S/PV.6015
6015th meeting
Wednesday, 12 November 2008, 10 a.m.
New York
Briefings by Chairmen of subsidiary bodies of the Security Council
Mr. Ettalhi (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (spoke in Arabic): At the outset, I wish to associate my voice with all those who came before me in conveying my gratitude to Ambassador Urbina of Costa Rica, Ambassador Grauls of Belgium and Ambassador Jurica of Croatia, who had the leadership of the 1267, 1540 and 1373 Committees, respectively, for their very informative and valuable presentations and their untiring efforts.
With regard to the 1373 Committee, on counter-terrorism, Libya welcomes and appreciates the positive developments in its activities and the work undertaken by its Executive Directorate with regard to organizing targeted visits covering all States, developing and developed, as well as its efforts to ensure transparency in its activities. We also welcome efforts within the framework of the provision of technical assistance and national capacity-building. Here, my country harbours the hope that assistance provided within the framework of the United Nations will be improved to replace bilateral assistance. We especially welcome the efforts by the Committee and its Executive Directorate in the implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and its cooperation and work with United Nations bodies.
Over the last few years our actions focused on one of the axes of the Strategy — the prevention of and fight against terrorism. Today it is incumbent on us to strengthen the Committee’s role to ensure that it addresses all the axes of the Strategy, especially tackling the conditions that promote terrorism and respect for human rights for all.
Occupation, aggression, defamation of cultures and civilizations and of peoples, as well as the denial of the right of legitimate resistance, the application of double standards with regard to international legality — all are factors that create fertile breeding grounds for terrorism and constitute sources of tension and terrorist acts. After all the progress achieved in counter-terrorism, my country is convinced that the time is ripe to devote attention to that aspect of the issue. The fight against and prevention of terrorism require more inclusive and effective measures that take into account the provisions of the Global Strategy. Without dwelling on details, my country believes that preventing and suppressing the financing of terrorism require special attention and the adoption of effective measures. Granting asylum should be surrounded by guarantees that ensure that it is used for the noble humanitarian objectives for which it was created.
With regard to the 1267 Committee, which deals with sanctions against the Taliban and Al-Qaida, my country welcomes the Committee’s efforts to improve its methods of work, including the listing and delisting procedures to make them more comprehensive and precise. The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya urges the Committee to submit as soon as possible, narrative summaries and the grounds for the listing of individuals and entities on the consolidated list. We believe that it is only just that the individuals and entities who are on the list and subjected to sanctions be informed of the reasons for which they were listed. The Member States, which bear the responsibility for the implementation of those sanctions, also have a right to be informed of the reasons for those sanctions.
The 1267 Committee should also devote special attention to reviewing and updating the consolidated list, including any additional information, in particular information on the identity of individuals and entities, and to following up with a review of which names need to be de-listed.
The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is gratified that the Security Council adopted resolution 1730 (2006) setting up a coordinating focal point to gather requests for the de-listing of individuals. That is an important step towards ensuring further transparency in the sanctions regime. However, we believe that that is not enough in itself and does not meet transparency standards. We encourage the Committee to apply exemptions in conformity with resolution 1452 (2002). Those exemptions are aimed at lessening the impact of sanctions on individuals and their families, providing for humanitarian situations that might arise and ensuring that Security Council resolutions do not lead to the collective punishment of the families of individuals on the lists. We underscore here the need for the Committee to consider the obstacles to rapid decisions on exemptions and to consider such de‑listing requests in a timely manner.
Turning now to the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004), my country is fully conscious of the grave threat posed by weapons of mass destruction. The international community is meeting that challenge via multilateral legal instruments. The fact that those instruments have not yet acquired universality and that a number of Member States have not yet implemented them at the national level means that the instruments remain inadequate, because they provide no guarantee against the proliferation of biological, chemical, nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction.
The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya again reiterates its opposition to weapons of mass destruction. We are convinced that the only way to prevent the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction by non-State actors is to eliminate them entirely. The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is convinced that disarmament and non-proliferation are two interconnected processes that reinforce each other mutually and require continuous progress to be achieved on both fronts.
Resolution 1540 (2004) imposed a number of restrictive obligations on States in the field of non‑proliferation. The Committee’s most recent report notes tangible progress in the implementation of its provisions. My country is among those that have submitted their first national report. The number of countries that have submitted reports and additional information has increased quite significantly. We now urge all States to submit their reports to the Committee so as to ensure the effectiveness of the Committee’s work.
The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya welcomes the efforts of the Committee to assist States that require it and encourages States with assistance needs to submit them to the Committee. We invite the Committee to strengthen its role in the field of technical assistance, to implement the resolution, including by ensuring that the assistance provided is in line with the established requirements of the resolution.
My country supports the efforts of the three Security Council Committees and all efforts that would enable us to achieve our objectives in the field of counter-terrorism, including identifying the causes and symptoms of terrorism, to create a world of peace and security for all people.
