Sixty-second session Item 110 of the provisional agenda* Measures to eliminate international terrorism * A/62/150. Letter dated 15 August 2007 from the Permanent Representative of the Sudan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General I have the honour to transmit to you herewith the final communiqué and recommendations of the Conference on Terrorism and Extremism that met in Khartoum on 24 and 25 July 2007 (see annex). I should be grateful if you would have this letter and its annex circulated as a document of the General Assembly under the agenda item entitled “Measures to eliminate international terrorism”. (Signed) Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad Ambassador Permanent Representative Annex to the letter dated 15 August 2007 from the Permanent Representative of the Sudan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate Centre for the Study of Islam and the Modern World Conference on Terrorism and Extremism Final communiqué and recommendations The Conference on Terrorism and Extremism, organized by the Centre for the Study of Islam and the Modern World, met in Khartoum on 24 and 25 July 2007. It was attended by a considerable number of politicians, thinkers, researchers, academics, resource persons and people of experience from the Sudan and abroad, and by the relevant official authorities. A large volume of specialized documentation was submitted, prepared by thinkers and resource persons from many States and centres outside the Sudan, as well as by intellectuals, research workers, experts and people of experience from different backgrounds and of different political and intellectual allegiances. The participants in the Conference engaged in important deliberations addressing the intellectual roots of terrorism and extremism, the reasons for those phenomena and their economic, political and social impact. They also discussed examples of a variety of States around the world, their differing legislation and their approaches to terrorism and extremism. The participants also paid considerable attention to different kinds of terrorism, to the influence of moderation and restraint in reducing it, the influence of the media, the distinction between resistance and terrorism, and the relationship between religion and terrorism. The documents and the related discussions, debates and interventions resulted in the following views and recommendations: 1. Terrorism must be given a specific definition; the different types of terrorism and its implications must be clarified, making the important distinction between terrorism and the right of resistance. 2. Our nation must gather its strength in every way; when Islam commands us to gather our strength, that does not mean engaging in the terrorism of others but rather implies self-defence and resistance to the terrorism of others. 3. A reconsideration of Islam and its vital and fundamental role in various walks of life is required. It is essential to re-establish the concept of revival based on innovation in all walks of life and to place emphasis on forming the Muslim individual who will assume the tasks of such revival. 4. One of the greatest dangers now facing our nation and our people is the “war of ideas” the aim of which is to weaken Islam; this requires a qualitative awareness and effort in which thinkers, people of culture, scholars and specialists must participate. Islamic discourse must be reconsidered, both internally and externally, together with the optimal use of our media for that purpose. 5. A closed or totalitarian political order is most likely to provoke opposition using the methods of terrorism as a means of bringing about change, particularly in the case of groups that are striving to redistribute power and wealth. Accordingly, the Conference recommends that efforts be made to establish open political regimes in which all can participate. 6. The only means of confronting terrorism is not to use force but to eradicate its causes without occupying the territory of others and without injustice, arbitrary action or dictatorship. 7. The participants in the Conference affirm that the waging of war by military or covert means weakens dialogue. Terrorism must be handled as a human phenomenon. Dialogue, and still more dialogue, between States is potentially an effective means of reducing terrorism, and thus of putting an end to it. 8. The media in general, and the religious media in particular, cannot be reformed without freedom and democracy. It is necessary to have an annual report on the religious media prepared by a number of centres and organizations and to organize workshops for media personnel working in the field of religion to discuss the issue of innovation in religious thought and related issues. 9. There is a pressing need to continue and revitalize the dialogue between Islam and Christianity and between Islam and the West with a view to ensuring cooperation between the parties in order to eradicate the phenomena of terrorism and extremism.   sss1 \* MERGEFORMAT A/62/291 sss1 \* MERGEFORMAT A/62/291 FooterJN \* MERGEFORMAT 07-48849 \* MERGEFORMAT 2 \* MERGEFORMAT 3 FooterJN \* MERGEFORMAT 07-48849 United Nations A/62/291 General Assembly Distr.: General 23 August 2007 English Original: Arabic jobn \* MERGEFORMAT 07-48849 (E) 240807 280807 Barcode \* MERGEFORMAT *0748849*