Mr. Chairman,
Mr. Secretary General,
Excellencies,
Dear Colleagues,

Let me start by thanking the Secretary General and members of the Counter Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) for convening this timely, high level symposium at the 10th anniversary of 9/11. It is indeed a pleasure for me to address such an important and meaningful gathering.

Today, the challenge of terrorism continues to be omnipresent. Terrorist attacks are perpetrated around the world, almost on a daily basis, claiming the lives of innocent civilians.

The recent months have been no exception. Scores of people have been killed or wounded in different parts of the world. Turkey, like many countries, has not been spared from this scourge.

Turkey has recently been confronted with an increasing degree of terrorist attacks perpetrated by the PKK. Dozens of our citizens have been killed in a matter of weeks. As Turkey, we will continue our determined stance against terrorism in all its forms, and will defend our people against such heinous acts. We will do so decisively, and with every measure deemed necessary. At the same time, our actions will be fully consistent with democratic principles and the rule of law. That is the way in which we will ensure that our measures are not only effective, but also legitimate. The fight against this threat requires a comprehensive set of measures, in which the security component is indispensable, but not alone sufficient. Therefore, while implementing the necessary security measures, we will continue to address the social, political, cultural and economic aspects of the matter. We will not deviate from our overriding goal of enhancing the democratic rights and freedoms of all our citizens.

We expect the international community to act in compliance with their international obligations to fight all forms of terror. The PKK is based in Northern Iraq, from where it launches its attacks on Turkish soil. This cannot be accepted. The PKK has an elaborate structure in numerous countries, particularly in Europe, from where it continues its terrorism financing, recruitment and propaganda activities and drug trafficking. This should not be tolerated. It is high time for these countries to take determined action against the PKK and its affiliates, and to bring to an end its ability to act with impunity on their territories. International cooperation against terrorism cannot be selective, or limited to fighting Al Qaeda alone. Otherwise, we will fail in our collective effort to eliminate terrorism in all its forms.

It is clearly the family, friends and loved ones of those who have perished or those who have been injured that bear the real brunt of abhorrent acts of terror. I express my country’s full solidarity with the families, friends and loved ones of victims of terrorism. We share in their grief.

We need to be firm and coherent in our stance and particularly in our actions against terrorism. Of critical importance is that we all give the same message, a clear message to terrorists: namely that there is no safe haven or immunity from criminal justice.

However, current loopholes in legal systems and deficiencies in law enforcement agencies continue to undermine the practical strength of such a message. This needs to be remedied. A good example in this regard has to do with the need to apply much greater scrutiny in the granting of asylum. Perpetrators or supporters of terrorism cannot and should not be granted asylum, or allowed to keep this status. We have all agreed to this principle in various international instruments. Nevertheless, declared members of the PKK continue to benefit from and abuse the asylum status they have been granted in some European countries. Unless the international community shows coherent resolve in this regard, terrorists will continue to play us against one another.

The United Nations has been the linchpin in counter terrorism efforts. Through the adoption of Global Counter-terrorism Strategy, the General Assembly has created a sound framework in which to fight this challenge. Turkey strongly supports the promotion and implementation of the Strategy on a global level.

The resolutions of the Security Council have been instrumental in triggering practical steps against terrorism.

We should not make mistake; there is still room for improvement. Our declarations and decisions have to be implemented in full. Closer and more effective cooperation between the General Assembly and the Security Council would be instrumental in this regard. The interface between the UN and member states is also of critical importance. In this vein, we welcome the growing interaction between the Counter Terrorism Committee and member states.


Mr. Chairman,

Capacity building holds the key to the effective implementation of the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy, as well as the relevant Security Council Resolutions.

Countering terrorism requires a strong, well-coordinated domestic security and law enforcement infrastructure comprised of agencies that are empowered to detect, prevent and investigate terrorist activities. Above all, these agencies need to have the capacity to deal with such a complex challenge. Nevertheless, lack of capacity, particularly the lack of expertise and resources continues to hinder many countries. There are countless examples of states that have the will, but lack the capacity to fight terrorism. They need our support.

Our experience as the Chair of the UN Security Council Counter Terrorism Committee in 2010 showed us that regional and sub-regional initiatives provide a most valuable forum for sharing best practices and lessons learned in capacity-building. Such fora are also useful in mobilizing regional contributions to the international community’s efforts to capacity building.

CTED (Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate) has been pursuing a focused and regional approach which has proven to be highly effective. We commend their efforts. We also applaud the invaluable contributions of the UNODC. We will continue to work closely with these UN bodies. In particular, we will continue to support CTITF’s coordination role in this field.

Mr. Chairman,

We are an active contributor to capacity building efforts of UN agencies and regional organizations. We also conduct extensive bi-lateral capacity building programs for countries in need of assistance.

In 2010 alone, 2500 security officials from 30 countries have received training courses from the Turkish police. These figures will increase in the period ahead.

This year, we have begun training Afghan police officials in Turkey, under a joint multilateral project. Currently, around 500 Afghan police cadets are studying in Turkey. We are also examining how we can support the needs of the Libyan National Transitional Council in their efforts to set up their criminal justice system.

It is critical that criminal justice systems are fully respectful of human rights and fundamental freedoms. We are sharing our best practices with partners from interested countries so as to ensure this.

In cooperation with CTED, we recently hosted a seminar for counter terrorism prosecutors on the theme “Bringing Terrorists to Justice.” We are currently examining the possibility of making this a regular activity that would bring together counter terrorism prosecutors from around the world.

We also co-sponsored a Symposium on “Inter-linkages between terrorism and other forms of crimes” in Vienna with United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Similarly, we have actively contributed to the workshop on countering the financing of terrorism held for Member States of South-East Europe.

As an important manifestation of our commitment to strengthening international counterterrorism cooperation, we currently co-chair the Global Counter Terrorism Forum initiative, together with the United States. This new platform which will be launched in a matter of days, supports the central role of the United Nations and the aims to enable the full, comprehensive, and balanced implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. As such, it is meant to complement the UN counterterrorism framework. One of its priorities will be to mobilize and coordinate existing and additional resources and expertise to build counterterrorism capabilities around the globe in partnership with and according to the particular needs of interested countries.

As a staunch advocate of counter-terrorism initiatives, inspired with its chairmanship of the UN Security Council Counter Terrorism Committee in 2010, Turkey will continue and redouble its efforts at all levels in time ahead. Our overriding objective will be to mitigate the effects of terrorist acts and to help eradicate this scourge.

Thank you very much.