AG/RES. 2051 (XXXIV-O/04): Support for the Work of the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism

(Adopted at the fourth plenary session held on June 8, 2004)

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 (AG/doc….), in particular as they pertain to the Report of the Chair of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism to the General Assembly (CP/doc.3589/04);

RECALLING its 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), and AG/RES. 1964 (XXXIII-O/03), all entitled "Support for the Work of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism";

REITERATING WITH RENEWED CONCERN that the threat of terrorism is exacerbated by the connections between terrorism and illicit drug trafficking, illicit trafficking in arms, money laundering, and other forms of transnational organized crime and that the resulting alliances and proceeds derived from those connections are or can be used to support and finance terrorist activities;

NOTING WITH SATISFACTION that the fourth regular session of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE) was held in Montevideo, Uruguay, from January 28-30, 2004, on which occasion the member states adopted the Declaration of Montevideo and the CICTE Work Plan, and agreed to submit Proposed Amendments to the Statute of CICTE for consideration by the General Assembly at its thirty-fourth regular session;

REAFFIRMING that terrorism, whatever its origin or motivation, has no justification whatsoever, and that, in keeping with the Declaration of Montevideo adopted by the member states at the fourth regular session of CICTE, terrorism constitutes a serious threat to democratic values and to international peace and security, destabilizes and undermines the foundations of society as a whole, and seriously affects economic and social development in the states of the region;

REAFFIRMING the main purpose of CICTE, which is to promote and develop cooperation among Member Status to prevent, combat and eliminate terrorism, as well as the civilian nature of its functions as expressed in the amendments to the statute of CICTE and described in the report of the Rapporteur on CICTE’s Fourth Regular Session;

NOTING WITH SATISFACTION that, with the ratifications of Antigua and Barbuda, Canada, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru, the Inter-American Convention against Terrorism came into force on July 10, 2003 and that, in 2004, Panama and Venezuela also became States Parties to that Convention;

REAFFIRMING the statements with respect to the fight against terrorism made by our states in the Declaration on Security in the Americas, adopted at the Special Conference on Security, held in Mexico City, Mexico, on October 27 and 28, 2003;

RECALLING the commitments with respect to terrorism contained in the Declaration of Nuevo León, adopted at the Special Summit of the Americas, held in Monterrey, Mexico, on January 12 and 13, 2004;

BEARING IN MIND United Nations Security Council resolution S/RES/1373 (2001) in which member states undertake to adopt specific measures to combat international terrorism;

UNDERSCORING that among the functions of CICTE is that of working with member states, in consultation with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), in order to promote respect for international law, including international human rights law, international humanitarian law, and refugee law, in all actions undertaken by member states to prevent, combat, and eliminate terrorism;

WELCOMING:

The increasing collaboration between the CICTE Secretariat and subregional and international organizations, including the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFTAF), the South American Financial Action Task Force (GAFISUD), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), the Regional Security System of the Eastern Caribbean States (RSS), and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO);

The holding of the first meeting of National Points of Contact on July 14 and 15, 2003, in Washington, D.C., United States, and the establishment of a 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; and

That, in order to develop a draft integral OAS strategy on cyber security, as instructed in resolution AG/RES. 1939 (XXXIII-O/03), the OAS Conference on Cybersecurity was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 28 and 29, 2003, and the Cybersecurity Practitioners' Workshop was held in Ottawa, Canada, March 28-30, 2004, with the assistance of CICTE, the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL), and the Group of Govermental Experts on Cyber Crime of the Meetings of Ministers of Justice or Ministers or Attorneys General (REMJA),

RESOLVES:

1. To reaffirm its commitment to continue strengthening hemispheric cooperation and implementing specific measures to prevent, combat, and eliminate terrorism.

2. To express its ongoing 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 S/RES/1373 (2001).

3. 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.

4. To call upon the member states to sign, ratify, or accede to the Inter-American Convention against Terrorism, as appropriate, and to implement it effectively.

5. To endorse the Declaration of Montevideo and encourage the member states to implement the commitments contained in that Declaration.

6. To express its satisfaction with the work of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE) in identifying urgent and long-term measures to strengthen hemispheric cooperation to prevent, combat, and eliminate terrorism and, in particular, its efforts to strengthen port, maritime, and aviation security, and cybersecurity.

7. To urge CICTE to facilitate ongoing dialogue among member states with a view to undertaking preventive measures that anticipate and address emerging terrorist threats, whatever their origin, such as cybersecurity, bioterrorism, threats to critical infrastructure, and potential access to, and possession and use by terrorists of weapons of mass destruction and related materials and their means of delivery.

8. To express its appreciation to the member states and permanent observers, as well as the Inter-American Defense Board, which have contributed personnel and other resources for the CICTE Secretariat and to support the implementation of the CICTE Work Plan.

9. To call on member states, permanent observers, and other members of the international community to provide, maintain, or increase, as appropriate, financial contributions to CICTE and to consider designating personnel for the CICTE Secretariat.

10. To urge the member states to:

a. Intensify their actions to comply strictly with the provisions of United Nations Security Council resolution S/RES/1373 (2001), in particular the obligation to refrain from providing any kind of support to entities or persons who participate in the commission of terrorist acts; the obligation to deny refuge and/or safe haven to those who finance, plan, support, or commit terrorist acts; and the duty to prevent their territories from being used to finance, plan, and facilitate the commission of such acts;

b. Continue their efforts to implement the recommendations on financial and border controls, transportation security, and cybersecurity, adopted at the fourth regular session of CICTE, including, as appropriate, the incorporation of those recommendations in their domestic law, as well as the adoption of measures necessary for intensifying the exchange of information on the activities of terrorist groups;

c. Forward periodically to the CICTE Secretariat information on their implementation of the recommendations contained in the CICTE Work Plan, and on their respective needs for cooperation;

d. Lend the broadest and most expeditious mutual legal assistance in keeping with the multilateral and bilateral treaties and, to that end, to participate in the mutual legal assistance network of the OAS; and

e. Continue encouraging the broadest cooperation, within the appropriate OAS organs, on matters related to the objectives and purposes of the Inter-American Convention against Terrorism.

11. To instruct the CICTE Secretariat to implement the programs and projects listed in the CICTE Work Plan for 2004, and to assist the member states, when they so request, to implement the recommendations on border and financial controls, and transportation security, in particular, maritime, port, and aviation security, and cybersecurity.

12. To reiterate the importance of strengthening collaboration, coordination, and information exchange on counter-terrorism programs and activities between CICTE and the appropriate inter-American committees and mechanisms.

13. To instruct the General Secretariat to continue providing, within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources, administrative and any other necessary support for the CICTE Secretariat and the fifth regular session of CICTE scheduled to be held in Trinidad and Tobago in the first quarter of 2005, including the preparatory meetings for that regular session, and for the meeting of points of contact which will take place in conjunction with that regular session.

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