General Assembly Session 51 meeting 88

The Acting President

The Assembly will now consider the draft resolution recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 11 of its report.

I shall now call on those representatives who wish to explain their positions before action is taken on the draft resolution.

Mr. Hamdan (Lebanon)

Lebanon's position on this subject is based on two inalterable principles. First, terrorism is a serious scourge that threatens democracy and should therefore be fought just as organized crime is fought. Lebanon is opposed to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

Secondly, the very concept of terrorism must be correctly defined. A distinction must be made between terrorist acts, strictly speaking, and struggles for the liberation of an occupied territory or resistance against armies of occupation. A distinction must be made between violence for political, ethnic or religious purposes and military acts against the armed forces of an enemy occupying the territory of one's homeland, legitimate combat intended to achieve sovereignty and independence.

Lebanon welcomes the idea of holding an international conference to reach a common definition of terrorism on the basis of these inalterable principles. We nevertheless reaffirm our right to resist Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon and the western Bekaa valley. We stand in opposition to the massacres perpetrated by the Israeli army in the villages of that region, most recently the Qana massacre.

We reiterate our support for all measures to combat terrorism, to implement all existing international agreements on this subject and to consolidate international cooperation in this area. In this regard, Lebanon stresses the importance of dealing with causes rather than merely condemning the effects or imposing sanctions.

Mr. Zhang Kening (China)

Before the General Assembly takes action on the draft resolution relating to the item entitled "Measures to eliminate international terrorism", the Chinese delegation would like to state the following.

Before action was taken on the draft resolution relating to this item in the Sixth Committee during this session of the General Assembly, the Chinese delegation indicated that it would not be participating in the decision on the draft resolution and made a statement in this regard, explaining the position of the Chinese delegation and requesting that our statement be included in the records.

On the basis of the same reasons clearly expressed in that statement, the Chinese delegation will not be participating in the decision by the General Assembly on the draft resolution today and requests that this statement be included in the record.

The Acting President

We have heard the last speaker in explanation of position.

The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft resolution recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 11 of its report.

The report of the Fifth Committee on the programme budget implications of the draft resolution is contained in document A/51/733.

The Sixth Committee adopted the draft resolution without a vote. May I consider that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The Acting President

I shall now call on those representatives who wish to explain their positions on the draft resolution just adopted.

Mr. Mekdad (Syria)

My delegation joined the consensus on draft resolution A/C.6/51/L.15/Rev.1 in the light the following:

First, the reference to resolution 49/60 in the first preambular paragraph constitutes a reference to all the preambular and operative paragraphs of resolution 46/51 of 9 December 1991. Here we wish to recall in particular the twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth preambular paragraphs of that resolution.

Secondly, the reference to the Declaration on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations, contained in resolution 50/6, in the second preambular paragraph of the resolution just adopted and in the third preambular paragraph of its annex, confirms the third subparagraph of the first part of the Declaration, which is entitled "Peace". That subparagraph reaffirms the right of self-determination of all peoples, taking into account the particular situation of peoples under colonial or other forms of alien domination or foreign occupation, and recognizes the right of peoples to take legitimate action in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations to realize their inalienable right of self-determination.

In this regard, we must affirm that the just struggle of peoples to end foreign occupation is a legitimate struggle and is not terrorism. This understanding was explained by the Chairman of the working group in his statement at the meeting in which the Declaration on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations was adopted.

In its third preambular paragraph the resolution just adopted confirms the General Assembly's guidance by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. As for the reference in the resolution to the numerous international and regional conferences, including those of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement, we understand this as an implicit endorsement of the communiqués of all those conferences, especially of the paragraphs on distinguishing terrorism from the just struggle of peoples for national liberation.

Hence, our decision to join consensus was based on our interest in achieving practical measures that will enable us to combat international terrorism, which we condemn in all its forms and manifestations, and on our belief in the need to combat that phenomenon in the light of the interest just mentioned.

My delegation had hoped that the resolution would have a separate paragraph containing a clear definition of international terrorism. The resolution also should have made the formulation of this definition a priority mission of the envisaged ad hoc committee, because such a definition will be necessary in preparing the text of the draft international conventions provided for in the resolution just adopted. In this respect, we reaffirm the need to establish a clear and unambiguous distinction between terrorism, which we condemn in all its forms and manifestations, and the struggle of peoples chafing under foreign occupation, who have the legitimate right to resist occupation and liberate their lands, in keeping with the Charter of the United Nations, its relevant resolutions and the norms of international law.

Mr. Wenaweser (Liechtenstein)

Given the unprecedented scale of terrorist acts in the recent past and the enormous human suffering they have caused, everyone will recognize the need for enhanced international cooperation to combat this scourge. While fully and unreservedly sharing this view, my delegation has consistently taken the position that measures to combat international terrorism must be in strict compliance with the existing principles and standards of international law, particularly in the field of human rights.

In past years, the different texts on the issue of terrorism that have been drafted within the United Nations have not always fulfilled this criterion. The Commission on Human Rights and the General Assembly, upon recommendation by the Third Committee, have adopted resolutions containing the notion that terrorists violate human rights. Many delegations, including our own, have consistently expressed concern about this approach because it undermines the basic principle that the promotion and protection of human rights is the responsibility of States, while we acknowledge that the question of non-State actors requires increased, careful consideration.

Based on the same legal consideration, my delegation has reservations concerning the assertion expressed in the Declaration annexed to the resolution that all acts, methods and practices of terrorism are contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations, as well as concerning the not-very-clear concepts introduced in this connection into the Declaration. With regard to the linkage made with the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, my delegation is grateful to the main sponsor of the Declaration for introducing paragraphs that make it clear that this Convention does not provide a basis for the protection of perpetrators of terrorist acts, and we would like to state our understanding that the Declaration does not affect the application of the provisions of the Convention, particularly the exclusion clauses and the provisions concerning the principle of non-refoulement.

Mr. Aquarone (Netherlands)

The Netherlands has joined consensus regarding this resolution, which includes a Declaration to Supplement the 1994 Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism.

The Netherlands Government is fully committed to the fight against international terrorism. The continuous occurrence of acts of terrorism throughout the world indicates clearly that there is every reason to strengthen international cooperation in the struggle against such acts. The delegation of the Netherlands will cooperate and participate fully in any meaningful effort to suppress international terrorism.

We will continue to prosecute anyone -- regardless of whether he or she is a refugee or an asylum seeker -- who has engaged in or has been involved in acts of terrorism. We will do so to the full extent of our national law and in full respect of human rights. The Netherlands can subscribe fully to the contents of the statement just made by Liechtenstein in this respect.

We are of the opinion that the provisions of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees do not stand in the way of bringing perpetrators of acts of terrorism to justice. We therefore welcome the withdrawal of the explicit reference to article 1, paragraph F (c), of the Convention from the Declaration. The scope of this important article is thus not expanded. Indeed, this would have been quite unnecessary. The proper application of the existing Convention provisions, including articles 2, 32 and 33, warrant no change in the interpretation of article 1, paragraph F (c), of the Convention. We are grateful to the drafters of the resolution for accommodating this change.

The Netherlands would further like to stress that the Declaration does not affect in any way the protection afforded to refugees under the terms of the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees and other provisions of international law.

I would be most grateful if this statement could be placed officially on record.

The Acting President

We have heard the last speaker in explanation of vote after the vote.

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 151?

The Acting President

The General Assembly has thus concluded its consideration of all the reports of the Sixth Committee before it.