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NATIONAL AUTHORITIES AND INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS MEET AT OAS ON INITIATIVES TO COMBAT TERRORISM

Port, internet and document security as well as fraud prevention rank at the top of the agenda for the eight regular session of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism, which opened at Organization of American States (OAS) headquarters in Washington on Wednesday.

The meeting brings together national authorities and international anti-terrorism experts to consider these security-related topics over three days and approve CICTE’s 2008 work plan. The CICTE national points of contact of also gathered for their sixth meeting, ahead of the formal opening of the regular session.

Following the opening of the session—by CICTE’s outgoing Chairman, Panama’s Permanent Representative to the OAS Ambassador Aristides Royo—OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza addressed the participants, stressing the value placed on regional, subregional and international cooperation to combat terrorism.

In his remarks, Insulza noted that the national authorities and experts are considering issues that are not unrelated to the general problems that threaten democratic stability and governance in the Americas. He cited combating terrorism as also related to the larger issue of cooperation and coordination in the area of public security, which is why CICTE’s work is considered so important.

International cooperation as a vehicle for developing and strengthening public security is also very important, the Secretary General noted. Observing, furthermore, that security threats are multidimensional and multinational, he said responses must likewise be multidimensional and multinational. Insulza warned that crime and violence are at “unacceptable” levels, and said this was precisely what had motivated the call for the first ministerial conference on crime and violence in the Americas, now scheduled to be held next October, in Mexico.

Secretary General Insulza repeated his call for OAS member states that have not yet done so, to become party to inter-American and international instruments against terrorism. He spoke as well about CICTE initiatives undertaken over the last few years.

The outgoing Chairman of CICTE described the fight against terrorism as an undertaking and commitment that can only be realized within the context of broad, transparent multilateral cooperation. According to Royo, CICTE is the ideal framework and forum for tackling this challenge, “and it has been doing so since it was established in 1999.” Royo, whose chairmanship covered the 2007-2008 period, explained that success of the Committee’s initiatives are hinged on the 34 member states firmly upholding their commitment to cooperate with one another in the effort to prevent, combat and eliminate terrorism.

Royo thanked the member states for the confidence shown him and his country. He said Panama was proud to accept the mandate to lead the Committee, on the understanding that the inter-American community of nations supported and shared the view of CICTE as an appropriate vehicle for tackling new and varied threats to our national security and to our that of our partners in the international community.

Incoming Chairman of CICTE—Peru’s Minister of Defense Antero Flores-Araoz, who served the Committee as Vice Chairman—also spoke at the opening session. He was also, until recently, his country’s Permanent Representative to the OAS. Presenting an overview of the history of efforts against terrorism, Flores-Araoz noted that while the current international scenario boasts positive developments, problems have surfaced at the same time, including the fact that technological and scientific advance being used as a tool for crime, mainly the scourge of terrorism.

Among other participants attending the session was Trinidad and Tobago’s National Security Minister Martin Joseph, himself a former Chairman of CICTE.

Reference: E-069/08