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UN SECURITY COUNCIL COUNTER-TERRORISM COMMITTEE VISITS ARMENIA

Official

The United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) is visiting Armenia this week as part of its practical and technical assistance work to strengthen the ability of countries to fight terrorism.

The 11-person delegation includes members of the Committee’s Executive Directorate (CTED) as well as representatives from the Council of Europe’s MONEYVAL, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Interpol, the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Armenia is located in a region that has experienced conflict, and therefore weapons trafficking and border security are concerns that could be exploited by terrorists. Moreover, Armenia is in a highly geostrategic position, which could serve as a bridge between the Middle East and Europe.

The purpose of country visits is to precisely monitor, on location and in practice, how Member States implement Security Council resolution 1373 (2001), as well as to evaluate the nature and level of assistance that a particular country may need in order to fulfil the terms of the resolution.

The resolution – which also established the CTC – calls on countries to put into practice a number of measures to enhance their legal and institutional capacity to be in a better position to counter terrorist activities nationally, regionally and globally.

Onsite dialogue with Member States is a key aspect of the Committee’s work and began in March 2005 with a visit to Morocco, followed by trips to Kenya, Albania, Thailand and Algeria. The CTC carried out 10 visits last year, and the mission to Armenia represents the sixth of 2007, coming after visits to Turkey, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Viet Nam and Georgia.

The Committee and its expert body, CTED, which was established in 2004, have been collecting written reports from Member States on how the various anti-terrorism measures set out by resolution 1373 are being implemented. Those periodic reports have served as the basis of an active dialogue between the CTC/CTED and the respective Member State. The country visits are a follow-up to that dialogue in a more focused, practical manner with the national authorities that have the responsibility to implement the different aspects of resolution 1373. Such visits are conducted with the full consent and cooperation of the national authorities.

Since 2001 Armenia has submitted five reports to the Committee – all of which are accessible by the general public through the CTC website (http://www.un.org/sc/ctc/).

Following each visit the counter-terrorism experts compile a report based on their observations, which may also include the assistance needs of the country. It is based on those needs and in full cooperation and consent with the respective Member State that CTED then works with donor countries and international organizations to help meet those assistance requirements.