The 107th Inter-Parliamentary Conference,

Recalling that the Inter-Parliamentary Union, at its 95th Conference (April 1996), condemned international terrorism as a danger to the social and political stability of States, a threat to the global development of democratic structures, and an assault on the safety and individual freedoms of citizens, and called on all States to adopt appropriate measures to tackle terrorism and its social, political and economic causes,

Also recalling that to struggle for national liberation and independence from foreign occupation is a legitimate right laid down in international resolutions and that such an objective does not of itself constitute a terrorist act, but stressing that no struggle can justify indiscriminate attacks, particularly involving innocent civilians, or any form of organised State terrorism,

Reaffirming its resolution entitled "Contribution of the world's parliaments to the struggle against terrorism", adopted at the 105th Inter-Parliamentary Conference (April 2001), which condemned terrorist acts as unjustifiable in any circumstances, whatever the political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other considerations that may be invoked to justify them, and urged all parliaments to adopt measures to combat international terrorism in conformity with resolution 55/158 of the United Nations General Assembly,

Convinced that any acts of violence perpetrated by an individual, an organisation or a State against one or more countries, their institutions or people with the intention of intimidating them and gravely impairing, undermining or destroying fundamental freedoms, democracy, respect for human rights, civil rights and the rule of law in that or those countries, as well as any support given by States to such acts, must be condemned as terrorist acts,

Also convinced that international terrorism blatantly violates the values and principles enshrined in international humanitarian law and various United Nations conventions, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (resolution 217 A (III) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948), which states that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person, and consistently reaffirmed by the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Recalling United Nations Security Council resolution 1368 (2001) of 12 September 2001, which calls on all States to prevent and suppress terrorist attacks by means of increased cooperation and full implementation of the relevant international anti-terrorist conventions,

Endorsing United Nations Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) of 28 September 2001, which calls on all States to adopt anti-terrorist measures in the fields of finance, criminal law and information technology, and to refrain from providing active or passive support to terrorists or terrorist groups,

Recalling the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 9 December 1999, which requires all Contracting States to extradite persons implicated in the funding of terrorist activities and adopt measures to investigate suspicious financial transactions,

Noting with concern that the growing links between terrorism and organised crime, including illicit trafficking in drugs, arms and human beings, and money laundering constitute major obstacles to the fulfilment of the aspirations of civilisations to development, well-being, peace and security,

Reaffirming the need to combat the threat posed by international terrorism to world peace and international security by all means and in conformity with the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the United Nations human rights covenants,

Recognising and welcoming the growing international cooperation in combating international terrorism,

Considering that condemnation of terrorism is inseparable from assistance to its victims,

Convinced that the world's parliaments and parliamentarians can make a major contribution, through international as well as national cooperation, to combating global terrorism and eliminating its root causes,

Conscious that terrorist acts are intended, not least, to shatter the structures and cohesion of civil society, which must respond to this assault on its values without forfeiting its openness, its humanity, or its attachment to human rights standards and individual rights and freedoms,

Recognising that a lack of democracy and respect for human rights and the refusal to resolve regional conflicts by peaceful means also play a major part in the emergence of terrorism,

1. Calls on all national parliaments which have not already done so to approve or to facilitate approval of the United Nations conventions on terrorism, and in particular the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 9 December 1999; to introduce the necessary implementing measures speedily; and to press for the conclusion and adoption of the draft Convention for the suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism and the draft comprehensive Convention on the elimination of terrorism, which are currently before the UN General Assembly;

2. Also calls on all States and international organisations to consider providing technical and financial assistance to States that need it, in order to strengthen their capacity to adopt effective measures against terrorism and transnational organised crime, including illicit trafficking in drugs, arms and human beings, and money laundering;

3. Urgently reiterates its call to all the world's parliaments - referring in this context to the resolution entitled "Securing observance of the principles of international law in the interests of world peace and security" adopted by the 105th Inter-Parliamentary Conference (April 2001) - to ensure a consensus on the scope of the application of the conventions on terrorism;

4. Urgently reiterates also its call to all the world's parliaments to ensure ratification of the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court and to recognise that international terrorists must be prosecuted and brought before a national or international court, for example, the International Criminal Court;

5. Reaffirms the principle, established by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution of 24 October 1970 (2625) (XXV) and upheld by the Security Council in its resolution 1189 (1998), that every State has the duty to refrain from organising, instigating, abetting or participating in terrorist acts in another State, or acquiescing in organised activities within its territory directed towards the commission of such acts;

6. Calls on parliamentarians the world over, in conformity with United Nations Security Council resolution 1377 (2001) of 12 November 2001 on the global effort to combat terrorism, to play their part in fostering intercultural understanding, in settling regional conflicts, and in international cooperation on global and development policy issues, in order to tackle the root causes of terrorism on a broad and lasting basis;

7. Expresses the need for a more intensive inter-parliamentary exchange of information and experience in regard to the implementation of effective legislative measures, and stresses the supportive role played by the Inter-Parliamentary Union in the coordination of legislative initiatives to combat terrorism;

8. Emphasises the role of parliamentarians and civil society leaders worldwide in strengthening democracy, promoting human rights, supporting the peaceful settlement of regional conflicts and putting an end to occupation as the most effective means of combating terrorism;

9. Calls on parliaments to adopt legislative measures that allow for compensation of victims of terrorist acts, as an expression of national solidarity;

10. Appeals to the world's parliaments to increase their efforts to remove social injustice, alienation and extremism which are a breeding ground for terrorism, through development measures, attaching particular importance to civil society initiatives;

11. Stresses the importance of dialogue among civilisations to the prevention of terrorism, emphasises the role of civil society in this dialogue and invites parliamentarians, both men and women, to initiate measures to promote dialogue among and within civilisations and to encourage programmes for peace, focusing in particular on educational reform which fosters pluralism, tolerance and mutual understanding;

12. Reiterates that terrorism cannot be attributed to any religion, nationality or civilisation and that to attribute it to any religion, nationality or civilisation or to justify it in the name of any religion, nationality or civilisation constitutes a threat to humanity as a whole;

13. Stresses the need for regular parliamentary debates on international terrorism in order to keep this issue on the political agenda and to ensure strict follow-up of UN Security Council resolution 1373, in particular in respect of the report that each State is required to submit to the United Nations;

14. Stresses further the need for conflict prevention, and urges all parties concerned to stop ongoing conflicts, with due respect for the security of all persons involved in the conflicts.

* The delegation of Israel expressed a reservation to the reference in preambular paragraph 4 to the word 'State'. It also expressed a reservation to the reference, in operative paragraph 8, to "putting an end to occupation".

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