Statement by Mr. José Sbatella

Mr President,

First of all, let me congratulate you for convening this important meeting of the General Assembly, and also thank Canada for the work done to achieve a consensus document that reflects the main priorities of the Action Plan of the United Nations Global Counter Terrorism Strategy.

We welcome this effort because we believe that the fight against terrorism cannot be effective without the coordination of and a consensus on goals.

The next two years will present us with a challenge to achieve a balanced implementation of the Strategy, in particular to strengthen the work on those pillars where we notice there is a larger deficit, mainly on measures to address conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, as well as those designed to ensure respect for human rights for all and the rule of law as the foundation of the fight against terrorism. We agree with the Executive Director of CTITF (Counter Terrorism Implementation Task Force) when he stated that "implementation of international human rights standards and rule of law remains ad hoc and weak within the context of dealing with terrorist crimes ….and further efforts need to be undertaken to strengthen this awareness." .

In addressing the complex aspects of counter terrorism, there is international consensus regarding the obligation of States to respect human rights and, consequently, that the fight against terrorism must not stand aside from these established values.

Among the contributions that my country has made related to this field we can highlight the promotion given to the Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons, underscored as a substantial contribution in Resolution A/RES/66/171 on the "Protection of human rights and essential freedoms in the fight against terrorism."

Regarding dialogue and understanding, Argentina supports and promotes the dialogue of civilizations and cultures, in order to develop education and promote humanitarian culture, helping to remove inequalities and promote respect for diversity.

Mr. President,

Argentina has suffered from two massive terrorist attacks.

We believe, as noted by former President Nestor Kirchner on the occasion of the Summit Meeting of the Security Council in 2005 that "new threats to international peace and security such as terrorism, make us finally understand the true concept of solidarity among nations" and, in this context, "international cooperation is crucial and, in this field, judicial cooperation, both in terms of extradition and mutual legal assistance as well as in the fight against the financing of terrorism."

In this regard, I would like to refer to the progress made by Argentina in the last year regarding measures against financing of terrorism.

Recent legislative reforms have incorporated in the Penal Code rules that continually tend to adapt to the international treaties in the field.

Law 26.734, enacted in December 2011, amends and expands the crime of financing of terrorism, since it criminalizes the financing according to FATF recommendations. In particular, it refers to the collection or provision of funds to be used in terrorist acts by terrorist organizations or by an individual terrorist.

A new type of crime has been registered, the "offense against the financial and economic order" that is consistent with the collection or provision of goods or money to finance crimes that are intended to terrorize the population.

This law introduces a kind of identification that makes a difference between a terrorist act committed individually and one committed by a illicit association formed for this purpose. All forms of social protest are specifically excluded from qualifying as a terrorist act. At the same time the minimum and maximum punishment for any other crime will be doubled if committed with terrorist objectives.

In the same vein, a recent decree of this month (918/2012 Chapter II) establishes the procedure for administrative freezing of funds related to the offense of terrorist financing, empowering the Financial Information Unit that I head to act quickly and effectively. This was recognized in the statement of the President of FATF at a recent meeting in Rome which reads as follows: FATF appreciates the continued progress of Argentina and the substantial steps it took to address its ALA/CFT shortcomings identified in the mutual evolution of October 2010, and in particular, appreciates the new Presidential Decree establishing a framework for freezing assets related to terrorism. FATF also appreciates the update of the initial Action Plan of Argentina on measures and the most important pillars to evaluate the effective implementation of the classification of money laundering and urges Argentina to continue advancing in this area for October 2012. FATF will continue to work with Argentina in the monitoring process and encourages Argentina to continue addressing remaining deficiencies to the ALA /CFT.

Argentine Permanent Mission to the United Nations