STATEMENT

by H.E. Ambassador Le Luong Minh, Permanent Representative of Viet Nam

at the Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly

on the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism  Strategy

 

New York, 4  September 2008

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            Mr. President,

 

On behalf of the Delegation of Viet Nam, I wish to thank you for convening this important meeting, which gives Member States an opportunity to consider the implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and steps to achieve its objectives as set out in Resolution 60/288.

 

Mr. President,

 

Terrorism is a serious threat to international peace and security, an assault on the principles of law and order, human rights and peaceful settlement of dispute. Terrorism runs counter to the principles and purposes enshrined in the United Nations Charter. In the Outcome Document of the World Summit in 2005, our Leaders unanimously pronounced their strong condemnation against terrorism in all its forms and manifestation, committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes. Building on this historic high-level consensus, the General Assembly, in 2006, successfully negotiated and adopted the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.

 

The Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy with the annexed Plan of Action is a milestone in the fight against terrorism. For the first time, all Member States of the United Nations have agreed to undertake a common strategic approach to combat terrorism, through individual and collective steps in the four most important aspects, namely addressing the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, preventing and combating terrorism, strengthening States’ capacity and the role of the United Nations system and respecting human rights and the rule of law while countering terrorism. The General Assembly also decided in 2006 to make the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy a living document by examining in two years’ time the progress made in the implementation of the Strategy and considering to update it to respond to changes.

 

Mr. President,

 

My Delegation is impressed by the  commitment shown and the measures undertaken by Member States, as well as the United Nations system, to implement the Global Strategy.  We welcome the Report of the Secretary-General on the activities of the United Nations system in implementing the Strategy contained in Document A/62/898 and support the request that the Secretary-General submit to the General Assembly at its 64^th session a report on progress made in the implementation of the Strategy.

 

Viet Nam has always maintained that the measures to be taken against terrorism must be comprehensive, balanced and in compliance with international law, particularly the principles of national sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs of States. At the same time, we have emphasized the need to address the root causes of terrorism and insisted that terrorism cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group.

 

In the implementation of the Global Strategy, we recognize the paramount importance of international, regional and sub-regional cooperation and coordination, as well as the United Nations’  leading role.  We support the establishment of the  Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) to ensure coordination and coherence in the work of various UN departments, programmes and specialized agencies, which are providing assistance to Member States in their counter-terrorism endeavors. We look forward to further interacting with CTITF on how to best carry out its mandates. As a member of the Security Council, Viet Nam has and will continue her full support and constructive contribution to the work of the Council’s subsidiary bodies mandated to work in the field of counter-terrorism.

 

Mr. President,

 

Viet Nam persistently pursues a foreign  policy for peace, stability, cooperation and development. We consistently support efforts towards peaceful settlement of conflicts, upholding national independence and sovereignty, promoting development programs, cooperating to tackle global issues and establishing equal international political and economic relations for mutual benefits.  Being a friend and reliable partner of all countries striving for peace, independence, cooperation and development, the Vietnamese people and State have been undertaking tremendous efforts in carrying out the 10-year Socio-economic Development Strategy for the period of 2001-2010, enabling Viet Nam to fulfil a number of Millennium Development Goals ahead of schedule, especially those in poverty reduction. We strongly believe that these policies and achievements contribute positively to the maintenance of political stability, social and economic equalities and the rule of law in Viet Nam, which  constitute important components of a preventive strategy against terrorism.

 

In the face of the emergence of modern-time international terrorism, fully committed to her obligations under related Security Council resolutions, as well as multilateral and regional treaties to which she is a party, Viet Nam is determined to strengthen the country’s capacity and develop cooperative ties with countries of the region and throughout the world to fight terrorism. Efforts have been made to enhance the national legal and institutional frameworks against terrorism and other terrorist-related crimes. The National Assembly has included in its Legislative Programme the revision of our Penal Code with regard to the definition and punishments of terrorism. In November 2007, the Prime Minister adopted a directive document setting up a governmental mechanism which coordinates counter-terrorism policies of all ministries and branches and reports directly to the Prime Minister. Within the Ministry of Public Security, an agency has been established to coordinate field operations against terrorism, including training and capacity building. Several technical assistance programmes are being formulated or carried out, bilaterally or through ASEAN, UN agencies such as UNODC or the CTC/CTED, to provide Vietnamese law enforcement agencies with updated database, technologies and experiences to deal with today’s terrorism and transnational organized crimes.

 

We joined efforts with ASEAN Member Countries in adopting in 2007 the ASEAN Convention on Counter-Terrorism, which provides an appropriate legal framework for ASEAN cooperation in countering terrorism. We work with ASEAN countries in promoting inter-civilization dialogue, raising the awareness of and vigilance against  terrorist organizations and their activities, strengthening the commitment amongst member countries in the timely provision of information and assistance, including legal assistance in criminal matters.

 

Mr. President,

 

Reaching consensus in adopting the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy was an outstanding achievement of the international community in the fight against terrorism. To keep the agreements in the Strategy alive and further updated in accordance with realities is a shared responsibility of UN Member States and requires the UN system, other appropriate international, regional and sub-regional organizations and NGOs to step up their efforts in a coordinated and integrated manner in supporting Member States. My Delegation believes that we should keep on the agenda of the UNGA an item that allows stakeholders of the Global Strategy to discuss and reach agreement on measures to further enhance the implementation of the Strategy.

 

I thank you, Mr. President.