United Nations General Assembly Resolution 54/110

9 December 1999

This resolution adopted without a vote, referred to practical measures that fight international terror and reiterated the previous year's resolution that called for the elimination of international terror.

The General Assembly,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Recalling all its relevant resolutions, including resolution 49/60 of 9 December 1994, by which it adopted the Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism, and resolutions 50/53 of 11 December 1995, 51/210 of 17 December 1996, 52/165 of 15 December 1997 and 53/108 of 8 December 1998, as well as Security Council resolution 1269 (1999) of 19 October 1999,

Recalling also the Declaration on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations,

Deeply disturbed by the persistence of terrorist acts, which have been carried out worldwide,

Stressing the need to strengthen further international cooperation between States and between international organizations and agencies, regional organizations and arrangements and the United Nations in order to prevent, combat and eliminate terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, wherever and by whomsoever committed,

Mindful of the need to enhance the role of the United Nations and the relevant specialized agencies in combating international terrorism, and of the proposals of the Secretary-General to enhance the role of the Organization in this respect,

Convinced of the importance of the consideration of measures to eliminate international terrorism by the General Assembly as the universal organ having competence to do so,

Recalling the Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism, contained in the annex to resolution 49/60, wherein the General Assembly encouraged States to review urgently the scope of the existing international legal provisions on the prevention, repression and elimination of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, with the aim of ensuring that there was a comprehensive legal framework covering all aspects of the matter,

Taking note of the final communiqué of the meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Heads of Delegation of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, held in New York on 23 September 1999, which reiterated the collective position of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries on terrorism and reaffirmed the previous initiative of the Twelfth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Durban, South Africa, from 29 August to 3 September 1998, calling for an international summit conference under the auspices of the United Nations to formulate a joint organized response of the international community to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,

Recalling its decision in resolution 53/108 to address at its fifty-fourth session the question of convening a high-level conference in 2000 under the auspices of the United Nations to formulate a joint organized response of the international community to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,

Noting regional efforts to prevent, combat and eliminate terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, wherever and by whomsoever committed. including through the elaboration of and adherence to regional conventions,

Having examined the report of the Secretary-General,

1. Strongly condemns all acts, methods and practices of terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable, wherever and by whomsoever committed;

2.Reiterates that criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstances unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other nature that may be invoked to justify them;

3. Reiterates its call upon all States to adopt further measures in accordance with the relevant provisions of international law, including international standards of human rights, to prevent terrorism and to strengthen international cooperation in combating terrorism and, to that end, to consider in particular the implementation of the measures set out in paragraphs 3 (a) to (f) of resolution 51/210;

4. Also reiterates its call upon all States, with the aim of enhancing the efficient implementation of relevant legal instruments, to intensify, as and where appropriate, the exchange of information on facts related to terrorism and, in so doing, to avoid the dissemination of inaccurate or unverified information;

5. Reiterates its call upon States to refrain from financing, encouraging, providing training for or otherwise supporting terrorist activities;

6. Reaffirms that international cooperation as well as actions by States to combat terrorism should be conducted in conformity with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, international law and relevant international conventions;

7. Urges all States that have not yet done so to consider, as a matter of priority, becoming parties to relevant conventions and protocols as referred to in paragraph 6 of resolution 51/210, as well as the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, and calls upon all States to enact, as appropriate, domestic legislation necessary to implement the provisions of those conventions and protocols, to ensure that the jurisdiction of their courts enables them to bring to trial the perpetrators of terrorist acts, and to cooperate with and provide support and assistance to other States and relevant international and regional organizations to that end;

8. Reaffirms the Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism contained in the annex to resolution 49/60 and the Declaration to Supplement the 1994 Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism contained in the annex to resolution 51/210, and calls upon all States to implement them;

9. Notes the establishment of the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the Centre for International Crime Prevention in Vienna, and welcomes its efforts, after reviewing existing possibilities within the United Nations system, to enhance through research and technical cooperation the capabilities of the United Nations in the prevention of terrorism;

10. Invites States that have not yet done so to submit to the Secretary-General information on their national laws and regulations regarding the prevention and suppression of acts of international terrorism;

11.Invites regional intergovernmental organizations to submit to the Secretary-General information on the measures they have adopted at the regional level to eliminate international terrorism;

12. Decides that the Ad Hoc Committee established by General Assembly resolution 51/210 of 17 December 1996 shall continue to elaborate a draft international convention for the suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism with a view to completing the instrument, shall address means of further developing a comprehensive legal framework of conventions dealing with international terrorism, including considering the elaboration of a comprehensive convention on international terrorism, and shall address the question of convening a high-level conference under the auspices of the United Nations to formulate a joint organized response of the international community to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations;

13. Decides also that the Ad Hoc Committee shall meet from 14 to 18 February 2000, devoting appropriate time to the consideration of the outstanding issues relating to the elaboration of a draft international convention for the suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism, and that it shall address the question of convening a high-level conference under the auspices of the United Nations to formulate a joint organized response of the international community to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and that the work shall continue, including beginning consideration with a view to the elaboration of a comprehensive convention on international terrorism within a comprehensive legal framework of conventions dealing with international terrorism, during the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly from 25 September to 6 October 2000, within the framework of a working group of the Sixth Committee, and that the Ad Hoc Committee shall be convened in 2001 to continue its work;

14. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide the Ad Hoc Committee with the necessary facilities for the performance of its work;

15. Requests the Ad Hoc Committee to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session in the event of the completion of the draft international convention for the suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism;

16. Also requests the Ad Hoc Committee to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session progress made in the implementation of its mandate;

17.Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fifth session the item entitled "Measures to eliminate international terrorism."