UN gives up on completing anti-terrorism treaty by year-end
By Reuters
December 1, 2005
Haaretz
Original Source: http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/652457.html

UN treaty writers have given up on completing a long-stalled comprehensive treaty against terrorism by the end of the year, as called 
for by U.N. leaders, diplomats said on Wednesday.

Despite last-minute efforts by U.N. General Assembly President Jan Eliasson, a breakthrough compromise eluded a working group of the UN General Assembly's treaty-writing legal committee, they said.

While 13 global treaties already target various aspects of terrorism, the draft comprehensive convention on international terrorism has been stalled in the legal committee since 1996 in a dispute over how to define terrorism.

The dispute has centered primarily on how to classify Palestinian suicide bombings and Israeli military actions in the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza.

The working group has adjourned for the year and agreed to meet next on February 27 for a weeklong drafting session.

Eliasson is not officially giving up for the year. He is still holding bilateral consultations, but it seems increasingly unlikely they will come to any agreement by the end of the year, said his spokeswoman, Pragati Pascale.

The comprehensive convention would give nations new tools and a legal framework to fight terrorism by tying together existing agreements dealing with such aspects of the problem as money laundering and biological and chemical weapons.

All 191 U.N. members have a seat on the working group.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed hope earlier this month the deadly November 9 bombings of three international hotels in the Jordanian capital, Amman, would spur the panel to complete work on the treaty as soon as possible.

The United States has also been pushing hard for the treaty to be wrapped up quickly as part of its anti-terrorism effort.

In place of a legalistic definition, Annan has been pushing for a simple statement branding any intentional maiming or killing of civilians as terrorism, regardless of its motives.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference has resisted Annan's proposal on grounds it was contrary to the right of national liberation movements, such as the Palestinians, to fight foreign occupation.