Forty-ninth session
Agenda item 142
RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 46/51 of 9 December 1991 and its
decision 48/411 of 9 December 1993,
Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General, 1/
Having considered in depth the question of measures to
eliminate international terrorism,
Convinced that the adoption of the declaration on measures
to eliminate international terrorism should contribute to the
enhancement of the struggle against international terrorism,
1. Approves the Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International
Terrorism, the text of which is annexed to the present resolution;
2. Invites the Secretary-General to inform all States,
the Security Council, the International Court of Justice and the
relevant specialized agencies, organizations and organisms of
the adoption of the Declaration;
3. Urges that every effort be made in order that the Declaration
becomes generally known and is observed and implemented in full;
4. Urges States, in accordance with the provisions of the
Declaration, to take all appropriate measures at the national
and international levels to eliminate terrorism;
5. Invites the Secretary-General to follow up closely the
implementation of the present resolution and the Declaration,
and to submit to the General Assembly at its fiftieth session
a report thereon, relating, in particular, to the modalities of
implementation of paragraph 10 of the Declaration;
6. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its
fiftieth session the item entitled "Measures to eliminate
international terrorism", in order to examine the report
of the Secretary-General requested in paragraph 5 above, without
prejudice to the annual or biennial consideration of the item.
84th plenary meeting
9 December 1994
The General Assembly,
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the
United Nations,
Recalling the Declaration on Principles of International
Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States
in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, 2/ the Declaration
on the Strengthening of International Security, 3/ the Definition
of Aggression, 4/ the Declaration on the Enhancement of the Effectiveness
of the Principle of Refraining from the Threat or Use of Force
in International Relations, 5/ the Vienna Declaration and Programme
of Action, adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights, 6/
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
7/ and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
7/
Deeply disturbed by the world-wide persistence of acts
of international terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,
including those in which States are directly or indirectly involved,
which endanger or take innocent lives, have a deleterious effect
on international relations and may jeopardize the security of
States,
Deeply concerned by the increase, in many regions of the
world, of acts of terrorism based on intolerance or extremism,
Concerned at the growing and dangerous links between terrorist
groups and drug traffickers and their paramilitary gangs, which
have resorted to all types of violence, thus endangering the constitutional
order of States and violating basic human rights,
Convinced of the desirability for closer coordination and
cooperation among States in combating crimes closely connected
with terrorism, including drug trafficking, unlawful arms trade,
money laundering and smuggling of nuclear and other potentially
deadly materials, and bearing in mind the role that could be played
by both the United Nations and regional organizations in this
respect,
Firmly determined to eliminate international terrorism
in all its forms and manifestations,
Convinced also that the suppression of acts of international
terrorism, including those in which States are directly or indirectly
involved, is an essential element for the maintenance of international
peace and security,
Convinced further that those responsible for acts of international
terrorism must be brought to justice,
Stressing the imperative need to further strengthen international
cooperation between States in order to take and adopt practical
and effective measures to prevent, combat and eliminate all forms
of terrorism that affect the international community as a whole,
Conscious of the important role that might be played by
the United Nations, the relevant specialized agencies and States
in fostering widespread cooperation in preventing and combating
international terrorism, inter alia, by increasing public awareness
of the problem,
Recalling the existing international treaties relating
to various aspects of the problem of international terrorism,
inter alia, the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts
Committed on Board Aircraft, signed at Tokyo on 14 September 1963,
8/ the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft,
signed at The Hague on 16 December 1970, 9/ the Convention for
the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation,
concluded at Montreal on 23 September 1971, 10/ the Convention
on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally
Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents, adopted in New
York on 14 December 1973, 11/ the International Convention against
the Taking of Hostages, adopted in New York on 17 December 1979,
12/ the Convention on thePhysical Protection of Nuclear Material,
adopted at Vienna on 3 March 1980, 13/ the Protocol for the Suppression
of Unlawful Acts of Violence at Airports Serving International
Civil Aviation, supplementary to the Convention for the Suppression
of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation, signed
at Montreal on 24 February 1988, 14/ the Convention for the Suppression
of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, done
at Rome on 10 March 1988, 15/ the Protocol for the Suppression
of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Fixed Platforms located
on the Continental Shelf, done at Rome on 10 March 1988, 16/ and
the Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose
of Detection, done at Montreal on 1 March 1991, 17/
Welcoming the conclusion of regional agreements and mutually
agreed declarations to combat and eliminate terrorism in all its
forms and manifestations,
Convinced of the desirability of keeping under review the
scope of existing international legal provisions to combat terrorism
in all its forms and manifestations, with the aim of ensuring
a comprehensive legal framework for the prevention and elimination
of terrorism,
Solemnly declares the following:
1. The States Members of the United Nations solemnly reaffirm
their unequivocal condemnation of all acts, methods and practices
of terrorism, as criminal and unjustifiable, wherever and by whomever
committed, including those which jeopardize the friendly relations
among States and peoples and threaten the territorial integrity
and security of States;
2. Acts, methods and practices of terrorism constitute a grave
violation of the purposes and principles of the United Nations,
which may pose a threat to international peace and security, jeopardize
friendly relations among States, hinder international cooperation
and aim at the destruction of human rights, fundamental freedoms
and the democratic bases of society;
3. Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of
terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular
persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable,
whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological,
racial, ethnic, religious or any other nature that may be invoked
to justify them;
4. States, guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter
of the United Nations and other relevant rules of international
law, must refrain from organizing, instigating, assisting or participating
in terrorist acts in territories of other States, or from acquiescing
in or encouraging activities within their territories directed
towards the commission of such acts;
5. States must also fulfil their obligations under the Charter
of the United Nations and other provisions of international law
with respect to combating international terrorism and are urged
to take effective and resolute measures in accordance with the
relevant provisions of international law and international standards
of human rights for the speedy and final elimination of international
terrorism, in particular:
(a) To refrain from organizing, instigating, facilitating, financing, encouraging or tolerating terrorist activities and to take appropriate practical measures to ensure that their respective territories are not used for terrorist installations or training camps, or for the preparation or organization of terrorist acts intended to be committed against other States or their citizens;
(b) To ensure the apprehension and prosecution or extradition of perpetrators of terrorist acts, in accordance with the relevant provisions of their national law;
(c) To endeavour to conclude special agreements to that effect on a bilateral, regional and multilateral basis, and to prepare, to that effect, model agreements on cooperation;
(d) To cooperate with one another in exchanging relevant information concerning the prevention and combating of terrorism;
(e) To take promptly all steps necessary to implement the existing international conventions on this subject to which they are parties, including the harmonization of their domestic legislation with those conventions;
(f) To take appropriate measures, before granting asylum, for the purpose of ensuring that the asylum seeker has not engaged in terrorist activities and, after granting asylum, for the purpose of ensuring that the refugee status is not used in a manner contrary to the provisions set out in subparagraph (a) above;
6. In order to combat effectively the increase in, and the
growing international character and effects of, acts of terrorism,
States should enhance their cooperation in this area through,
in particular, systematizing the exchange of information concerning
the prevention and combating of terrorism, as well as by effective
implementation of the relevant international conventions and conclusion
of mutual judicial assistance and extradition agreements on a
bilateral, regional and multilateral basis;
7. In this context, States are encouraged to review urgently the
scope of the existing international legal provisions on the prevention,
repression and elimination of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,
with the aim of ensuring that there is a comprehensive legal framework
covering all aspects of the matter;
8. Furthermore States that have not yet done so are urged to consider,
as a matter of priority, becoming parties to the international
conventions and protocols relating to various aspects of international
terrorism referred to in the preamble to the present Declaration;
9. The United Nations, the relevant specialized agencies and
intergovernmental organizations and other relevant bodies must
make every effort with a view to promoting measures to combat
and eliminate acts of terrorism and to strengthening their role
in this field;
10. The Secretary-General should assist in the implementation
of the present Declaration by taking, within existing resources,
the following practical measures to enhance international cooperation:
(a) A collection of data on the status and implementation of existing multilateral, regional and bilateral agreements relating to international terrorism, including information on incidents caused by international terrorism and criminal prosecutions and sentencing, based on information received from the depositaries of those agreements and from Member States;
(b) A compendium of national laws and regulations regarding the prevention and suppression of international terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, based on information received from Member States;
(c) An analytical review of existing international legal instruments relating to international terrorism, in order to assist States in identifying aspects of this matter that have not been covered by such instruments and could be addressed to develop further a comprehensive legal framework of conventions dealing with international terrorism;
(d) A review of existing possibilities within the United Nations system for assisting States in organizing workshops and training courses on combating crimes connected with international terrorism;
11. All States are urged to promote and implement in good faith
and effectively the provisions of the present Declaration in all
its aspects;
12. Emphasis is placed on the need to pursue efforts aiming at
eliminating definitively all acts of terrorism by the strengthening
of international cooperation and progressive development of international
law and its codification, as well as by enhancement of coordination
between, and increase of the efficiency of, the United Nations
and the relevant specialized agencies, organizations and bodies.
___________
1/ A/49/257 and Add.1-3.
2/ Resolution 2625 (XXV), annex.
3/ Resolution 2734 (XXV).
4/ Resolution 3314 (XXIX), annex.
5/ Resolution 42/22, annex.
6/ Report of the World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna, 14-25
June 1993 (A/CONF.157/24 (Part I)), chap. III.
7/ See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.
8/ United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 704, No. 10106.
9/ Ibid., vol. 860, No. 12325.
10/ Ibid., vol. 974, No. 14118.
11/ Ibid., vol. 1035, No. 15410.
12/ Resolution 34/146, annex.
13/ International Atomic Energy Agency, document INFCIRC/225;
to be published in United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1456, No.
24631.
14/ International Civil Aviation Organization, document DOC 9518.
15/ International Maritime Organization, document SUA/CONF/15/Rev.1.
16/ Ibid., document SUA/CONF/16/Rev.2.
17/ See S/22393 and Corr.1.