Facing once again challenge and opportunity, members of the Ad Hoc Committee established by General Assembly resolution 51/210 to negotiate a comprehensive convention on international terrorism should do their utmost to bridge existing gaps and reach a compromise solution, the Committee’s Chairman, Roham Perera (Sri Lanka) said at the opening of its session this morning.
Stressing the need to build on progress achieved and avoid re-opening issues on which substantial agreement had been reached, he said a broad degree of consensus had been reached on the bulk of the text of the draft, with only a few, albeit important, issues left outstanding. Delegations had expressed the willingness to engage in open, substantive discussions on the outstanding issues with a view towards reaching a compromise text. The main issue to be resolved was the applicability of the draft instrument to various situations covered by other fields of international law. Delegations should focus their efforts on reaching an agreement on that important issue.
The Assembly’s adoption of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in resolution 60/288 of 8 September 2006 was an indication of the importance the international community ascribed to its work in the field of counter-terrorism, he added. One important element of the Strategy was that States “resolved to make every effort to reach an agreement on and conclude a comprehensive convention on international terrorism”. Although the issues involved in the finalization of the draft comprehensive convention were both complex and politically sensitive, it was important to keep a sense of perspective in that regard.
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http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/L3112.doc.htm
Stressing the need to build on progress achieved and avoid re-opening issues on which substantial agreement had been reached, he said a broad degree of consensus had been reached on the bulk of the text of the draft, with only a few, albeit important, issues left outstanding. Delegations had expressed the willingness to engage in open, substantive discussions on the outstanding issues with a view towards reaching a compromise text. The main issue to be resolved was the applicability of the draft instrument to various situations covered by other fields of international law. Delegations should focus their efforts on reaching an agreement on that important issue.
The Assembly’s adoption of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in resolution 60/288 of 8 September 2006 was an indication of the importance the international community ascribed to its work in the field of counter-terrorism, he added. One important element of the Strategy was that States “resolved to make every effort to reach an agreement on and conclude a comprehensive convention on international terrorism”. Although the issues involved in the finalization of the draft comprehensive convention were both complex and politically sensitive, it was important to keep a sense of perspective in that regard.
MORE
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/L3112.doc.htm