AG/RES. 2170 (XXXVI-O/06) Support for the Work of the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism

General Assembly of the Organization of American States
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

HAVING SEEN the observations and recommendations of the Permanent Council on the annual reports of the organs, agencies, and entities of the Organization of American States (OAS) (AG/doc.4548/06 add. 5), particularly the Annual Report of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CP/doc.4110/06 rev. 1);

REITERATING the commitments undertaken in resolutions AG/RES. 1650 (XXIX-O/99), "Hemispheric Cooperation to Prevent, Combat and Eliminate Terrorism"; AG/RES. 1734 (XXX-O/00), "Observations and Recommendations on the Annual Report of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism"; and AG/RES. 1789 (XXXI-O/01), AG/RES. 1877 (XXXII-O/02), AG/RES. 1964 (XXXIII-O/03), AG/RES. 2051 (XXXIV-O/04), and AG/RES. 2137 (XXXV-O/05), "Support for the Work of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism";

NOTING WITH SATISFACTION that the Sixth Regular Session of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE) was held in Bogotá, Colombia, from March 22 to 24, 2006, and adopted the Declaration of San Carlos on Hemispheric Cooperation for Comprehensive Action to Fight Terrorism, the CICTE Work Plan, and resolution CICTE/RES. 1/06, "Cooperation Initiatives for the Security of Tourism and Recreational Facilities in the Americas";

REAFFIRMING that terrorism, whatever its form or manifestation and whatever its origin or motivation, has no justification whatsoever, is inimical to the full enjoyment and exercise of human rights, and poses a grave threat to international peace and security and the democratic values enshrined in the OAS Charter, the Inter-American Democratic Charter, and other regional and international instruments;

RECALLING the need to confront terrorism through sustained cooperation, with full respect for the obligations that international law imposes, including international human rights law, international humanitarian law, and international refugee law;

REAFFIRMING that the fight against terrorism demands the broadest possible cooperation among the member states and coordination among international and regional organizations, in order to prevent, punish, and eliminate terrorism in all its forms;

NOTING WITH SATISFACTION that Argentina, Brazil, Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States ratified the Inter-American Convention against Terrorism in 2005 and that other countries not yet party to this Convention have nonetheless made important headway; and

NOTING WITH SATISFACTION ALSO the holding of the fourth meeting of CICTE’s National Points of Contact, in Bogotá, Colombia, on March 22, 2006, and the strengthening of the National Points of Contact Network to facilitate and improve information exchange and to share best practices for cooperation in the fight against terrorism in the Hemisphere,

RESOLVES:

1. To express its most vigorous condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, as criminal and unjustifiable under any circumstances, in any place, and regardless of who perpetrates it, and because it poses a grave threat to international peace and security, and to the democracy, stability, and prosperity of the countries of the region.

2. To endorse the Declaration of San Carlos on Hemispheric Cooperation for Comprehensive Action to Fight Terrorism; and to encourage the member states to implement the commitments contained therein.

3. To reiterate that it is important for the member states of the Organization of American States (OAS) to sign, ratify, implement, and continue implementing, as the case may be, the Inter-American Convention against Terrorism, as well as pertinent regional and international conventions and protocols, including the 13 international conventions and protocols and United Nations Security Council resolutions 1267 (1999), 1373 (2001), 1540 (2004), 1566 (2004), 1617 (2005), and 1624 (2005), in order to find, deny safe haven to, and bring to justice, on the basis of the principle of extradite or prosecute, any person who supports, facilitates, participates, or attempts to participate in the financing, planning, preparation, or commission of terrorist acts or provides safe havens.

4. To express its abiding commitment to fight terrorism and the financing thereof with full respect for the rule of law and international law, including international humanitarian law, international human rights law, international refugee law, the Inter-American Convention against Terrorism, and United Nations Security Council resolution 1373 (2001).

5. To call upon those member states that have not yet done so to ratify the Inter-American Convention against Terrorism and to implement it effectively.

6. To express satisfaction with the progress made by member states in the adoption of effective measures to prevent, combat, and eradicate terrorism; and to underscore the need to continue strengthening their application and that of cooperation mechanisms in the fight against terrorism at the bilateral, subregional, regional, and international levels.

7. To express its satisfaction with the work of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE) in identifying immediate and longer-term measures needed to strengthen hemispheric cooperation to prevent, combat, and eliminate terrorism, including technical assistance provided to states that request it in order to comply with their obligations under the various binding international instruments, in accordance with CICTE’s new Work Plan.

8. To instruct the CICTE Secretariat to implement the programs and projects listed in the CICTE Work Plan for 2006-2007, in particular those that involve measures to prevent, control, and punish terrorist financing, through training programs for those officers of the law and the courts charged with investigating, prosecuting, and punishing these crimes; assistance in carrying out the Nine Special Recommendations on Terrorist Financing of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF); assistance in creating and launching Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs) in those countries where they do not yet exist; the inter-American program for the security of tourism and recreational facilities in the Americas; measures to prevent terrorists from acquiring biological, chemical, and nuclear materials, and technical assistance to improve the quality of travel documents and similar documents and their security measures.

9. Once again to thank the member states and permanent observers that have contributed human and other resources to CICTE’s Secretariat to help implement the CICTE Work Plan.

10. Once again to call upon member states, permanent observers, and pertinent international organizations to provide, maintain, or increase, as appropriate, their voluntary contributions of funding and/or human resources to CICTE to enable it to perform its functions and enhance its programs and areas of activity.

11. To instruct the General Secretariat to continue providing, within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the OAS and other resources, administrative and any other support needed for the CICTE Secretariat and for the Seventh Regular Session of CICTE, scheduled to be held in Panama City, Panama, in the first quarter of 2007, including the preparatory meetings for that regular session and for the meeting of National Points of Contact that will take place in conjunction with it.

12. To request the Chair of CICTE to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh regular session on the implementation of this resolution.