The role of the IPU in the fight against terrorism

The proceedings of the 106th Inter-Parliamentary Conference in Ouagadougou had only just began when the events which plunged the United States into mourning reminded the 600 MPs from 116 countries that the fate of the men and women of the planet was, for better or for worse, indissolubly linked. Shaken by this tragedy, the delegates immediately condemned "the terrorist attacks perpetrated against the United States of America" and called on "all States to develop or strengthen their cooperation with a view to preventing and stamping out terrorist activities throughout the world", inviting them "to work together to expose and punish the perpetrators of these terrorist attacks".

Through the President of the Council, Mrs. Najma Heptulla, and the President of the National Assembly of Burkina Faso, Mr. Maurice Mélégué Traoré, who presided over the proceedings of the 106th Inter-Parliamentary Conference, the IPU expressed its "solidarity, condolences and compassion to all the families and countries of origin of the innocent victims of these terrorist acts".

In view of the circumstances, the immediate reaction of the IPU Conference was to close ranks and display a strong sense of common purpose. The agenda was reorganised as a result of the events, but the conference business nevertheless continued. A drafting committee was set up to prepare a draft resolution on the supplementary item placed on the Conference agenda, concerning the Contribution of parliamentarians to dealing with the continuing tragic situation in the occupied Arab territories, to the provision of international observers and monitors, and to the protection of the Arab Palestinian people, especially unarmed civilians, submitted by the delegation of Kuwait on behalf of the Arab Group. The Drafting Committee prepared a draft resolution, which was subsequently approved by consensus.

Fortified by this unanimously recognized cohesion, the IPU echoed the feelings of millions of citizens, relayed a few weeks later by the British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, when he appealed to the world to seize this "instant of chaos" to become more just. There is an imperative need to identify and try those guilty of the terrorist attacks, but the time has also come for us to ask ourselves how and why the world has reached such extremes. Will it take the tragedic death of so many innocent people for world leaders to dialogue on an equal footing and understand that on the stock exchange of human values the lives of all human beings are equally valuable?

"After the eleventh of September 2001, nothing will ever be the same again", is the refrain that echoes from Africa to Europe, Asia and Oceania, from the Americas to the Middle East. One thing is certain: the world cannot overcome terrorism without uniting and weighing up all the factors behind it, including injustice, wherever it may occur. True to its mission of promoting the ideals of peace and security, the IPU is called to play a still more active role on the international political scene. As the sole forum of inter-parliamentary diplomacy for all political tendencies and all religious beliefs, the oldest multilateral organization must continue to encourage dialogue among civilizations, the heritage - shared equally - of humanity.

IPU and UN united for the same cause

The President of the Council of the IPU, Mrs. Najma Heptulla, immediately informed the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan (Nobel Peace Prize Laureate for 2001) of the adoption of the resolution of the emergency supplementary item condemning "the terrorist attacks perpetrated against the United States of America" and calling on "all States to develop or strengthen their co-operation with a view to preventing and stamping out terrorist activities throughout the world".

The UN Secretary-General recalled, as he had done in the columns of The New York Times, that "The international community is defined not only by what it is for, but by what and whom it is against. The United Nations must have the courage to recognize that, just as there are common aims, there are common enemies. To defeat them, all nations must join forces in an effort encompassing every aspect of the open, free global system so wickedly exploited by the perpetrators of last week's atrocities.

The United Nations is uniquely positioned to advance this effort. It provides the forum necessary for building a universal coalition, and can ensure global legitimacy for the long-term response to terrorism. United Nations conventions already provided a legal framework for many of the steps that must be taken to eradicate terrorism - including the extradition and prosecution of offenders and the suppression of money laundering. These conventions must be implemented in full.

Essential to the global response to terrorism is that it not fracture the unity of September 11. While the world must recognize that there are enemies common to all societies, it must equally understand that they are not, are never, defined by religion or national descent. No people, no region and no religion should be targeted because of the unspeakable acts of individuals. As Mayor Giuliani said : "That is exactly what we are fighting here". To allow divisions between and within societies to be exacerbated by these acts would be to do the terrorists work for them.

Terrorism threatens every society. As the world takes action against it, we have all been reminded of the need to address the conditions that permit the growth of such hatred and depravity. We must confront violence, bigotry and hatred even more resolutely. The work of the U.N. must continue as we address the ills of conflict, ignorance, poverty and disease.

Doing so will not remove every source of hatred or prevent every act of violence. There are those who will hate and who will kill even if every injustice is ended. But if the world can show that it will carry on, that it will persevere in creating a stronger, more just, more benevolent and more genuine international community across all lines of religion and race, then terrorism will have failed".