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CICTE of the OAS Concluded Annual Meeting with a Call to Combat Terrorist Threats to Critical Infrastructure

The Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE) of the Organization of American States (OAS) today concluded its fifteenth annual meeting with a declaration on “Protection of Critical Infrastructure from Emerging Threats,” and with the elections of Paraguay and Chile as Chair and Vice Chair of the body, respectively, for the next period.

In the declaration adopted, the member countries of the OAS establish “their commitment to identifying and combating emerging terrorist threats, regardless of their origin or motivation, such as threats to critical infrastructure, and cyber security, among others.” In addition, they declare “their willingness to identify and promote, when deemed appropriate, in accordance with domestic laws, forms of public-private partnerships in the fight against terrorism, and in connection with critical infrastructure and cyber security.”

In addition the member states adopted the 2015Work Plan, which includes a program of activities for the following areas: 1) Border Controls: Maritime Safety; Aviation Security; Security of Documents and Prevention of Fraud; Immigration and Customs Controls; and Assistance for the implementation of Resolution 1540 of the UN Security Council. 2) Legislative Assistance and Combating Terrorism Financing: Legislative Assistance; and Combating Terrorism Financing. 3) Protection of Critical Infrastructure: Cyber security; Tourism Security; Critical Infrastructure Protection; and Global Supply Chain Security. 4) Strengthening Strategies on Emerging Terrorist Threats: Crisis Management; and Workshops. 5) International Coordination and Cooperation.

The Declaration urges the OAS member states who have not yet done so, “to sign, ratify, or accede to as the case may be, and to implement in an effective way, the Inter-American Convention against Terrorism, and the other pertinent universal legal instruments,” as well as the resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council related to combating terrorism.

The representatives of the governments also reaffirmed their commitment to “strengthen national and multilateral efforts, to prevent, combat, and eliminate terrorist threats and attacks against critical financial, transportation, and telecommunications infrastructure.” The document also expresses the support of the member states for the provision of technical assistance and capacity-building “related specifically to the security practices of the tourism and recreational sectors,” and their commitment to strengthen international cooperation and collaboration, given the interdependent nature of critical national infrastructure.

In the same meeting, the member states decided that the sixteenth period of sessions of CICTE will be held on February 25 and 26 at the headquarters of the OAS in Washington, DC, and Panama announced its intention to seek the Vice Chair for the 2016-2017 period.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-095/15