Croatia to chair UN Counter-Terrorism Committee

08/01/2008

Croatian diplomats consider its Security Council mandate to be extremely challenging and important. Additionally, Croatia is chair of one of the most difficult but high-profile panels, the Counter-Terrorism Committee.

By Natasa Radic for Southeast European Times in Zagreb -- 08/01/08

Croatia will remain on the council until 2009. [File]

Croatia began its mandate as a new non-permanent member of the UN Security Council this month. Non-permanent members have a two-year mandate, meaning Croatia will remain a member until the end of 2009. The country has the additional responsibility of chairing the UN's ad hoc Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC).

Croatian Ambassador to the UN Mirjana Mladineo's diplomatic team is ready to face both challenges. For the next two years, while a Croatian diplomatic representative sits on the Council, a special diplomatic task force has been put in place to facilitate the communication and decision-making process.

Membership in the Security Council is a very important and challenging task for the Croatian diplomatic corps.

As a young democracy and a war-torn country during the 1990s, Croatia was often on the Council agenda. Now, instead of being a subject of the debate, Croatia will be playing an active role in international diplomacy.

The CTC is a relatively new committee and chairing it will be an opportunity for Croatia to distinguish itself. The committee was formed after the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11th, 2001. The Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1373, which obliges all states "to criminalise assistance for terrorist activities, deny financial support and safe haven to terrorists and share information about groups planning terrorist attacks".

The 15-member CTC was established to monitor implementation of the resolution. While the goal of the CTC is to increase the ability of states to fight terrorism, it cannot impose sanctions nor does it maintain watch lists of terrorist organisations or individuals.

The CTC is tasked with ensuring that every state complies with Council requirements to halt terrorist activity and also with the mission to identify weaknesses in countries' abilities to do so. If states do not have laws, funds or personnel to fight terrorism, the CTC is charged with helping them address their shortcomings.

If, however, the CTC determines there is no political will to halt terrorism, it allows the Security Council to decide which measures are appropriate to ensure that determinedly noncompliant states fulfil the Resolution 1373 mandates.

According to the Security Council 2008 agenda, the main focus will continue to be the Middle East and Africa. The state of affairs in Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan will be closely monitored and attention will be given to Central Asia if the situation in Pakistan becomes dangerous.

War crimes issues will be also on the Council agenda as The Hague tribunal's mandate comes to an end, especially if the two most wanted war crimes suspects, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, remain at large.