From:TheBahamasWeekly.com
Inter-American Committee against Terrorism Addresses Hemispheric Cooperation Measures to Counter the Financing of Terrorism and Money Laundering
By OAS
Mar 8, 2013 - 6:38:02 PM
The
Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE) of the Organization
of American States (OAS) today inaugurated its thirteenth regular
session highlighting the importance of strengthening hemispheric
cooperation in combating terrorism and its financing.
In the opening ceremony, the OAS Assistant Secretary General,
Ambassador Albert Ramdin, thanked the delegates of the member countries,
noting that "your presence here today is in itself yet another
indication of an already constituted hemispheric commitment to forge our
collective security by strengthening cooperation to prevent, combat,
and eradicate acts of terrorism and thereby generate ample opportunities
in our region for prosperous and peaceful coexistence.”
In his address, Ambassador Ramdin stressed that the fight
against the financing of terrorism and money laundering are fundamental
issues as "attacking them involves going against the roots of the
organization, planning, support for, and perpetration of terrorist
acts,” and because the funding of these criminal activities can be
linked to other crimes “that may go from destabilizing the economic and
financial system to destabilizing an entire country's or region's
institutions, thereby undermining the values underpinning the democratic
and peaceful coexistence of the peoples of the Americas.”
“The importance attached to preventing the financing of
terrorist acts stems from a crime prevention rationale, and the
destabilizing effect that may be wrought by potential connections
between different categories of crime,“ said the senior OAS official,
who specifically highlighted drug and arms trafficking and corruption.
Mentioning other challenges in combating the financing of
terrorism, Ambassador Ramdin referred to globalization and information
technology. “In our societies today, constantly shifting payment and
financial transfer methods, combined with ever new technologies, make it
difficult to track flows of money that might be used for criminal
purposes without appropriate international cooperation,” he said.
Finally, the Assistant Secretary General expressed his
confidence that the sessions of CICTE "will lend a new and more profound
meaning to the concept of international cooperation by renewing and
strengthening the resolve of the Member States in this area."
For his part, the Chair of CICTE and Permanent Representative of
Guatemala to the OAS, José Rodrigo Vielmann Leon, presented a summary
of the activities undertaken during the last year, which were focused on
strengthening cyber security. "Telecommunications should be a support
tool in the fight against terrorism," he said, recalling that it is
necessary to use the resources that they provide for a safer world. "It
is necessary to join efforts and understand that international terrorism
has no borders, and as such our approach to combat this scourge must
not have them either.”
The opening session was also attended by the Permanent
Representative of the Republic of Rwanda to the United Nations, and Vice
Chair of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee, Ambassador
Eugène-Richard Gasana, who advocated for broadening cooperation not only
regionally, but also at the international level in counter-terrorism
efforts. In this regard he expressed the will of the United Nations
Committee to work with and provide technical assistance to regional and
international organizations. "My presence here is a sign of this
commitment," he said.
Ambassador Gasana also reiterated the need to maintain the
respect for human rights in the implementation of anti-terrorism
measures, the need to address terrorist campaigns, to support the
victims and vulnerable populations and to address the social
implications of this scourge, "which has high implications on the social
fabric of a country."
In analyzing the situation in the hemisphere, the Representative
of Rwanda to the UN said that "the region of the Americas has a
difficult history, and some states continue to experience problems with
terrorism and other violent crimes. However, we have seen that many
states have made progress on issues such as the ratification of
anti-terrorism international instruments, the adoption of new
legislation in this area and regulation in the financial system to
control terrorism." Ambassador Gasana closed by reiterating the interest
of the United Nations Committee in cooperating with CICTE and "to
continue to work together in sharing information, best practices and
technical assistance, as it is the most important Inter-American
organization in this area."
CICTE is composed of all OAS Member States that meet annually in
a forum of discussion and decision making on counter-terrorism issues.
The Member States designate the competent national authorities, their
principal representative and the advisors that they deem appropriate to
represent them before CICTE.
For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.
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