Sixth Committee (Legal) — 72nd session

Measures to eliminate international terrorism (Agenda item 109)

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Documentation

Summary of work

Background (source: A/72/100)

This item was included in the agenda of the twenty-seventh session of the General Assembly, in 1972, further to an initiative of the Secretary-General (A/8791, Add.1 and Add.1/Corr.1). At that session, the Assembly decided to establish the Ad Hoc Committee on International Terrorism, consisting of 35 members (resolution 3034 (XXVII)).

The General Assembly considered the item at its thirty-first session, biennially from its thirty-second to forty-eighth sessions and annually thereafter, changing its title from “Measures to prevent international terrorism which endangers or takes innocent human lives or jeopardizes fundamental freedoms, and study of the underlying causes of those forms of terrorism and acts of violence which lie in misery, frustration, grievance and despair and which cause some people to sacrifice human lives, including their own, in an attempt to effect radical changes” to “Measures to eliminate international terrorism” at its forty-sixth session (resolutions 31/102, 32/147, 34/145, 36/109, 38/130, 40/61, 42/159, 44/29, 46/51, 49/60, 50/53, 51/210, 52/164, 52/165, 53/108, 54/109, 54/110, 55/158, 56/88, 57/27, 58/81, 59/46, 59/290, 60/43, 61/40, 62/71, 63/129, 64/118, 65/34, 66/105, 67/99, 68/119, 69/127, 70/120 and 71/151 and decision 48/411).

At its forty-ninth session, the General Assembly approved the Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism (resolution 49/60).

At its fiftieth session, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to submit an annual report on the implementation of paragraph 10 of the Declaration (resolution 50/53).

At its fifty-first session, the General Assembly approved the Declaration to Supplement the 1994 Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism and established an Ad Hoc Committee to elaborate an international convention for the suppression of terrorist bombings and, subsequently, an international convention for the suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism, to supplement related existing international instruments, and thereafter to address means of further developing a comprehensive legal framework of conventions dealing with international terrorism (resolution 51/210). Through the work of the Committee, the Assembly has so far adopted three counter-terrorism instruments.

At its seventy-first session, the General Assembly decided to recommend that the Sixth Committee, at the seventy-second session of the Assembly, establish a working group with a view to finalizing the process on the draft comprehensive convention on international terrorism as well as discussions on the item included in its agenda by resolution 54/110 concerning the question of convening a high-level conference under the auspices of the United Nations (resolution 71/151).

Consideration at the seventy-second session

The Sixth Committee considered the item at its 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 28th and 30th meetings, from 2 to 4 October and on 3 and 10 November 2017 (A/C.6/72/SR.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 28 and 30).

For its consideration of the item, the Committee had before it the report of the Secretary-General (A/72/111 and Add.1).

Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 71/151 of 13 December 2016, at its 1st meeting, on 2 October, the Committee established a working group with a view to finalizing the process on the draft comprehensive convention on international terrorism, as well as discussions on the item included in its agenda by General Assembly resolution 54/110 concerning the question of convening a high-level conference under the auspices of the United Nations. The Working Group was open to all States Members of the United Nations or members of the specialized agencies or of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Working Group held three meetings, as well as informal consultations, on 16, 20 and 31 October. At its 28th meeting, on 3 November, the Committee heard and took note of the oral report by the Chair of the Working Group on the work of the Working Group and on the results of the informal consultations held during the current session (see A/C.6/72/SR.28).

Statements were made by the representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran (on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)), El Salvador (on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)), Trinidad and Tobago (on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)), the European Union, also on behalf of its member States (the candidate countries Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania, the country of the Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia aligned themselves with the statement), Cambodia (on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)), Australia, also on behalf of Canada and New Zealand (CANZ), Colombia, Peru, India, Singapore, the Syrian Arab Republic, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Mexico, the Sudan, Algeria (on behalf of the African Group), the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Qatar, Japan, Morocco, Libya, China [in English], Slovenia, Burkina Faso, Thailand, El Salvador, Lebanon, Togo, Nicaragua, Israel, Ukraine, Cuba [in English], Liechtenstein, Burundi, Senegal, Norway, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia (on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)), Honduras, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Panama, Georgia, Tunisia, Namibia, the United States, Zambia, Kenya, Maldives, the Russian Federation, Indonesia, Turkey, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Iraq, Armenia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Pakistan, Ghana, the Philippines, Kuwait, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Azerbaijan, Algeria, Djibouti, Brazil, Bahrain, Uganda, Nepal, Sierra Leone, the Republic of Korea, Ecuador, Mauritius, Gambia, Egypt, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Central African Republic, Jordan, Cabo Verde, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Eritrea, Chad, Mali, Nigeria, the observers for the Holy See, the State of Palestine and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The representative of Ukraine made a statement in the exercise of the right of reply.

Delegations generally reaffirmed their unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Terrorism was characterized by a number of delegations as a flagrant breach of international law and a threat to international peace and security. It was also underlined by a number of delegations that terrorism should not be associated with any religion, culture, ethnicity, race, nationality or civilization.

In the fight against terrorism, several delegations highlighted the need for observance of the Charter of the United Nations and international law. International frameworks of cooperation, including the sharing of information and best practices, were mentioned as important tools in combating international terrorism by a number of delegations. Delegations set out their own ratification and/or accession to the universal and regional instruments to counter terrorism, and several delegations called upon all States to ratify or accede to them, as well as to take the necessary measures to implement them domestically. The need to take a holistic, whole-of-society approach when countering terrorism was mentioned by some delegations; some delegations also emphasized the importance of engaging women and youth in this process.

Delegations welcomed the reform of the United Nations’ counter-terrorism architecture and specifically the creation of the Office of Counter-Terrorism headed by an Under-Secretary-General.  Delegations expressed their expectation that the Office of Counter-Terrorism would lead to improved coordination and coherence of the United Nations’ counter-terrorism activities and implementation of the four pillars of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in a balanced way.  Several delegations stressed the duplication of the work of the Sixth Committee with the Plenary of the General Assembly in those years when the Strategy was being reviewed, and suggested that this agenda item be examined on a biennial basis (alternating with those years when the Strategy was under examination).

A number of delegations underlined the importance of the various sanctions regimes including the importance of the 1267/1989 and 1540 Sanctions Committees. Support was expressed for the continuing and strengthened implementation of fair and clear procedures by the sanctions committees and for the role of the Ombudsperson.

Delegations referred to the increase in terrorist activities and reiterated the importance of reaching agreement on the draft comprehensive convention on international terrorism and the necessity to accelerate the finalization of consensus on the draft convention. To this end, several delegations called on all States to exhibit compromise and flexibility, as indefinite postponement on the draft convention was not justified. It was stressed by some delegations that any definition included in the draft convention should distinguish terrorism from the legitimate struggle of peoples in the exercise of their right to self-determination from foreign occupation or colonial domination.

Several delegations reconfirmed their support for the proposal to convene a high-level conference under the auspices of the United Nations. The view was also expressed that the conference would contribute to finalizing the outstanding issues with respect to the draft convention. While some delegations noted the potential usefulness of a conference, they expressed the view that the conference should not be a prelude to the finalization of the text of the draft convention.

Action taken by the Sixth Committee

At the 30th meeting, on 10 November, the representative of Canada, on behalf of the Bureau, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Measures to eliminate international terrorism” (A/C.6/72/L.14). At the same meeting, the Committee adopted draft resolution A/C.6/72/L.14 without a vote.

By the terms of the resolution, the General Assembly would, among other things, decide to recommend that the Sixth Committee, at the seventy-third session of the General Assembly, establish a working group with a view to finalizing the process on the draft comprehensive convention on international terrorism as well as discussions on the item included in its agenda by Assembly resolution 54/110, while encouraging all Member States to redouble their efforts during the intersessional period towards resolving any outstanding issues.

Subsequent action taken by the General Assembly

This agenda item will be considered at the seventy-third session (2018).

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