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International response to terrorist threat: no half allies
Mr. President,
Honourable guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am very honoured to participate in this International Conference on “Terrorism as a Challenge to the Contemporary World”. Insight into the various aspects of terrorist activities is a prerequisite for a successful fight against terrorism. I am certain that this conference will produce valuable ideas.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The attacks of September 11 were the attacks against the democratic values that we share and therefore these attacks were against all of us.Lithuania unequivocally condemned the terrorist attacks against the United States. We expressed solidarity and support to the U.S. and NATO and joined the international coalition against terrorism. On September 12 Lithuania on behalf of Vilnius-10 group made a statement of support for the decision to apply Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.Further substantiating its efforts to fight terrorism Lithuania adopted a National Program against Terrorism.The events of September 11 gave an extremely powerful impulse to mobilise the international community and to find new ways to eliminate terrorist threat once and for all.It is our task now not to loose the momentum. We have to continue with our engagement and effectively deal with terrorism and its causes.Let me point out three elements that I consider most important in the strategy of the global struggle against terrorism.First – sustained long-term commitment We witness a successful end of the military operation in Afghanistan. The Taliban regime has been replaced. Al Quaida network is seriously crippled, although actions by its separated members are still a threat. This threat will not disappear until we bring those people to justice and make sure that the terrorists do not escape unpunished. The international community has to isolate those people, and their irresponsible supporters as well. The terrorist acts are directed to sow hatred among nations, religions and civilizations. But we cannot allow the terrorists achieve their goal of setting different people against each other.Transparency and dialogue are the right strategies to achieve lasting peace, respect for human rights and democracy all over the world. Therefore, our long-term commitment to dialogue between nations is extremely important, as it is the way to understanding between different countries and cultures.Since its foundation the United Nations have been seeking to promote peace, stability and tolerance around the world. That was also the idea behind the UN decision to proclaim the year of 2001 as the Year of Dialogue among Civilizations. I am proud that Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, hosted last year the UNESCO Conference devoted to the dialogue among civilizations, as it is famous for its historically formed and time-honoured tradition of religious and political tolerance, as well as its reputation as a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and multi-cultural city. Sadly, it was during the Year of Dialogue among Civilizations that the world came to talk much about the clash of civilizations. But let us not be mistaken: the events of 11 September 2001 were not about a clash among different civilizations. Terrorist groups such as Usama’s Bin Laden lead al-Quaida will never represent a whole ethnic or religious community. They are composed of individuals with the radical extremist views which are not shared by the rest of the community. Terrorists represent only themselves. Therefore, it would be a grave mistake to make a linkage between terrorism and particular nation, religion or civilization. This understanding needs to be continuously strengthened, and the proper instrument to do that is dialogue. Strong leadership and political will be among the conditions to maintain it. To develop and sustain real understanding, we must not limit ourselves to acting merely through official international organizations and state- to- state relations. Civil societies must also play a crucial role. Second element – all international actors must be involved in the fight against terrorismTo a global phenomenon as terrorism the response has to be global. Paraphrasing what Lord Robertson recently said at the Council on Foreign Affairs in Washington, I would like to stress that we should not wait for someone from outside to safeguard us, but use every available instrument to protect ourselves, because “we are all targets now”. Therefore we should act everywhere, and not only in international fora, but also at home. NATO invoked Article 5 of the Washington Treaty in regard to the terrorist attack against the United States. NATO consolidated the international coalition and contributed by practical means to the response to the terrorist threat. But those are not the only merits of this organization. Special emphasis needs to be made on the ability of NATO to adapt itself to the new challenges that are the fight against terrorism and the threat from weapons of mass destruction.The United Nations reinforced the global framework for the fight against terrorism by the adoption of the Security Council Resolution 1373. The leading role of the UN was strengthened by the establishment of the Counter-Terrorism Committee.The European Union focused its Action Plan against terrorism both on the international co-operation towards strengthening the global coalition and on internal measures, such as the development of legislation in areas like co-operation of judicial authorities, extradition and definition of terrorism.Lithuania as a Chair of the Council of Europe places the fight against terrorism high on its Presidency’s agenda in the Council of Europe. Bearing in mind the fundamental values safeguarded by the Council of Europe – human rights and rule of law, this organization has given priority to the elaboration of new international legal instruments, extension of existing successful solutions and development of assistance programs to facilitate the effective implementation of anti-terrorist conventions by the States. The Council of Europe has noted that one of the major contributions to international action against terrorism has and will come from criminal law. It also noted that the fight against terrorism should not be at the expense of the fundamental human rights and freedoms.The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has developed its own Plan of Action. The OSCE’s specific contribution in combating terrorism could be by making use of its expertise in conflict prevention, small arms and light weapons, national minorities, democratic institutions and human rights issues. The Heads of States from Central and Eastern Europe pledged to implement various ways and means to fight terrorist activities in a Conference on Combating Terrorism, that took place in Warsaw in November 2001.These are some examples of the activities of regional organizations in which Lithuania is actively engaged as a member, a future member or a participating state. But before the international organizations can act efficiently, important work also needs to be done at home. And this brings me to my third point – all available measures should be used to combat terrorism.I will name only some of them.– Development of the international and national legal framework. First priority must be given to the accession by the member states to the twelve Conventions dealing with the international fight against terrorism. I hope that the agreement on the UN General Convention on International Terrorism will soon be reached. - Prevention of flows which finance terrorism, prevention of money laundering, and anti-trafficking in all its aspects, including drugs and arms. The lesson we had from the attacks of September 11 is that economic deprivation is not a precondition for terrorist activities. Terrorist organizations are becoming more independent of state financial support and in this way more difficult to track. Therefore good financial intelligence and suppression of the financing of terrorism could be the most effective weapons in the prevention of the terrorist threat.– Prevention of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Today the terrorist acts are more directed towards punishing the presumed enemy by making as much damage to him as possible, rather than sending a political message. It is difficult to imagine the consequences if weapons of mass destruction came into play. However, some specialists already ask not whether weapons of mass destruction will be used, but rather when, where and how. We must do everything to prevent this possibility through preventive measures, sharing experience on exports control of WMD material, tracking rogue scientists and exchange of information within existing export control regimes. Ladies and Gentlemen,In the fight against terrorism there can be no half allies, no half enemies and no half measures. We must stand all united, identify our goals, resource them and seek them by all measures proper to our democratic societies.We will need long-term efforts to eradicate the terrorist scourge. In this biggest challenge for the twenty first century we cannot expect quick results, partly results or any spectacular results at all. Consistency in our endeavours is a key in this arduous struggle. That is the only way to make our engagement a definitive success story.Thank you for your attention.