"Terrorism is a criminal act that destroys the lives of innocent persons. Norway joins others in condemning terrorism regardless of form, time, place or reason. International terrorism is one of the most serious threats to international peace and security and we need an integrated and long-term approach to effectively fight this phenomenon.
This approach must strike a balance between preventive and combative measures. If we fail to take a long-term perspective in our fight against terrorist groups today, we may face new, stronger terrorist groups with greater popular support tomorrow. The fight against terrorism can only be successful by making use of a wide range of methods, including political, humanitarian, economic, legal and, if necessary, military means, while fully respecting human rights and the rule of law. Our fundamental values must remain at the core also in our fight against terrorism.
Fighting terrorism must remain a key priority for the United Nations. In this regard, I would like to underline that Norway is firmly committed to the implementation of all Security Council- and General Assembly resolutions and UN Conventions on this issue. The Committee established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1267(1999) has taken measures to improve the procedural rights of persons listed for being associated with Al Qaida or Taliban. Prominent among these measures was the establishment, by resolution 1904 (2009), of the ombudsperson for those listed. We commend the 1267-Committee for this decision and we welcome the Secretary General’s appointment of Kimberly Prost to serve as the ombudsperson. We will continue to follow her work with great interest and we look forward to learning more about her experience as her work progresses further. In this regard we have taken due note of judge Prost’s pledge to establish an independent and accessible office, and we call on all states to assist in making the role of the Ombudsperson widely known.
The adoption by consensus of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy four years ago, and its reaffirmation by consensus in September this year, are milestones in our common endeavour to prevent terrorism. It is the responsibility of the member states to implement the strategy, with the assistance of the United Nations, if need be.
Norway welcomes the institutionalization of the Counter Terrorism Implementation Task Force and stresses the need for the Task Force to be provided with the resources necessary for it to fulfil its important mandate.
Norway gives priority to supporting the Task Force. We are sponsoring the Integrated Assistance to Counter-Terrorism initiative, which currently focuses on implementation of the Strategy in two specific countries. Norway is also sponsoring efforts aimed at the implementation of the Global Strategy in Central Asia.
Norway did also cosponsor the International Workshop of National Counter-Terrorism Focal Points in Vienna in October last year, in order to facilitate an interface between the Task Force and the Member States. We are now continuing these efforts by supporting regional conferences that follow up on the Vienna Workshop. It is our hope that these conferences will contribute to a deeper understanding of the comprehensive approach to counter-terrorism so that they will foster greater support for the Global Strategy.
Norway attaches great importance to the adoption of a comprehensive convention against terrorism. We continue to believe that the facilitator’s proposal could provide the foundation on which consensus could be built. This item has been on the agenda for a long time and we hope that states are willing to show the necessary flexibility and political will to move this process to a conclusion.
As regards the convening of a high-level conference on terrorism, it is our view that such a conference could provide an excellent opportunity for taking stock of the work against terrorism, as well as for identification of needs and resources for assistance in the implementation of the convention. We therefore look forward to the convening of such a conference as soon as the comprehensive convention has been successfully concluded."