STATEMENT BY H.E. MR. SHINICHI KITAOKA
DEPUTY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF JAPAN
AT THE PUBLIC MEETING OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL
ON COUNTER-TERRORISM-RELATED ACTIVITIES

20 July 2005

Mr. President,

I would like to welcome the Chairs of the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee, the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) and the 1540 Committee, and express my appreciation for their briefings.

My delegation would first of all like to express its sincere condolences to the families of the victims and hopes for early recovery to those who suffered injury in the London simultaneous terrorist bombings on 7 July. Terrorism must never be condoned. As in the case of the Madrid train bombings and the attacks on the Tokyo subway system with sarin gas, innocent lives were taken by the targeting of mass transit for terror attacks, which is surely the most reprehensible act imaginable.

As is evident from the London terrorist bombings, terrorism continues to pose an immediate threat to all of us, as does the risk of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery falling into terrorist hands. The Security Council has been working in earnest to cope with such threats. Following the meeting in April, it is extremely meaningful that, today, the Chairs of the three committees have provided clear explanations of the work done by their respective committees and experts, and described the programmes of the Security Council as a whole which are devoted to the common task of fighting against terrorism. Deepening the cooperation among these committees will ensure the development of an effective counter-terrorism policy.

Mr. President,

There are four points I would like to emphasize which may help to further advance the work of the three committees.

First, it became clear once again from the London terrorist bombings that it is of utmost importance to urgently establish preventive measures to counter terrorism. Enhancing information sharing and cooperation is one such measure. In addition to bilateral arrangements, it is important that the Security Council encourages Member States to utilize information and experience accumulated by bodies such as the International Criminal and Police Organization (Interpol), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Such efforts will enable States to deny entry to terrorists by sharing information on lost and stolen passports and to suppress terrorist financing.

Second, capacity building of Member States is of course crucial. The CTC has finished its first round of country visits, which began in March this year. Japan regards such visits to be useful for capacity building of those States visited. Of course, the country visits need to be constantly improved and follow-up of the visits is also necessary. My government expects that the CTC will encourage the efforts of the visiting States and identify the areas where assistance from the international community is needed, thereby facilitating actual provision of assistance and effectively achieving its intended objectives. From that point of view, we will closely observe the developments achieved by the end of this year. Information on the assistance needs of Member States provided to the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee and the 1540 Committee must be shared with the CTC. Japan will continue to provide bilateral assistance for capacity building.

Third, in order to prevent the proliferation of terrorists and terrorist acts, improvement and strengthening of sanction measures continues to be necessary. From that point of view, as a result of the discussion currently taking place with regard to the new resolution on the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee, my government expects that we will soon be able to decide on ways to improve and strengthen sanction measures by, for example, establishing clearer procedures so that the consolidated list of the Committee will be easier for Member States to use, strengthening the cooperation between the Committee and Interpol and setting up a system to effectively implement asset freezing measures. In this connection, Japan appreciates the three reports prepared by the Monitoring Team. We are certain that, in conjunction with today's discussion, the reports will contribute greatly to improving and strengthening the sanction measures.

Fourth, in the fight against terrorism, the full cooperation of Member States in the efforts of the United Nations is, after all, indispensable. As underscored on various other occasions, Japan would like to urge Member States to join and implement the twelve counter-terrorism-related international conventions and protocols as a matter of urgency and to sign the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism in its early stage. At the same time, it is essential for the international community to clearly state that the targeting and deliberate killing of civilians and non-combatants cannot be justified or legitimized by any cause or grievance, and to cooperate in concluding the negotiation of the draft Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism by June 2006.

Although it takes time and is a difficult task to prepare domestic legislation and measures to implement Security Council resolutions 1267, 1373, 1540 and other relevant resolutions, the sound way to counter terrorism is to continue to make steady progress in such preparations. The Security Council will continue to strive to make provision for an effective mechanism for counter-terrorism policy and to ensure that necessary assistance be provided to those Member States requiring and requesting it. To facilitate that, cooperation such as the submission of reports without delay and provision of information to each committee is essential.

Mr. President,

No State, whether developed or developing, is exempt from the threat of terrorism. Every State is constantly studying ways to enable its people to live in a safe world, and the United Nations is at the forefront of gathering and sharing the accumulated knowledge and experience of Member States in this regard.

Japan supports Secretary-General Annan's recommendation to implement a comprehensive strategy for counter-terrorism. My government expects that all Heads of State will accept the Secretary-General's recommendation at the Summit Meeting in September. In addition, in order to further strengthen the actions taken by the Security Council, my government will continue to extend its full cooperation for the work of the three committees.

Thank you.

Related Information (Counter Terrorism)
Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations Official Web Site