Envoy outlines terror strategy

Diplomat warns of the need for greater co-operation to defeat an increasingly sophisticated threat.

The United Nations Headquarters building is seen in New York. An Emirati diplomat has outlined the Government's initiatives to tackle terrorism.

NEW YORK // An Emirati diplomat has outlined the Government's initiatives to tackle terrorism and warned delegates at a UN meeting of the need for greater co-operation to defeat an increasingly sophisticated threat. Addressing the General Assembly's legal committee, Khamis Rashid al Shemeili said UAE officials had bolstered border security and enacted laws to freeze terrorists' bank accounts and prevent extremists from joining terror groups, the state news agency, WAM, reported yesterday.

Mr Shemeili also called for a greater commitment to the development of an accepted definition of "terrorism". The Foreign Ministry envoy warned that it was "unacceptable" to link terrorism with any religion and said terror outrages were criminal and "against the tenets of Islam". "The United Arab Emirates considers the acts of terrorism witnessed by the international community recently as one of the gravest challenges to threaten the security and stability of all countries and societies," he told delegates. "This is especially true because perpetrators, instigators and sponsors of terrorist activities are increasingly adopting plans and tools that are more advanced and complex. These tools depend on globalisation and modern technology that cross borders and continents." Mr Shemeili was speaking in New York last week at a committee meeting intended to enhance co-operation on combating terrorism and lay the groundwork for a high-level summit and a new draft convention. Disagreements over the definition of terrorism have long hampered co-ordination efforts, with the General Assembly adopting only the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in September 2006 after a year of fractious negotiations. Despite years of discussion, there is no internationally accepted definition of terrorism, partly because of the long-standing dispute between Israelis and Palestinians. What Israel describes as terrorist attacks are seen by many in the Muslim world as the tactics of an occupied population. In this analysis, Israel perpetrates what has controversially been termed "state-sponsored terrorism". During a series of meetings last week, Mr Shemeili reiterated calls for a universally accepted "definition of terrorism" and called on members of the world body to "deal with situations involving foreign occupation". But Israel's envoy to the meeting, Ady Schonmann, said the Muslim world's attempt to classify Palestinian suicide bombings and other attacks as legitimate acts made little sense. Ms Schonmann said "terrorism had sought legitimacy in the form of the recognition of a distinction between permissible and impermissible forms of terror" and warned that attempts to create a "universal standard" definition "prevented progress in the foreseeable future", according to UN reports. Japan's envoy to the meeting, Tomohiro Mikanagi, said despite the controversy, governments were attempting to "bridge the gaps" between views and called for "utmost flexibility" in moving forward. Delegates referred to the latest report of the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, on measures to eliminate terrorism, which highlights a series of laws passed in the UAE designed to combat the scourge. The document, released last month, said Federal Law 95 (2007) meant the UAE had acceded to the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism and had therefore become party to all international counter-terrorism instruments. The same law criminalised the financing of terrorists and enabled officials to freeze bank accounts. * With reporting from WAM [e-mail]