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Contents: Keynotes, Panels, Sessions

March 10, 2005

High Level Committee IV

Moderator
H.E. Ernesto Zedillo, Former President of Mexico and Club de Madrid member

Participants

  • Republic of Austria, H.E. Minister of Interior Liese Prokop
  • Inter-American Development Bank, H.E. Enrique Iglesias
  • Republic of Brazil, H.E. Minister of Justice Márcio Thomaz Bast
  • Council of Europe, Hon. Secretary-General Terry Davis
  • Spain, H.E. Minister of Justice Juan Fernando López Aguilar
  • United Status of America, H.E. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
  • Federal Republic of Nigeria, Hon. President of the Senate Adolphus Wabara
  • Republic of Poland, H.E. Primer Minister Marek Belka
  • Republic of Yemen, H.E. Minister of Human Rights Amat A. Alsoswa
  • Ukraine, H.E. Secretary for National Security and Defence Petro Poroshenko

Audio


Complete audio of the conference

Transcription / Transcripción


Note: […] Means not audible or missing content from the original tapes because of the recording
Nota: […] Significa no audible o que falta contenido en la cinta original debido a la grabación

[…]

Marek Belka, Republic of Poland, H.E. Primer Minister
Tomorrow, on the European day commemorating the victims of terrorists, we shall mark the first anniversary of the terrorist attack in Madrid. It is a tragic anniversary that fills us with sorrow, despair and outrage. 192 innocent people, including 4 Poles, died as a result of explosions at the Atocha, Santa Eugenia and El Pozo railway stations. Nearly 2000 were injured. The occurrence shocked the entire civilised world. But we have not surrendered. The world has succumbed neither to despair or hatred. The democratic world is beginning to draw conclusions from those events more quickly than the animators of global terrorism had expected.

Thanks to unified international efforts, the plans of terrorist groups can be stopped. The stabilisation of Afghanistan, and to a certain extent Iraq, has begun to produce results. The elections conducted in both those states should consolidate the tendency. Transformations are also occurring in other countries of the region: Libya, the Palestinian authority, the involvement of Egypt and Jordan in the Israeli-Palestinian summit in Sharm el-Sheik has created chances of implementing the roadmap and stabilising the situation in that region. Only the common effort of the international community can effectively counteract new threats. The war on financial terrorism, the safeguarding of borders, coordination of, and support for, rescue forces and impressing contemporary threats on society are tasks we must come to grips with in the very near future.

The particular role in the struggle against international terrorism falls to the European Union. In March last year, EU states agreed they would be guided by the principle of solidarity in the event of a terrorist attack. Poland supports the efforts of the Union to improve the security of its citizens. Inclusion of the war on terrorism in European security and defence policy, the appointment of a coordinator of the war on terrorism, integrated protection of external EU borders and the policy of cooperation and dialogue with states outside the Union are essential forms of preventing terrorism.

The need to increase the UN’s effectiveness in the face of new threats has become increasingly apparent. Our initiative of a political act for the UN in the 21st century forms an integral part of that concept. The UN’s ability to overcome its weakness and strengthen its position will depend on the quality of mechanisms created to counteract terrorism, the phenomenon of fallen states and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. From that standpoint, the Proliferation Security Initiative, also known as the Kraków Initiative, constitutes an important attempt to extend supervisory control to those areas of the world where the illegal transfer and smuggling of weapons of mass destruction is probable.

I should like to raise one additional aspect of international collaboration. Many instruments that serve the war on terrorism can also be used to prevent or minimize the adverse results of natural disasters as well. Early warning systems, the coordination of rescue operations, the creation of rapid reaction forces, the safeguarding of areas affected by disasters or contamination, distribution of medical supplies, hospital care for victims and infrastructure protection are but a few examples. One can risk the assertion that contemporary terrorism is a kind of catastrophe caused not by the forces of nature but by the influence of distorted ideologies and contaminated minds.

Violence has accompanied mankind from the dawn of history, but human nature also includes the drive to improve the surrounding world. We all want to live in a safe world in which such phenomena as radicalism and terrorism exponents have no reason to exist. It is my hope that the summit we are participating in and the Madrid agenda will turn out to be an effective weapon in the war on international terrorism. Thank you.

Moderator. Ernesto Zedillo
Muchas gracias al primer ministro y vamos a disculparlo, excuse you to leave the room.

Vamos a dar la palabra entonces al señor viceprimer ministro de Suecia, señor Bosse Ringholm.

Bosse Ringholm
Thank you very much. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends. Tomorrow it will be one year since terrorists struck deep in the heart of Europe, right here in Madrid. Everything we have said and done here today and previously during this important meeting will be in remembrance of the victims of last year’s horrific tragedy and all other victims of terrorism.

Let me state this clearly from the start. Terrorism can never be accepted or justified, whatever the cause. Terrorism in all its forms must be condemned. There are no exemptions. As a result of the terrorist attack here in Madrid last year, counterterrorist work in the European Union was increased and strengthened. A joint declaration against terrorism was made, a new counterterrorism coordinator was appointed and a number of other practical efforts were undertaken, such as the strengthening of operative police cooperation and border control, as well as facilitating information exchange. Still, we in the EU need to do more, not least in relation to third countries.

Terrorism today is indeed a global threat affecting everyone. To meet and counter these threats, we need global cooperation and global solutions. The recommendations made by the United Nations High Level Panel can play an important role in this regard. The recommendations provide a possible basis for consensus involving all UN members on the threats and challenges ahead. Furthermore, Sweden supports the panel’s recommendation to have an early conclusion of the comprehensive convention against terrorism. We also agree with the recommendation to find a common definition of terrorism. A global consensus on this issue will contribute to a UN strategy on counterterrorism. A comprehensive UN strategy on this issue is essential. The UN remains the key forum for all issues concerning global security, and terrorism must be given a prominent place on the UN agenda.

In this connection, we warmly welcome and support the important message given by the UN Secretary General in his keynote address this afternoon, where some main features and strategies were presented. The international community should take a broad approach in its efforts against terrorism. Long-term prevention must be secured. More effective operative measures including sanctions must develop. Greater coordination and cooperation between actors within and outside the UN system needs to be achieved. In this regard the Security Council resolution 1540, adopted on April 28 last year, should be mentioned. This resolution will help to further strengthen international efforts against the use by non-state actors of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of delivery.

Regarding sanctions, their authority and effectiveness need to be further improved. It’s our strong belief that the shortcomings of the current listing system are a threat to the very credibility and legitimacy of the UN’s counterterrorism efforts. In order to help prevent terrorism we must enhance our efforts to combat terrorist financing, not least through the financial action task force. The work in this body is also very important when it comes to outreach to countries that need technical assistance and other forms of support. Besides operative measures, we must continue to address underlying factors, whether they’re social, economic, political or ideological, and help foster a constructive dialogue between peoples and faiths.

Another area of great importance is capacity-building. Many countries that are now directly affected by terrorism do not have the resources or the appropriately trained personnel to act effectively against terrorism. Therefore we must urgently find appropriate multilateral ways to support capacity-building. Sweden wants the UN, and in particular the counterterrorism executive directorate, to play a stronger role in this area. One important task is to help better coordinate bilateral efforts as well as efforts made by regional organizations such as the European Union.

In conclusion, all our efforts in the field of counterterrorism must be based on the fundamental principles regarding human rights and the rule of law. This is not a question of limiting our efforts, rather it’s the best way to ensure their effectiveness. Thank you very much.

Moderator. Ernesto Zedillo
Thank you very much. Thank you also for keeping the time. I think everybody has been really on time.

Voy a darle entonces la palabra a la señora Ministra del Interior de la República de Austria, señora Liese Prokop.

Liese Prokop
Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen. On March 11 last year, terrorism showed its most ugly face here in Madrid. Today, one year later, we have come together to commemorate the victims and the families and to discuss effective answers to counter this threat. The presence of so many representatives of so many countries shows that it deals not only with a European problem but a very global challenge.

International terrorism isn’t directed against certain countries. Its cynical meaningless fight attacks the values of the entire civilised world. All cultures, all religions are affected. The prime lesson, therefore, has to be that we must join all efforts to protect our civilisations and to deprive terrorism of its foundations. An important tool is a broad dialogue of cultures and religions, the foundation on which our civilisation is built. We must not allow extremists to misuse that. We are very much in line with Prime Minister Zapatero’s call for an alliance of culture and civilisation. A precondition is democratic society in stable economic and social terms that allows people in our countries to live self-determined lives, successful lives, and that we promote tolerance of cultures and religions.

Just as important is the consequent common fight against the global network of terrorism that requires a close cooperation of instruments of security at home and abroad. If we want to prevent attacks in future, a timely exchange of information and police data is of the utmost significance. I want to say that Austria introduced a relevant initiative in the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council even before what happened here in Madrid last February. We are going to pursue these efforts with great commitment during our presidency next year in the first half of 2006.

A second focus in the fight against terrorism during the Austrian EU presidency will be the implementation of a long-term EU strategy to address the factors which contribute to radicalism and the recruitment of terrorism activities. In doing so we have to act boldly in and out of Europe. In my capacity as an Austrian Minister of the Interior and coming chairperson of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council I will make every effort to enforce a dialogue of cultures and religions. Thank you for your attention.

Moderator. Ernesto Zedillo
Thank you very much, mesdames et monsieurs. We are going to give the word to el señor presidente del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, señor Enrique Iglesias.

Muchas gracias. Entonces cedo la palabra al señor Ministro de Justicia, Márcio Thomaz Bast, de Brasil.

Al señor Secretario General del Consejo de Europa, señor Terry Davis.

Terry Davis
Thank you very much, Chairman. I’ve only got five short points to make, having listened to the proceedings during the last couple of days. The first is, there’s been a lot of discussion about tackling the roots of terrorism, and indeed during the plenary session this morning there was some reference to dealing with poverty, inequality and injustice. I just want to emphasize that, speaking on behalf of the Council of Europe, we think that the international community should tackle poverty, inequality and injustice not simply to deal with terrorism. We should tackle those things because it is right to tackle those things.

The second point I want to make is that there’s been a lot of discussion about the difficulty of reconciling on the one hand the defence of human rights and on the other hand the struggle against terrorism. In my experience as Secretary General of the Council of Europe, I think that difficulty is greatly exaggerated. We’ve just completed after a few months of discussion involving 46 member countries, we’ve just adopted a convention which deals with three important aspects of the struggle against terrorism, that is, incitement to commit terrorist acts in other countries, the issue of recruiting people to take part in terrorist attacks in other countries, and the issue of financing terrorist attacks in other countries. And we did not find it difficult to reconcile human rights on one hand, because that is our raison d’être, and on the other hand effective measures against terrorism. I think it definitely is exaggerated.

The real problem is not in developing legal instruments, the problem is that in too many countries, and this does include, I have to say, some countries in Europe, there is a problem of impunity. It is that the forces of law and order are not following the rule of law. And the failure to investigate allegations of abuses is indeed itself one of the causes of terrorism. And so I think there is something here for the international community, because peer pressure, that is, strong representations, international representations by not only NGOs like Amnesty International, but also by the governments of friendly countries, can play a major role in persuading governments to investigate allegations of abuses by their own security forces, their police forces. I think that’s an extremely important part of the struggle against terrorism.

On the question which again has been referred to many times about the exchange of information and intelligence, again it needs to be said there’s no point in exchanging information and intelligence in the hope that people can be prosecuted for terrorist offences if that information and intelligence has been obtained by torture. There are very many countries, not only in Europe, who will not accept in court evidence which has been obtained by torture and so it is self-defeating to use torture to get intelligence and information. It actually hinders the struggle against terrorism.

The last point I want to make is, in the same way, although we at the Council of Europe have had for several years a convention which deals with issues of extradition when terrorism is the allegation, again it is not possible for countries who are members of the Council of Europe – that’s 46, almost every European country, only one outside – it is not possible for them to extradite to a country any more than they can deport to a country where there’s a risk of the person being extradited being subjected either to inhumane degrading treatment (that’s a long way of saying torture) or to the death penalty. So that is a restriction, again this is an obstacle to dealing with international terrorism. And not an obstacle, by the way, which should be removed by making it possible to deport to countries. It’s torture or the death penalty that needs to be removed.

Moderator. Ernesto Zedillo
Me va a permitir entonces darle la palabra, al señor Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Ministro de Justicia de España.

Juan Fernando López Aguilar
Gracias, Presidente y muy buenas tardes a todas y todos, señoras y señores, autoridades presentes en la conferencia. Pero sobre todo en nombre del gobierno de España, permítanme de nuevo subrayar la gratitud y el reconocimiento que merece la presencia de tan importante congregación de intelectuales, profesores, políticos y responsables en la lucha y en el compromiso cívico desde esferas de gobierno y desde esferas no gubernamentales contra este flagelo, contra esta lacra, contra esta amenaza, que esta preparada para golpearnos en cualquier lugar, en cualquier momento, como lo hizo con extremada dureza en España, hace exactamente 1 año, el pasado 11 de marzo que todos tenemos presentes en el alma, en el corazón, en la memoria y en el trabajo de todos los días.

Yo quiero consumir muy brevemente el turno de palabra, tal y como es regla en esta mesa redonda, para expresar algunas ideas que con seguridad han estado presentes en las sesiones de trabajo de esta conferencia y estarán presentes en lecciones que debemos aprender, en las conclusiones que debemos sacar del trabajo para ser más fuertes frente a la amenaza terrorista. Lo primero que quiero subrayar es que cuando se produjo la masacre del 11 de marzo del pasado año, España llevaba ya a sus espaldas muchos años de trabajo duro y consistente contra el terror y su amenaza. Lo ha llevado adelante durante todo el tiempo en el que el pueblo español y la sociedad española ha apostado por vivir en paz y en libertad en una constitución democrática, que ha cumplido ya 27 años y que estableció entre nosotros un orden de libertad, de derechos humanos, de garantías, de pluralismo y en el que por tanto es perfectamente posible sostener cualquier pretensión, sostener cualquier posición política, sostener cualquier idea y luchar por su realización en la arena pública respetando las reglas de juego y los derechos de los demás. Lo que hace por tanto absolutamente inadmisible el recurso a la violencia o al crimen, que debe ser combatido con toda la energía y la determinación del estado constitucional, del imperio de la ley y por supuesto del deber de seguridad que es el primero de los deberes que un gobierno responsable, tiene para con la ciudadanía, tiene para con el pueblo.

Pero es importante subrayar que esta masacre del 11 de marzo tuvo lugar en un país que lleva mucho tiempo bregando con el terrorismo y que ese día catalizó con mayor energía que nunca antes si cabe, la conciencia, la toma de conocimiento de la realidad de que el terrorismo puede golpear con extrema dureza, de forma impensablemente cruda y derramar sangre y dolor, y hacernos llorar en cualquier momento, en cualquier circunstancia y desde luego en cualquier país. Y por tanto nos hizo caer en la conciencia, quizás de forma más viva que nunca, que todos tenemos que estar unidos contra el terrorismo. Para empezar, en el seno de la propia sociedad española pero también en la cooperación europea, internacional. En la arena de la comunidad internacional, de la comunidad planetaria, en la misma lucha por los derechos humanos, por la libertad, pero desde luego con la mayor determinación frente al terror.

Esta toma de conciencia está hoy muy presente en esta conferencia y esa toma de conciencia se ha ido articulando en el trabajo político que hemos desarrollado desde el gobierno, del que soy Ministro de Justicia, desde las elecciones que tuvieron lugar el pasado 14 de marzo. Y lo vamos a desarrollar en todos y cada uno de los días en que este gobierno, como todos los anteriores en democracia, mantengan como es su deber, como prioridad número uno, la seguridad contra el crimen, la seguridad contra el terror. Prioridad número uno en la política interior, prioridad número uno en la política europea, prioridad número uno en la cooperación internacional. Lo hemos puesto de manifiesto en la participación muy decidida de España y de su gobierno, en la agenda europea.

Para empezar en la apuesta por la constitución europea, que es una herramienta de afirmación de la sujeción de todo poder a derecho, pero también de la propia ambición constitucional para Europa, porque ha incorporado un espacio de libertad, justicia y seguridad con una política distintiva, con sus propias herramientas normativas y operativas para garantizar seguridad y para luchar contra el crimen, a través de la cooperación policial y también a través de la cooperación de los ministerios fiscales, es decir de los órganos encargados de la investigación y la persecución del delito y por supuesto también del poder judicial de cada uno de los estados miembros y de las administraciones de justicia de los estados miembros.

Por ello en este último año, ha habido importantes progresos en la construcción de ese espacio de libertad, justicia y seguridad en Europa, que han llevado impulso y firma española junto con el resto de los países de la Unión Europea para ser más fuertes frente a la amenaza del terror en su prevención y por supuesto en su represión, en su persecución y en su castigo. Ha habido avances así, en las áreas que deben ser identificadas como componentes irrenunciables de una política integral de seguridad contra el terror.

El acceso a la información disponible, la comunidad de la inteligencia, la intercomunicación de los servicios de información y de inteligencia y de las bases de datos disponibles en la lucha contra el crimen entre los países miembros de la Unión Europea, el avance en la identificación de las fuentes de financiación de las organizaciones terroristas, en el control de datos y en la intercomunicación de esos datos relevantes, en todo lo que respecte a la financiación de la actividad criminal, de la actividad terrorista y en los flujos financieros de dinero procedente de negocios ilícitos y de actividades criminales. En la prevención, por supuesto, que debe observar en el tiempo futuro un enorme avance, significa la alerta temprana, significa la evitación del mal, compartiendo información desde bases de profunda y sincera confianza mutua y el reconocimiento en el mecanismo operativo de nuestros instrumentos de conocimiento de ese mundo criminal y de esa amenaza criminal para ser más fuertes frente a esa amenaza.

Por tanto prevenir y estar preparados para cualquier ataque terrorista es parte también de un trabajo de explicación y de pedagogía de la importancia que es ser conscientes de que esa amenaza puede materializarse y de que el compromiso tiene que tener un primer nivel de responsabilidad en los poderes públicos, pero debe alcanzar también a la sociedad civil, a las organizaciones no gubernamentales y también a la cooperación ciudadana, aprendiendo lecciones de esta experiencia tan dura que son familiares a la memoria de los españoles en la lucha contra el terrorismo, porque somos conscientes de cuantas veces ha sido crucial la cooperación de la ciudadanía para poder prevenir, evitar o en su caso ser eficaces en la persecución policial y judicial de los crímenes terroristas que nos han golpeado, durante nuestros años de vida en libertad y en democracia, en la experiencia constitucional española y de modo muy manifiesto en la lucha contra la organización terrorista ETA.

Es importante también enfatizar la importancia, junto a ese compromiso compartido con la sociedad civil y con el sector privado, de ese eslabón último de la cadena del dolor, que son las víctimas del terrorismo. Por tanto el apoyo institucional rotundo, en el seguimiento del dolor de las demandas y del derecho a seguir los expedientes que les importen, que les afectan, que les conciernen, de las víctimas del terrorismo y en ese sentido el gobierno ha adoptado ya medidas para potenciar la ayuda a las víctimas del terrorismo y mañana mismo en un Consejo de Ministros, que estará monográficamente dedicado al fortalecimiento de las instituciones de nuestro estado de derecho, contra el terrorismo. Va a adoptar medidas adicionales de protección de las víctimas del terrorismo, a través del establecimiento de una oficina de seguimiento de las víctimas del terrorismo, en el órgano judicial especializado en la lucha contra el crimen organizado en el sistema judicial español que como es conocido, se llama en España Audiencia Nacional.

Hace falta por supuesto también relanzar la prioridad de la cooperación europea e internacional contra el terrorismo. Por ello es extremadamente importante el testimonio que hoy hemos escuchado de compromiso de Naciones Unidas, pero del mismo modo el G8, la organización para la seguridad y la cooperación europea, el Consejo de Europa, por supuesto la Unión Europea con su espacio de libertad, justicia y seguridad, y la cooperación internacional con los países que han mostrado y manifiestan en su acción política de todos los días mayor determinación contra el terrorismo es enormemente apreciada, de modo especial con los Estados Unidos, a los que el Gobierno de España reconoce en este ámbito su cooperación crucial en la lucha contra el terror.

Finalmente, la palabra que debe ser dicha siempre en una intervención, por breve que sea contra el terrorismo, es que todo ello debe llevarse adelante desde la observancia del mayor nivel de compromiso con los derechos humanos, con los derechos fundamentales. España ha aprobado un especial cuidado un especial celo, en el desarrollo de una legislación contra el terror acorde con la constitución, que es fuertemente garantista para con los derechos fundamentales, pero también en la pedagogía social de todos los días, explicando a la ciudadanía que es posible combatir el mal terrorista sin confundir, si generar a través de la confusión, la indistinción, la demagogia o la alarma, una imposibilidad de discernir que la amenaza terrorista no puede ser predicada de todos los colectivos o sectores de la realidad donde pueda surgir la amenaza terrorista.

Esto en España lo sabemos bien porque hemos sabido distinguir siempre el terrorismo etarra, con respecto a lo que significa la identidad vasca, el pueblo vasco, la sociedad vasca y el autogobierno vasco. Exactamente lo mismo sucede en relación con el terrorismo de orientación islamista. El pueblo español ha comprendido muy bien que una cosa es combatir el terrorismo de orientación islamista y otra cosa muy distinta el mundo musulmán, el Islam o la presencia entre nosotros de una creciente inmigración de origen magrebí. Muchísimas gracias.

Moderator. Ernesto Zedillo
Next time I am going to give the floor to the Attorney General of the United States, Mr. Alberto Gonzales.


Alberto Gonzales
Mr. President, distinguished guests and colleagues: It is a great honor to be here with you on this solemn occasion. On behalf of President Bush and the American people: Mr. Minister: Allow me to express once more our deepest sympathy for the victims of March 11th and their families. We gather now one year later determined to explore how we can work together to prevent future March 11ths and future September 11ths. We know, of course, that the struggle against terrorism has been and will be a long one. There will be disappointments as well as victories, days of despair, days of triumph. We will be sustained by our knowledge that this struggle is a noble one. We will work with the quiet confidence that our efforts not only to protect our peoples but also advance the cause of freedom for the world.

In a gathering such as this one, leaders from around the world are given the opportunity to help light our way forward. The questions at issue could not be more important. How can our multilateral system best address the terrorist threat? How can we promote religious tolerance instead of religious terrorism? How do we move from self-destruction to self-government, from violence to voting? These questions do not have easy answers. But democratic debate is a strength in our cause - the cause of freedom. It is no accident that this summit is being held under the patronage of His Majesty the King of Spain, who has personally done so much to advance the cause of democracy both in Spain and around the world.

We gather today at a free and democratic institution in a free and democratic nation because the answer to terrorism will be found in the extension of democracy and freedom. To be sure we cannot neglect the hard work of law-enforcement, the daily efforts of law and order have already done so much to cripple the terrorist threat. To that end the United States has sought to work ever more closely with our allies in Europe and elsewhere and to strengthen our law enforcement ties with the European Union in particular.

In this battle against terrorism we are all looking for ways to seize the initiative. And we seek to do so in a way that is consistent with the rule of law, knowing that how we fight reflects our shared respect for individual rights and liberties – the ultimate foundations in enduring democracies. As President Bush said this week in his statement honoring the lives lost in the March 11th attacks: we share a common faith in values of freedom and the sanctity of life. We will continue to fight terror and advance freedom so that world will be more peaceful. Europe and the United States have never worked more closely in law enforcement than we have since September 11th 2001. We have negotiated unprecedented extradition and mutual-assistance treaties. We have agreed to work together through Europol and Eurojust and together to work more closely with Interpol and the Council of Europe.

[…] We shall deny them this victory.” Those words were no less true following the attacks of March 11th. Freedom, not terror will triumph. We will not be divided. And we not they will know victory. It is an honor to be here with you today. My condolences, Mr. Minister, again for your nation’s loss. I want to thank you for your cooperation, your partnership and your friendship in this noble struggle.

Moderator. Ernesto Zedillo
Thank you very much, Mr. Attorney General. I’m going to give the word now to the President of the Senate of Nigeria, Mr. Adolphus Wabara.

Adolphus Swabala
Thank you very much, mister former President of Colombia and moderator, your Excellencies. I’m here representing the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olu Passenger. He’s asked me to come here to commiserate with the good people of Madrid of Spain who lost their lives one year ago during the massacre of the terrorist attack in Madrid. Indeed tomorrow March 11th will mark one year of this horror to Madrid. And that is why indeed we are here.

Terrorism generally has no border. In conventional war a war has a battlefront. Terrorism has no battlefront. It has no front at all and no border. You will recall that even Africa was a victim of terrorism. The Secretary General mentioned Casablanca and Nairobi. But interestingly, when it did happen, it was not taken seriously, just as it wasn’t taken seriously in Afghanistan, when this President of Afghanistan warned the world of what was happening in Afghanistan. We are happy today is that the war is taken very seriously. In fact, what I’ve come to see here today is that it’s not the ‘Club of Madrid’. It’s the ‘Madrid Club of the World’. Because the entire world is here. Which means it is a very, very serious threat to humanity. So we must put hands together to ensure that we fight terrorism to a standstill.

Regional cooperation of course is very, very important. It was mentioned a while ago. And that’s why I will appeal to developed countries to come to the aid of developing countries. The world, they say, is a global village today, but then if there is no measure of equality or measure of some development in these areas then we will still continue to have problems. Although poverty is not in itself the cause of terrorism, but poverty has a role in terrorism. Because some poor countries like those, of course, from Africa will need the developed countries to come to us and that’s why we give the total support in this fight against terrorism so that the money being expended on terrorism by the time it is fought to a standstill will now be used to develop the poor nations.

Mr. Solana talked about dialogue, and this is very, very important. We all should sit around the table and discuss these problems. No country, when it comes to terrorism, should feel superior to the other. Because, as they say in my language “I will use what I have to do what I want to do.” If we sit down together to discuss this problem I think we will get there quicker. I want us to adopt the keynote address by the Secretary General. […] ‘Working papers’. It is very comprehensive as a working paper for the fight against terrorism. All the points raised by the participants this morning, led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, should also be put in print and circulated to the whole world. We need to tell the world what we have come to do this time in Madrid.

Finally, I want to say that Nigeria is totally in support of the war against terrorism. And as a parliamentarian, as President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with a population of about 150 million people, I want to appeal to my fellow parliamentarians worldwide that they should work closely with their Heads of Government and Heads of State, to appropriate sufficient and adequate funds in their annual budgets for the fight against terrorism.

Moderator. Ernesto Zedillo
Muchas gracias, thank you very much. We will give the word to His Excellency the Minister of Human Rights from the Republic of Yemen, Ahmad A. Alsoswa.

Ahmad Alsoswa
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

I think I’m going to give you another example of another fact that we have been hearing since this early morning. And being here from Yemen, which is a very small and poor country, which also has been hit a long time ago before the terrible attacks on September 11th. Yemen was already a victim of terrorist acts. We all remember the U.S.S. Cole. And we all remember after that the […] ship incident in […]. And just to mention to you some of the effects of these two terrible incidents when it comes to the victims in terms of individual and human being lives but also the effects of economic life which is still, until today, a struggle for Yemen. Although Yemen is trying to promote itself but it has had devastating effects as well on us, generally when it comes to life especially at the port of Aidan where that incident took place.

This is to mention also that a small country like Yemen, which is not also an established democracy, rather an emerging democracy, when it comes to the laws and the act within law and to enforcing the law. Talking and dealing with crimes of terrorism as well, that we tried our best to really have that balance between the question of human rights which is also new when it comes to the practices in my country -not like so many countries of yours where you have justice and order, you have the legal life is so clear, everybody knows it, the awareness is also well-known. So we have had so many double tasks when it comes to fighting terrorism on one side, but at the same time we also tried and we are still trying to keep up the development and the continuity of the march of democracy in my country.

In addition to that, of course we know terrorism has no direct link to poverty. But of course the environment of poverty also would be an encouraging one sometimes for that particular one. For this I also add my voice to those voices, and especially to the dear colleague from Nigeria who also mentioned clearly the cry to help countries like mine in its battle against poverty on one hand and also against the battle of terrorism as well. We know and we all agree that more democracy, more application of human rights will certainly defeat the terrorism. But this is also going to be a very long journey as well. And we have to have the clear belief that it’s not an easy one. We should really continue doing that. And we know that for sure there is no country whatsoever, wherever that country is located is immune from terrorism. And it has been proven for the last few years that this is really true.

So I just wanted to add one thing regarding this, talking about all the work to really make the terrorism surrender and for them to give up: it’s going to be also a task of difficulties because also you have to do so many other parallel works in addition to the, for example, spread of tolerance and the ideas of accepting the others and understanding the others and appreciating them and respecting them, most of all respecting their lives and their existence.

We have started also working, a very difficult work when it comes to the curricular and the education. And thankfully to God we were able to do that two years even before the terrible accidents of September 11th when the country was able to do it in a more balanced time as well. And we succeeded in that.

But again this is also requiring us to work it out, to continue that teaching, and to raise the awareness of people to that. And that also to go hand in hand with teaching and also educating the security forces, the investigators, the people who work at the prosecution offices as well, for always to look only at the laws and to respect the laws. And believe me it is a difficult one. But Yemen is believing that it should do both functions together in order to win with the rest of the world that battle which eventually, definitely will win. Especially that all humanity is suffering from this.

And I would like to say again here our deep condolences to our friendly people of Spain and to its Government as well in this anniversary. And we are with them. And I think the whole humanity is really with them. And we hope that no one else in this planet is going to suffer from that anymore.

Moderator. Ernesto Zedillo
Thank you very much.

Y por último, para cerrar la sesión, nos vamos a permitir darle la palabra al señor Secretario de Seguridad Nacional y Defensa de Ucrania, señor Petro Poroshenko.

Petro Poroshenko
Thank you, Mr. chairman. Dear Excellencies, dear participants of the Summit, dear friends.

First of all I would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to the community of democratic nations for the support of Orange Revolution in Ukraine, as well as the cause of economic and social reform pursued by Ukrainian leadership. Especially to some of the persons who are present in this meeting –particularly Secretary General Mr. Terry Davis, who was in one of the most difficult and most decisive days in our history.

[…] From the same support, first of all for EU and NATO Member States of our efforts towards European and Euro-Atlantic integration. The new democratic Ukraine shares concern with the international community over the growth of international terrorism. When on Spanish soil we would like to pay our tribute to the memory of the victims act of terrorism committed in Madrid last year, which also took the lives of citizens of my country. We bow in the memory of innocent victims of all previous acts of terrorism committed in the last year in United States, Indonesia, Morocco, Israel, Russia, Kenya, Iraq, Turkey and many other countries.

All these atrocities showed that existing national security systems, institutions and mechanisms weren’t prepared to extent effectively to the new global threat. They have also demonstrated that no country is immune to the terrorist threat. Therefore, we all should unite our effort in facing the challenge presented by international terrorism. Ukraine has actively participated under the aegis of United Nations in the process of creating efficient systems of combating terrorism. Ukraine is of the view that the United Nations, through its Security Council Counter-terrorism Committee, should continue to play a leading role in coordination of international efforts in fighting against terrorism. Now basing on provisions of the main national documents of fighting terrorism, we take serious steps to improve our national legislation in this sphere.

Being responsible members of the international community, Ukraine has joined all twelve international conventions, protocol and other universal counter-terrorism instruments of the United Nations. And we call upon all the United Nation Member States to accomplish necessary procedure and to accede to the set international legal instruments. We welcome the strategy of fighting terrorism presented by the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan during the current summit. We believe that creation within a United Nations framework of a unified databank of international criminal organizations connected with the terrorist activity could become an effective step in heading towards strengthening in international cooperation in fighting international terrorism.

The goal could also be promoted by creation of an effective mechanism of information sharing between national sub-division of financial intelligence from different states in line with the Edmund Principle. We attach special attention to our cooperation with […] whose recommendation represents a welcome contribution to elimination of source financial terrorism.

Ukraine is an active participant in the anti-terrorism activities of other international organizations, like OSC, Council of Europe, LOAM, etc. Now we are finalizing practical arrangements to join NATO-lead active endeavor anti-terrorist operations. Ukraine welcomes the new initiative of the European Union in fighting terrorism adopted in March 2004 by the European Union in Brussels.

We regard it necessary to create an effective international mechanism of interaction between law enforcement bodies in emergency situations connected with unlawful border crossing by terrorist groups. International cooperation might also include exchange of technology of production and utilization of technical and military equipment for terrorism counteraction.

Finally, I’d like to stress the role of mass media in creating the climate for zero tolerance to any propaganda to inciting terrorism, as well as the role of NGOs in strengthening international anti-terrorist endeavors. Ukraine remains committed to the cause of ensuring international peace and security. Fight against horrible phenomenon of international terrorism being a critical part of this process. We are ready to continue to make an important contribution to international efforts directed to its total elimination. Thank you very much.

Moderator. Ernesto Zedillo
Thank you very much.

Bueno, agradecer la presencia de todos los panelistas, y la verdad es que logramos mantener el tiempo. A las seis está citada la plenaria. Agradecerles de verdad a todos ustedes su presencia y su participación, y lo mismo a la audiencia. Muchas gracias.


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