EU Presidency Statement - United Nations: Briefings by Chairmen of Subsidiary Bodies of the Security Council

Statement on behalf of the European Union, by H.E. Mr. Thomas Matussek, Permanent Representative of Germany, on the occasion of Briefings by Chairmen of Subsidiary Bodies of the Security Council in the Security Council, New York

Mr. President,

I have the honour to speak today on behalf of the European Union.

The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Montenegro and Serbia, the EFTA country Iceland, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.

The EU welcomes this debate on the work of the three Security Council committees dealing with various aspects of counter-terrorism. We thank the Chairmen of the Al Qaeda Taliban Sanctions Committee, the Counter-Terrorism Committee and of the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004) for their informative briefings on the ongoing work.

Mr. President,

Terrorism is a global threat that requires a global and comprehensive response. In this regard, the United Nations have a unique role to play. The 13 UN conventions and protocols against terrorism together with Security Council resolutions 1267 (1999), 1373 (2001) and 1540 (2004) as well as other relevant resolutions provide the legal framework for multilateral action. The EU continues to be committed to reaching an agreement on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism as soon as possible. In September 2006, the General Assembly and the Member States of the UN demonstrated their unity and resolve to combating terrorism by adopting the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy by consensus. We believe this was an encouraging step towards unified UN action.

The EU unequivocally condemns all acts of terrorism as criminal. Terrorism can never be justified, irrespective of its alleged motivations, objectives, forms or manifestations. At the same time, we underline that the respect for international law, international humanitarian law, human rights law and refugee law are essential elements for effective and legitimate action to counter terrorism. Our action must be firmly based on due process and the rule of law.

Mr. President,

We commend the 1267 Committee for the considerable progress made with regard to improving the effectiveness of the Al Qaeda Taliban sanctions regime over the past few months. In doing so, the committee was effectively supported by the Monitoring Team.

The EU welcomes measures taken by the committee to improve listing, notification and delisting of individuals and entities, to keep the consolidated list updated and to enhance public outreach. To name but a few improvements: The revised guidelines foresee the possibility of reviewing all listings older than 4 years on an annual basis. Requests for listing have to be presented in a new format ensuring clarity and consistency. The notification of listed individuals and entities is speeded up. Individual requests for delisting may now also be presented via the Focal Point established at the UN Secretariat in March 2007.

The 1267 Committee has been the first of the sanctions committees to include this new procedure into its guidelines. The EU hopes that all committees will follow this example as soon as possible. Thus, sanctions regimes could be harmonized with respect to the need to ensure that all individual requests actually reach the committee and are thoroughly considered by its members. We would like to point out that Member States may also declare to refer all delisting requests from their respective countries to the Focal Point.

The EU has always emphasized the need to strengthen fair and clear procedures with regard to targeted sanctions in order to enhance their effectiveness. Several EU Member States have contributed to this process. We note that tangible progress has been achieved over the past months, in particular in the 1267 Committee. The EU will observe the implementation of the new guidelines and procedures. In the light of this experience, other challenges may be identified.

Let me add that the credibility and effectiveness of UN sanctions regimes might also benefit from a greater harmonization of various procedures in place. In this regard, the EU would draw attention to the recommendations developed by the Security Council's Informal Working Group on General Issues of Sanctions. A one-day-seminar on 30 April sponsored by Greece highlighted these aspects.

Mr. President,

The European Union welcomes the recently published work programmes of the Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC) and of the Executive Directorate (CTED). They focus on monitoring and promoting the implementation of resolutions 1373 (2001) and 1624 (2005) as well as on facilitating technical assistance to States and maintaining a constructive dialogue with them. CTED's programme also includes deadlines for the performance of specific activities.

In this regard, the EU recalls the substantive review of the work of the Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate undertaken by this committee at the end of 2006.
We are pleased to learn that the recommendations contained in this review are now being followed up. We have also noted that CTED has recently conducted a number of successful country visits and that it develops a more tailored approach to dialogue with countries concerned.

On this occasion, the European Union would like to commend Assistant Secretary General Javier Ruperéz, Executive Director of CTED, for his valuable efforts in leading the setting-up and the work of CTED until June 2007.

The EU also notes that CTED's current mandate will expire at the end of 2007. The Counter-Terrorism Committee will have to review the mandate in the second half of 2007.

The EU strongly supports the work of CTC and CTED promoting and monitoring the implementation of resolutions 1373 and 1624. These resolutions have set ambitious standards with regard to international cooperation and on the issue of incitement to terrorism. However, implementing these resolutions is and will remain first and foremost an obligation of the UN Member States.

Mr. President,

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery is a growing threat to international peace and security. In this context, the European Union fully acknowledges the relevance of resolution 1540 (2004) as an important international instrument to deal with this threat in an integrated and comprehensive manner.

The EU remains determined to give full support to the 1540 Committee in its endeavour to implement resolution 1540 (2004). This includes the provision of assistance to States on preparing and submitting national reports. Let me mention at this point the EU´s own strategy against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction which is one of the pillars of the EU's non-proliferation policy and contributes to the implementation of resolution 1540 (2004). It includes, among other things, a programme of assistance to States in need of technical knowledge in the field of export control thus reinforcing the efforts by the 1540 Committee.

I would also like to draw your attention to some specific measures undertaken lately by the European Union in this context: In 2006, the EU and Member States held a number of seminars providing export control training and assistance to states in need of technical knowledge. In addition, the cooperation and assistance programmes under the 2005 Pilot Project programme of the European Commission were advanced in several countries. Finally, the EU co-sponsored and, together with UN-ODA, co-financed three regional seminars through a Joint Action of all EU Member States to support regional implementation of resolution 1540 (2004).

In giving assistance to the implementation of this resolution in third countries the EU will continue to cooperate and coordinate closely with the 1540 Committee and the governments involved.

Today's debate is an opportunity to look ahead and beyond the second implementation phase of resolution 1540 (2004) ending in April 2008. Developing a step-by-step approach of concrete measures that will lead to its fully-fledged implementation might be a promising perspective. The 1540 Committee will have a coordinating role.

Mr. President,

To conclude, I would like to thank the Chairmen of the three committees for their dedicated work. We believe that presenting their work in an open debate at the Security Council can only strengthen the transparency and legitimacy of the Security Council's efforts in the field of counter-terrorism and non-proliferation of WMD. The EU will continue to support the implementation of the resolutions concerned.

Thank you.


* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

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• "The External Dimension of the Fight Against International Terrorism" - Speech by EU Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner (14/2/2007)
• Time to step up action- enhancing European prevention, preparedness and response to terrorism: Commission allocates €9 million (26/10/2006)
• EU Presidency Statement - Security Council: Al-Qaida/Taliban Sanctions Committee, Counter-Terrorism Committee and the Committee established pursuant to SC Resolution 1540 (2004) (28/9/2006)