Letter dated 7 February 2007 from the Chairman of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) concerning counter-terrorism addressed to the President of the Security Council The Counter-Terrorism Committee has received the attached report of Saudi Arabia submitted pursuant to resolution 1624 (2005) (see annex). I would be grateful if you could arrange for the present letter and its annex to be circulated as a document of the Security Council. (Signed) Ricardo Alberto Arias Chairman Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) concerning counter-terrorism Annex Letter dated 29 January 2007 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations addressed to the Chairman of the Counter-Terrorism Committee I have the honour to forward the enclosed report of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1624 (2005) on counter-terrorism (see enclosure). (Signed) Abdullatif H. Sallam Counsellor Chargé d’affaires a.i. Enclosure [Original: Arabic] Report of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia submitted under resolution 1642 (2005) to the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) concerning counterterrorism 1. Measures adopted to prohibit by law incitement to commit a terrorist act or acts Under the provisions of the Shariah, terrorism in all of its forms and manifestations, including incitement to terrorism, which is considered by the Shariah to fuel unrest, is a criminal offence punishable by reprimand. 2. Measures adopted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to deny safe haven to any persons with respect to whom there is credible and relevant information giving serious reasons for considering that they have been guilty of incitement to commit a terrorist act or acts The competent authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia seek to include on the Consolidated List of the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee inciters or persons guilty of incitement to commit a terrorist act or acts, who are consequently included on their own domestic lists. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has also issued internal lists of persons wanted for terrorist activities, including inciters of terrorism, which have been disseminated through the audio-visual and print media. 3. How does the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia cooperate with other States to strengthen the security of its international borders, including by combating fraudulent travel documents and, to the extent attainable, by enhancing terrorist screening and passenger security procedures, with a view to preventing those guilty of incitement to commit a terrorist act or acts from entering their territory? Controls are in place to prevent the entry or exit of passengers or undesirables with fraudulent travel documents: (a) Through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the embassies concerned are notified of cases where one of their nationals is apprehended with fraudulent travel documents at a port of entry to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The names and addresses of those involved in forgery are transmitted to them, along with the forged passport; (b) Annual training courses on the subject of examining travel documents and entry visas are held for personnel employed at land, sea and air ports of entry in order to develop and improve their forgery-detection skills and inform them of the latest forgery methods that may be used to produce fraudulent travel documents and visas in general; (c) State-of-the-art forgery-detection equipment is in use at international airports and at land and sea ports of entry as an aid to personnel in examining travel documents and detecting forgeries, in addition to which anti-forgery units are now active at land, sea and air ports of entry and the best support equipment and technical staff in terms of forgery detection are in place; (d) Special courses on forgery detection are run for personnel from the sector and the relevant authorities, in conjunction with universities, colleges and security institutes; (e) Machine-readable entry visas are issued by the Kingdom’s representative offices abroad; (f) Information concerning lost Saudi Arabian passports and persons wanted for forgery is exchanged with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States through the Gulf Communication Office of the Anti-forgery Department at the Directorate-General of Passports; (g) Information on lost and stolen international passports is exchanged through the global communications system of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol); (h) Cooperation is pursued with various States in order to learn about their new passport specifications and methods employed to combat forgery; (i) The Kingdom participates in international conferences and follows the latest developments in connection with passport printing, border security systems and new technical support equipment for forgery detection; (j) In cooperation with the National Information Centre, work is under way with a view to: (i) Using the biometric security system at international ports of entry through the electronic fingerprinting of passengers; (ii) Using the Interpol stolen and lost travel documents (SLTD) database, linking it to the aliens and borders control system and studying the possibility of future linkage with the Mobile Interpol Network Database (MIND) for the purpose of seeking and examining information concerning lost travel documents. Emphasis is placed on the interrogation of criminal elements in order to learn about the methods by which they move illegally among States. The information is then appropriately worded so as not to prejudice to the confidentiality of ongoing investigations and transmitted to the States concerned (whether neighbouring States or States linked to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by a security agreement) in order for them to adopt security measures aimed at countering such illegal movements. Through the open channels, efforts are made to provide counterpart authorities in other States with the names and photographs of persons wanted in connection with serious threats to the security of the Kingdom or any other country, together with any other information about them. Through the open channels, available information on persons abroad who run trafficking operations, whether involving human beings or prohibited items, is transmitted to the countries where such persons are located and action taken against them is monitored. Available investigative information on methods used to forge official documents is transmitted to the relevant authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their benefit in detecting the users of such documents. 4. International efforts in which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia participates or is considering or planning participation in order to enhance dialogue and broaden understanding among civilizations in an effort to prevent the indiscriminate targeting of different religions and cultures Numerous communities of differing cultures, religions and faiths have long lived in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, particularly given the upsurge in development that necessitated recruitment of the foreign expertise and labour which it mobilizes to that end. Mindful of this cultural and religious diversity, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has sought to ensure that no distinction is made between its citizens and its residents. Furthermore, both Government and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are enriched by these communities and respect their beliefs, which they have the legitimate right to practice, although without prejudice to the system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, regarded as the very heart of the Islamic world by virtue of its holy sites. The Islamic religion moreover encourages Muslims to respect other religions and teaches them that difference among human beings in terms of their views, beliefs and religious faiths is a fact of life to be valued. 5. Measures taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to counter incitement of terrorist acts motivated by extremism and intolerance and to prevent the subversion of educational, cultural and religious institutions by terrorists The Kingdom established the King Abdul Aziz Centre for National Dialogue, which endeavours to assist in formulating the right religious message based on moderation and finding a middle ground, both inside and outside the Kingdom, through constructive dialogue. It also seeks to instil the idea of dialogue and corresponding behaviour as a way of life and as a systematic approach to dealing with a variety of issues. Attached to the Ministry of the Interior, a general department for intellectual security has been established to carry out practical, scientific and intellectual studies of a serious nature with the aim of tackling and fighting the perverted ideas that lead to extreme behaviour and terrorism. An advisory committee works on fighting ideas with ideas, removing doubts and explaining the aberrations inherent in the perverted thought that engenders terrorism. This it does with help from scholars of Islamic law, sociologists, psychologists, intellectuals and media persons, who have the opportunity to meet and discuss freely with detainees who fall into that category and answer their doubts and queries. As reported in the audio-visual and print media, this process has benefited many detainees by leading them to change their tainted way of thinking. Governmental authorities, including educational and media institutions, are encouraged to identify any risk of intellectual perversity. Emphasis is also placed on the prominent role of the family in safeguarding and monitoring its child members and fulfilling its duty to report to the Ministry of the Interior any signs that they might be falling into the clutches of terrorism. 6. What is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia doing to ensure that any measures taken to implement paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of resolution 1624 (2005) comply with all of its obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law, refugee law and humanitarian law? The legislation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is derived from the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet, in accordance with which terrorism is regarded as “mischief on earth”. Consequently, incitement to commit a terrorist act is regarded as complicity in that act and the accomplice as a perpetrator of the act. Furthermore, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has acceded to various conventions, including the Arab Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism, pursuant to which incitement to terrorism is a criminal offence. Under the statutory regulations of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it is prohibited to provide safe haven to any persons with respect to whom there is credible and relevant information giving serious reasons for considering that they have been guilty of such conduct. The regulations on residency, for instance, include provisions prohibiting their exploitation by any criminal group. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is also adopting all necessary measures to ensure the implementation of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of resolution 1624 (2005) in compliance with international human rights law, refugee law and humanitarian law. Article 3, paragraph 5, of Council of Ministers Decree No. 207 of 8 Sha`ban A.H. 1426 [12 September A.D. 2005] approving the establishment of a national human rights organization, for instance, provides that the function of the latter is to: “Monitor governmental authorities to ensure that, within their respective fields of competence, they implement the international human rights instruments to which the Kingdom has acceded and to ascertain that they adopt the measures necessary for such implementation.” This underscores the concern of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to comply with its obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law. With regard to compliance with its international obligations under refugee law, the Kingdom provided the finest example in its hosting of Iraqi refugees fleeing from the second Gulf war in 1990, as evidenced by the praise of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA), which commended its treatment and protection of those refugees, its supply of all of their requirements and its measure of permitting them to stay until they wished to return home.   sss1 \* MERGEFORMAT S/2007/67 sss1 \* MERGEFORMAT S/2007/67 FooterJN \* MERGEFORMAT 07-26038 \* MERGEFORMAT 6 \* MERGEFORMAT 5 FooterJN \* MERGEFORMAT 07-26038 United Nations S/2007/67 Security Council Distr.: General 8 February 2007 Original: English jobn \* MERGEFORMAT 07-26038 (E) 140307 160307 Barcode \* MERGEFORMAT *0726038*