well as a better idea of assistance needed by States to better comply.

Assisting Member States to fulfil their reporting responsibilities was also a top priority for the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004) to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) by non-State actors, particularly terrorists, said its chairman, Ambassador Peter Burian of Slovakia.

Since the last briefing to the Council in September 2006, Antigua and Barbuda, Nicaragua, Tuvalu and Vanuatu had submitted their first reports, leaving a shortfall of 55 reports, most of them from countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

In order to help those States fulfil their reporting their requirements, the Committee had sent to them, in October/November 2006, a legislative database and a partially completed draft matrix prepared by Committee experts to serve as a starting point.

The chairman of the 1267 (1999) Committee concerning Al-Qaida and Taliban sanctions, Ambassador Johan Verbeke of Belgium, told the Council that its most important work at the moment is revamping its procedures and improving the list of targeted persons and organizations.

In that regard, he appealed for the assistance of States in updating the list, both with new names to be included, as well as additional information for those already on the list.

Equally important, said all three chairmen, are efforts to coordinate the work of the three committees. “We all expressed a willingness to work more intensively together, especially in the area of addressing the issue of non-reporting States,” Mr. Burian told the press after the meeting.