XIV MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE OF THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT (MIDTERM REVIEW)
Durban, South Africa, 17-19 August 2004
FINAL DOCUMENT
www.nam.gov.za/media/040820.pdf

...

[IMRA: "99. The Ministers rejected recent attempts to equate the legitimate
struggle of peoples under colonial or alien domination and foreign
occupation, for self-determination and national liberation with terrorism" =
we condemn "terrorism" but we reject applying the "terror" label to terror
that we support.]

Terrorism

96. The Ministers reaffirmed the Movement's principled position concerning
terrorism as reiterated in the final document of the XIII Summit of the
Non-Aligned Movement in Kuala Lumpur, 2003.

97. The Ministers reiterated that terrorism cannot be attributed to
religion, race, nationality, or civilisation.

98. The Ministers reaffirmed that criminal acts intended or calculated to
provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or
particular persons for whatever purposes, wherever and by whomever committed
are, in any circumstance, unjustifiable, whatever the considerations or
factors that may be invoked to justify them.

99. The Ministers rejected recent attempts to equate the legitimate struggle
of peoples under colonial or alien domination and foreign occupation, for
self-determination and national liberation with terrorism in order to
prolong occupation and oppression of the innocent people with impunity.

100. The Ministers unequivocally condemned international terrorism in all
its forms and manifestations as a criminal act. They noted that terrorism
endangers the territorial integrity, as well as national and international
security. Such acts also violate human rights, in particular the right to
life, destroys the physical and economic infrastructure, and attempts to
de-stabilise legitimately constituted governments. They expressed their
resolve to take speedy and effective measures to eliminate international
terrorism including the need to address the underlying causes of terrorism
and urged all States to fulfil their obligations under international law,
including prosecuting or, where appropriate, extraditing the perpetrators of
such acts and preventing the organisation, instigation and the financing of
terrorism against other States from within or outside their territories or
by organizations based in their territories. They reaffirmed their support
for General Assembly Resolution 46/51 of 27 January, 1992 which
unequivocally condemned as criminal and unjustifiable all acts, methods and
practices of terrorism wherever and by whomever committed and called upon
all States to fulfil their obligations under international law and
international humanitarian law to refrain from facilitating, organising,
instigating, assisting, participating or supplying arms or other weapons
that could be used for terrorist acts in other States, or acquiescing in or
encouraging activities within their territory towards the commissioning of
such acts.

101. The Ministers further called on all States to endorse in principle the
convening of an international Conference under the auspices of the United
Nations to define terrorism, to differentiate it from the struggle for
national liberation and to reach comprehensive and effective measures for
concerted action. They also denounced the brutalisation of peoples kept
under foreign occupation as the gravest form of terrorism. They condemned
the use of State power for the suppression and violence against innocent
victims struggling against foreign occupation to exercise their inalienable
right to self-determination. They stressed the sanctity of this right and
urged that in this era of enlarged freedom and democracy, people under
foreign occupation should be allowed to freely determine their destiny. In
this context, they also reaffirmed their support for General Assembly
Resolution 46/51 of 27 January 1992 as well as other relevant United Nations
resolutions and the principled position of the Movement that the struggle
of peoples under colonial or alien domination and foreign occupation for
self-determination do not constitute terrorism.

102. The Ministers, while recalling the Movement's principled position on a
comprehensive convention on international terrorism, and in the light of the
previous initiatives and considerations adopted by NAM, and of their
conviction that multilateral co-operation under the United Nations auspices
is the most effective means to combat international terrorism, reiterated
their call for an International Summit Conference under the auspices of the
United Nations to formulate a joint organised response of the international
community to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including
identifying its root causes. They further reiterated the need for the
conclusion of a comprehensive convention for combating international
terrorism and, in this respect, they noted the progress made in the Ad Hoc
Committee on Terrorism established by Resolution 51/210 on the negotiations
for elaboration of a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism and
called upon all States to co-operate in resolving the outstanding issues.

103. The Ministers, pending the conclusion of a Comprehensive Convention on
International Terrorism, welcomed the initiative launched by Tunisia in
order to elaborate by consensus an international Code of Conduct within the
framework of the United Nations aimed at reinforcing co-ordination and
multilateral efforts for the prevention of terrorism, in all its forms and
manifestations, wherever and by whomever committed, in conformity with
international law and the United Nations Charter.

104. The Ministers also reaffirmed the Movement's principled position under
international law on the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples under
colonial or alien domination and foreign occupation for national liberation
and self-determination, which does not constitute terrorism and once again
called for the definition of terrorism to differentiate it from the
legitimate struggle of peoples under colonial or alien domination and
foreign occupation for self-determination and national liberation.

105. The Ministers urged all States to co-operate to enhance international
co-operation in the fight against terrorism in all its forms and
manifestations and, wherever, by whoever, against whomsoever it occurs, at
the national, regional and international levels, and to observe and
implement the relevant international and bilateral instruments, taking into
account the Final Document of the United Nations Conference on the
Prevention of Crime and Criminal Justice held in Cairo in 1995.

106. The Ministers emphasised that international co-operation to combat
terrorism should be conducted in conformity with the principles of the
United Nations Charter, international law and relevant international
conventions, and expressed the Movement's opposition to selective and
unilateral actions in violation of principles and purposes of the United
Nations Charter. In this context, they called upon the competent United
Nations Organs to promote ways and means to strengthen co-operation,
including the international legal regime for combating international
terrorism.

107. The Ministers reiterated that all States are under the obligation
pursuant to the purposes and principles and other provisions of the Charter
of the United Nations and other relevant international instruments, codes of
conduct and other rules of international law and Security Council and
General Assembly resolutions to refrain from organising, assisting or
participating in terrorist acts in the territories of other States or
acquiescing in or encouraging activities within their territories directed
towards the commission of such acts, including allowing the use of national
territories and territories under their jurisdiction for planning and
training or financing for that purpose. They solemnly reaffirmed the
Movement's unequivocal condemnation of any political, diplomatic, moral or
material support for terrorism. In this context, they emphasised that States
should ensure, in conformity with international law, that refugee status is
not abused by the perpetrators organisers or facilitators of terrorist acts
and that claims of political motivation are not recognised as grounds for
refusing requests for the extradition of alleged terrorists. They also
encouraged all States to consider to accede to and implement existing
international conventions against terrorism.

108. The Ministers rejected the use, or the threat of the use of the armed
forces against any NAM country under the pretext of combating terrorism, and
rejected all attempts by certain countries to use the issue of combating
terrorism as a pretext to pursue their political aims against non-aligned
and other developing countries and underscored the need to exercise
solidarity with those affected. They affirmed the pivotal role of the United
Nations in the international campaign against terrorism. They totally
rejected the term "axis of evil" voiced by a certain State to target other
countries under the pretext of combating terrorism, as well as its
unilateral preparation of lists accusing countries of allegedly supporting
terrorism, which are inconsistent with international law and the purposes
and principles of the United Nations Charter. These actions constitute, on
their part, a form of psychological and political terrorism.

109. The Ministers welcomed regional efforts to combat terrorism in all its
forms and manifestations including the adoption and entry into force of
different regional conventions related to combating terrorism, in
particular, the entry into force of the Convention of the Organisation of
African Unity on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism on 6 December
2003, as well as the Plan of Action endorsed by the Assembly of the African
Union at its Second Ordinary Session held in Maputo, Mozambique from 10-12
July 2003, the entry into force of the Arab Convention to Combat Terrorism
on 7 May 1999 and the adoption of the Islamic Conference Convention (OIC) on
Combating International Terrorism in Ouagadougou on 1 July 1999. They also
noted the adoption of the Organisation of Islamic Conference Declaration at
the Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers on
Terrorism held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 1 - 3 April 2002. They also
welcomed, among others, the ASEAN Declarations on Terrorism adopted by the
7th and 8th ASEAN Summits in 2001 and 2002 respectively; the ASEAN Joint
Declarations with the USA (1 August 2002), the EU (28 January 2003), India
(8 October 2003) and Russia (2 July 2004) to Combat International Terrorism,
and the ASEAN-China Joint Declaration on Co-operation in the Field of
Non-Traditional Security Issues (4 November 2002). They further welcomed the
ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Statements on Measures Against Terrorist
Financing on 30 July 2002, on Cooperative Counter Terrorist Action on Border
Security on 17 June 2003, on Cooperation Against Piracy and Other Threats to
Maritime Security on 17 June 2003 and on Strengthening Transport Security
Against International Terrorism on 2 July 2004. They also welcomed the
Protocol on the Suppression of Financing of Terrorism to the SAARC Regional
Convention on Suppression of Terrorism adopted at the Islamabad Summit in
January 2004 and the outcome of the Bali Regional Ministerial Meeting on
Counter Terrorism held in Bali, Indonesia in February 2004.