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Last Updated: Feb 6, 2017 - 2:32:04 PM |
 The Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE) of the Organization of American States (OAS) will hold
on Thursday and
Friday
its Fourteenth Regular Session, during which the 34 member states of
the Organization will analyze mechanisms designed to counter
criminal activities carried out by terrorist groups to finance their
activities, and to improve responses to terrorism through the
strengthening of criminal justice systems in the region.
Looking ahead to the CICTE meeting, the Secretary General of the OAS,
José Miguel Insulza, called for coordination between the countries of
the region to “ensure that our frontiers don’t hinder our efforts to
find and eliminate the sources of financing of terrorist
groups.” In addition, the OAS leader highlighted that “strengthening
our justice systems is the best way to break the criminal networks that
have created these groups to carry out their illicit activities.”
The Inaugural Ceremony of the event will feature the participation of
the Assistant Secretary General of the OAS, Albert Ramdin; the Chair of
CICTE and Permanent Representative of Colombia to the OAS, Andrés
González Díaz; and the Executive Director of the
United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee, Jean-Paul Laborde. The
ceremony will be open to the press and will be broadcast live on the
OAS Website.
The annual meeting of CICTE will bring together high level experts and
authorities from the region in the field of combating terrorism;
national, international, regional and subregional organizations; and
non-governmental organizations to debate two central
themes: “Cooperating to Counter the Criminal Activities that may
Exacerbate the Threats of Terrorism,” and “Strengthening Criminal
Justice Responses to Acts of Terrorism.”
These discussions will enable member states to explore the ways in which
they can enhance their effectiveness against terrorist groups by
strengthening their criminal justice systems and focusing on the
criminal activities that facilitate, fund or accompany
terrorist activity.
The main purpose of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism
(CICTE) is to promote and develop cooperation among member states to
prevent, combat and eliminate terrorism, in accordance with the
principles of the OAS Charter, with the Inter-American Convention
Against Terrorism, and with full respect for the sovereignty of states,
the rule of law, and international law, including international
humanitarian law, international human rights law, and international
refugee law.
CICTE works in five areas: border controls, legislative assistance and
combating terrorist financing, protection of critical infrastructure,
strengthening of strategies to deal with emerging terrorist threats, and
international cooperation and collaboration.
The plenary of the meeting will elect the new Chair and Vice Chair of
CICTE, as well as the Rapporteur of the Fourteenth Regular Session.
WHAT: Fourteenth Regular Session of CICTE
WHEN:
Thursday, February 20, 09:00 to 17:00 EST (
14:00 to 22:00 GMT) and
Friday, February 21, 09:00 to 17:45 EST (
14:00 to 22:45 GMT)
WHERE: Simón Bolívar Hall
Organization of American States
17th Street & Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20006
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