By Mario de Queiroz
LISBON, Jun 13 2002 (IPS)

The United Nations, the most solid guarantee of universal respect for human rights, must lead the fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, recommended the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in a meeting here Wednesday.

Governmental delegates and experts from international and regional organisations gathered in the Portuguese capital to begin work on drawing up an effective and coordinated strategy for obtaining significant results in the global anti-terrorism efforts.

The OSCE, presided this year by Portugal, convened 54 representatives for the Conference on Combating and Preventing Terrorism, the first high-level international meeting since the Sep 11 attacks in New York and Washington.

The conclusions disseminated at the end of the conference stress the OSCE’s efforts to reinforce bilateral and multilateral cooperation with the UN “to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”

According to the OSCE, the prevention of terrorism requires reducing poverty, promoting the state of law, ensuring respect for human rights, and fomenting tolerance, democratisation, social justice, inter-cultural and inter-faith dialogue, as well as controlling weapons and peacefully resolving conflicts.

Taking part in the Lisbon meeting were George Robertson, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Walter Schwimmer, secretary general of the European Council, and assistant secretary general of the UN for Political Affairs, Danilo Turk.

The conference was presided by Portugal’s foreign minister and current OSCE chairman, Antonio Martins da Cruz, and by his Romanian counterpart, Mircea Geoana, his predecessor as head of the organisation that unites the European countries, Canada and the United States.

Francis Taylor, appointed by U.S. President George W. Bush as coordinator of his country’s fight against terrorism, and Russian assistant foreign minister Anatoli Safonov were also in attendance.

Portugal’s Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso opened the conference, describing it as a “pioneering, opportune and useful” effort, because the world is facing “a collective threat that requires coordinated action.”

The conservative leader advised against granting “sanctuary” to terrorists or their support groups, and in favour of moving forward in all-out battle against threats related to terrorism, such as drugs, weapons and human trafficking, and money laundering.

Turk, speaking on behalf of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, stressed that the fight against terrorism “should be decisive, but scrupulous at the same time,” blocking the implementation of measures “that are incompatible with human rights.”

The meeting’s final document reflects Annan’s view, underscoring that the OSCE will diversify its education, training and restructuring programmes for police forces and will support the strengthening of judicial structures, encouraging “the protection and promotion of human rights and democratic values.”

However, at the final press conference, the OSCE board made it clear that this approach does not translate into being “soft” on terrorism, a scourge that today has become complex and taken on a global scope.

The conference closed with the announcement of measures aimed at implementing strict controls of identification documents and launching efforts against organised crime, corruption and undocumented immigration.

Among the recommendations made to OSCE member countries, the final text urges “completing or revising national legislation,” adapting it to comply with the anti-terrorism protocols and conventions of the UN and resolutions of the UN Security Council.

To cut off funds for terrorism, special emphasis will be given to controlling the drug trade, arms trafficking, money laundering and illegal use of capital and international trade.

Robertson assured that efforts are under way to create a more flexible NATO to better defend the population, but said that member states must not let down their guard in maintaining their security and defence systems or they will be vulnerable to the current proliferation of weapons.

According to the OSCE, it is an “essential objective” to fight trafficking of light arms as well as weapons of mass destruction. The participating organisation promised Wednesday in Lisbon to take part in a broad exchange of information and experiences.

“Coordination and cooperation among the various organisations and international institutions is the essential objective that brought us here,” stated Martins da Cruz.

When asked about the discrepancy between the OSCE, which defends a fight against terrorism that does not sacrifice human rights, and the situation of those detained by the United States as presumed terrorists but with no formal accusations or trials, Martins da Cruz said that “the response is in our document.”

This first conference organised by the OSCE paves the way for a series of political, diplomatic and technical meetings to draft a “Charter against Terrorism”, which would be signed at the ministerial-level meeting to slated for Dec 5-6 in Portugal.

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