Anti-terrorism committees brief Security Council

Anti-terrorism committees brief Security Council on measures and threats

The chairmen of the three anti-terrorism committees briefed the Security Council today on recent measures undertaken to tackle the global scourge, with one chair highlighting the danger of non-State actors gaining access to weapons of mass destruction, and another saying that closer ties with Interpol had increased effectiveness.

Peter Burian, Chairman of the so-called “1540” Committee named after its Security Council resolution, warned that “all States were vulnerable to being used by non-State actors who might want to gain access to weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery.”

“The best defence, then, is for States to implement resolution 1540 in full, such as by enacting and enforcing effective national legal and regulatory measures,” Mr. Burian said, adding that almost 70 states had yet to report to his Committee on what progress they had made in fulfilling the resolution’s requirements.

In his briefing to the 15-member Council, Cesar Mayoral, Chairman of the Security Council Committee concerning Al-Qaida and the Taliban and associated entities, said that his Committee had “increased substantively cooperation with Interpol” to help with its mandate.

Mr. Mayoral also said that members of the Committee’s Monitoring Team had accompanied him on recent visits to Indonesia and Japan and that in both countries he had been impressed with the high level of domestic and international coordination and cooperation.

“Such cooperation is essential in the international fight against terrorism and the visits helped bring awareness of the crucial role the United Nations played in that regard,” he said.

In her briefing to the Council, Ellen Margrethe Løj, Chairman of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, said that one of the key aspects of her committee’s role was also to visit States engaged in the fight against terrorism “in order to offer additional analysis.”

She said that staff members had already visited Algeria and the United Republic of Tanzania and were making preparations for a visit to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, adding that in the months ahead the Committee would put more emphasis on enhancing visits to States.

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