International Statements and Remarks

International Statements and Remarks

The counter-terrorism conference saw a unified stance amongst countries from around the world against terrorism. Each country spoke of its own experiences of terrorism and how it suggests that it must be fought.

Below are statements in sum from the participating countries at the

Riyadh conference.

The plenary session was opened with the speech of His Royal Highness the Chairman of the conference who welcomed the delegates and stressed the importance of coming up with views and various experiences of counter-terrorism. He said that terrorism is a global phenomenon not related to any religion or identity and that its not merely an action but the results of deviant thought that needs to be addressed which means the importance for intellectual, cultural, media institutions combating the idea without restriction to the security institutions. The speech of the Chairman also included the emphasis that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the first countries to combat terrorism. He made it clear that the terrorist acts being witnessed in the Kingdom is a result of activities reflecting alien deviant thoughts not related to Islam and that the Saudi people are totally against terrorism.

The Head of the Algerian delegation presented a message addressed to the conference from His Excellency President Abdulaziz Boutaflika which included the emphasis by His Excellency on the importance of the conference and invitation to surmount all the challenges facing the conference to come up with a set of principles and recommendations to serve as the means of renewal for the international community in counter-terrorism and to reject duplicity in perception of terrorist acts and to develop national legislations against perpetrators of terrorist acts and to include bilateral and multilateral cooperation covering the political and security aspects of terrorism and which is based on a comprehensive project of collective security.

The conference adopted the inclusion of proposals made by His Royal Highness Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz in the conference agenda for discussion and in the appropriate executive format.

The Head of the Pakistan delegation spoke about the efforts of Pakistan in combating terrorist cells on its border with Afghanistan in the war against Al-Qaida. He highlighted the positive achievements from security and intelligence cooperation with Afghanistan and the United States in the fight against counter-terrorism.

The Head of the delegation of the United States of America delivered an address in which she congratulated the Saudi security authorities for their bravery and competence in facing the terrorist forces. She stressed the depth of Saudi-American relations describing it as strategic and of special importance which continues to grow by virtue of agreement in the visions of the two countries and their cooperation in combating international terrorism. She also praised the multi-dimensional reform efforts in the Kingdom saying that this conference is a clear testimony of the depth of Saudi Arabia’s commitment to combat terrorism.

The Delegation of Russia spoke about the significance of holding this conference in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – the land of Islam which prohibits terrorist acts. He pointed out the determination of his country to exert all efforts possible to prevent weapons of mass destruction reaching terrorists and that this should form the major objectives and aims of the conference. He stressed that Russia is one of the first countries to face terrorism and to succeed with positive results in many aspects. He also stressed the need to defeat terrorism in Chechnya and the importance of preventing terrorist cells from carrying out their destructive activities saying that Russia does not associate terrorism with any religion or nationality and will never do that and called for preventing terrorists from doing that.

The Head of Delegation of the United Kingdom presented his address in which he said that the terrorist threat is great and that terrorist activities is more complex and dangerous than other activities. He stressed the importance of prioritizing work on dismantling terrorist cells and putting in place a long-term comprehensive plan for combating terrorism. He stressed the cooperation and commitment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with all in combating terrorism. The advice of the delegation of the United Kingdom also included reference to the establishment by its country of an information analysis centre on terrorism to know the threat it faces and its commitment to protecting its people amongst whom are Muslims working with the United Kingdom to strengthen their role in the society and improve their social status. He also noted the importance his country attached to the development in Iraq and its commitment to work with the new Iraq government. He said he was looking forward to the London conference to support the reforms in the Palestinian Authority.

The Head of the Delegation of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan presented the address of his country in which he stressed the basic constants adopted by Jordan in combating terrorism and rejecting harboring of terrorist elements and bargaining with them and not to allow them to use Jordanian territory in any of their operations.

The Head of Delegation of Kazakhstan presented the address of his country in which he appreciated the initiative of the Kingdom for holding this conference and commended the achievements recorded by the Kingdom in combating terrorism. He expressed their readiness to cooperate and invited them to hold a conference on putting in place the appropriate criteria for education and information.

The Head of Delegation of the State of Kuwait delivered his address in which he lauded the cooperation existing between the Kingdom of Kuwait and his country’s appreciation of the information provided by the Kingdom which prevented the recurrence of some terrorist activities. He emphasized that terrorism has no religion or nationality and collective action was required in order to counter it and overcome the thoughts that motivate it.

The Head of the Delegation of Japan stated that financing was an important factor in the war against terror and underscored the importance of overcoming it. He appreciated the Kingdom’s efforts to counter terrorism and called upon all nations to cooperate towards that end.

The Secretary-General of the Interpol stated that terrorists used stolen passports and were involved in arms-smuggling, drug trafficking and money-laundering operations. He underlined the importance of this conference in reinforcing the work undertaken by the Interpol and the importance of data exchange on wanted terrorists.

The work of the Plenary Session on the second day involved the following:

The Head of Delegation of the Arab Republic of Egypt emphasized the importance of laying international definitions for terrorism and differentiating it from a legitimate struggle. Terrorism should be prevented an umbrella of international legitimacy. His country renounced any link between Islam and terrorism and emphasized the importance of addressing the root causes of terrorism. He requested the developed countries to provide developing countries with their technical expertise and preparing a comprehensive program for data exchange. He announced his country’s support of the initiative submitted by HRH Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz in his inaugural speech.

The Head of Delegation of Indonesia stated that international action should be oriented towards dealing with the roots and causes of terrorism and countries’ economic conditions.

The Head of the Turkish delegation announced that poverty, exploitation, violation of human rights and marginalization were the main causes of terrorism, in addition to international conflicts. He reiterated his country’s renunciation of any links between terrorism and Islam. He requested the international community to adopt a unified definition of terrorist acts and supported the proposal submitted by HRH Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz to establish an international centre for date exchange.

The Delegation of the Federal Republic of Germany spoke about the need to unify efforts for countering terrorism and supported those efforts exerted by the Untied Nations to reach a definition of terrorism. He said that fair division of wealth and maintaining human rights and freedom were pivotal in preventing terrorism and denied any link between Islam and terrorism in his country.

The Head of the Canadian Delegation requested that the basic political, economic and social factors leading to terrorism be studied and that the conference’s recommendations include the establishment of a mechanism for cooperation between states for the prevention of terrorist financing.

The Head of the Australian Delegation indicated that much is to be done for strengthening he common action against terrorism particularly in the field of security and judicial cooperation and extradition. The terrorist threat requires strenuous efforts and joint action between bereaved countries to work together against terrorism.

The Head of the Syrian Delegation underscored the importance of this conference in removing international confusion over the topic of terrorism and requested that the definition of terrorism include that of state terrorism. He welcomed the initiative submitted by HRH Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and expressed his country’s willingness to cooperate on this score.

The Head of the delegation of South Africa expressed his country’s willingness to cooperate in the field of counter-terrorism and indicated that it had already taken important steps in that direction.

The Head of the Delegation of the European Union stated that ending money transfers by terrorists will contribute in stemming terrorist activity and underlined the importance of consolidating international cooperation to promote national skills in this field.

The Delegation of Singapore emphasized the importance of confronting organized crime as complementary effort in countering terrorism and called for intensifying international cooperation in countering terrorism through the creation of a mechanism for early warning in the security field. He also called for collaboration in the field of data exchange and extradition.

The Head of the Delegation of Greece stated that his country had gained extensive experience in counter-terrorism during the preparation for the Olympic Games last summer. His country drew much benefit from the cooperation existing between national and international services without compromising freedom and human rights.

The Head of the Malaysian Delegation delivered a speech in which he announced his country’s support for the initiative of the Crown Prince and expressed readiness to cooperate with the proposed centre once it is established. He expressed his hope that the momentum achieved in this conference will push forward towards holding an international counter-terrorism summit. He also stressed that combating terrorism, requires a comprehensive strategy that would address the deep causes underlying the emergency of these elements.

The Head of Tajikistan Delegation indicated in his speech, that there are numerous problems facing the countries of Central Asia. Due to Al-Qaida and its operatives of the extremist forces. He emphasized the necessity of promulgating the right definition of Islam by competent authorities and mass-media, considering it constitutes one of axes of combating terrorism.

In his speech, the Sudanese Head of Delegation, declared the support of his country to the Crown Prince’s initiative to establish a counter-terrorism international centre. He also underlined the necessity of differentiating between terrorism as a crime, and the people’s right in armed struggle to liberate their land.

The Head of Delegation of the Republic of Yemen lauded in his speech the proposal by the Crown Prince, expressing in the meantime the readiness of his country to cooperate in order to put the proposal into effect. He indicated that his country had taken precautionary measures to dry the sources of terrorism, through a number of Presidential decrees. He also stressed the importance of supporting the principal dialogue as an instrument of combating terrorism and extremism.

The UN Secretary-General’s Representative underlined in his speech that there are new concepts in the area of combating terrorism under the auspices of the Security Council, the most important of which is the Security Council Resolution on boosting the Counter-terrorism Committee, formed by Resolution 1373, through the adoption of Resolution 1535 (March 2004) stipulating the setting up of an executive body in charge of following the commitment to the resolution. He also expressed his support to the Crown Prince’s Initiative to set up an international centre to coordinate counter-terrorism efforts.

The Peoples Republic of China Head of Delegation delivered a speech where he indicated that the international action contributed to confronting Al-Qaeda organization and drying its finances. He warned against factors that may limit the success of international action, including linking the terrorism phenomenon to a specific race or religion. He also welcomed the Crown Prince Initiative.

The Head of the Delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, indicated that combating terrorism requires a unified political will, stressing the refusal of his country to link terrorism to Islam. He said that effective combating of terrorism, necessitates national, regional and international mechanisms, providing necessary expertise to countries which need them. He also expressed the support of his country to the Crown Prince Initiative.

The Indian Head of Delegation expressed his country’s support to the Crown Prince Initiative indicating that the World community is in need of well organized, coordinated and effective international action, to combat terrorism. He said that his country was ready to provide support in the area of media technology, technical information and other intellectual field that concentrate on Dialogue between Civilizations, in addition to tolerance and respect of others.

The head of UAE Delegation condemned the terrorist acts committed against the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait calling for supporting the proposal of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia on setting up an international centre for combating terrorism.

In his speech, the Head of the Spanish Delegation, called for confronting terrorism within the framework of Human rights respect, enhancing intelligence cooperation between countries, and developing special legislations related to drying the finances of the terrorists and extradition.

The conference discussed various aspects of terrorism and related issues, the most notable being:

1. Terrorism origins, culture, ideology and its relation with religions.

2. Experiences of participating countries and means to benefit from them.

3. Terrorism causes and means of addressing them.

4. Security Council Resolutions on terrorism and combating it.

5. Enhancing cooperation between states to combat terrorism and its causes.

6. Enhancing cooperation in the field of training and technology coordination in combating terrorism.

7. Impediments to international coordination in combating terrorism.

8. Strengthening information exchange mechanisms and channels.

9. Maximizing benefit from technology, exchange of relevant experiences.

10. Terrorism exploitation of mass media and international communication networks to promote terrorism ideology.

11. Causes leading to the creation of Terrorist organizations.

12. Activation of Mass Media role in enhancing awareness of terrorism.

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