Uniting against terrorism.

• Author: Conaway, Janelle
• Position: OAS/INTER-AMERICAN SYSTEM

THE COUNTRIES OF the Americas must continue to build a "culture of cooperation" if they are to develop effective anti-terrorism strategies, Acting Secretary General Luigi R. Einaudi told a meeting of the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism (CICTE) in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

"No one country has all of the answers to improving the security of our citizens against the threats posed by terrorists, who seek to exploit the rules of civilized society," Einaudi said. Noting that all thirty-four OAS member states have signed the Inter-American Convention Against Terrorism and twelve have ratified it, he called for the remaining countries to seek to ratify the treaty as soon as possible, and also to bring their own national legislation into harmony with its provisions.

The high-level meeting, held last February, was chaired by Trinidad and Tobago's Minister of National Security, Martin Joseph, who was elected to lead the inter-American counter-terrorism body during the coming year.

In the Declaration of Port-of-Spain, the member states renewed their commitment to prevent, combat, and eliminate terrorism "in all its forms and manifestations, whatever its origin or motivation." They said terrorism is exacerbated by money laundering, illicit trafficking in drugs and arms, and other forms of transnational crime.

The member states called for urgent measures to strengthen cooperation and information exchange "with the...