The United States representative to the 35-nation United Nations ad hoc committee on international terrorism told the committee today that prompt UN action to deal with the problem was urgent.
Ambassador W. Tapley Bennett, Deputy Permanent Representative on the Security Council, said that “if the United. Nations is to be considered an organization relevant to the needs of today’s world, it is going to have to grapple with and seek reasonable compromises on issues of urgency, even though approaches to such issues may be greatly divergent, as in the present case.”
Bennett added that the U.S. believes that the ad hoe committee “can and ought to make significant progress” in dealing with the immediate problem, “the export of violence to innocent persons.” He said actions must be taken in such a way as “to strengthen basic human rights” and that there was no reason “why measures to protect human life should conflict with other human rights, such as self-determination and individual liberty.”
Sources here said that Bennett intended that comment for the African countries which have been persuaded to follow the Arab line that if. they acted against terrorism, they might be acting against their goals of self-determination and freedom.
Bennett described the problem as a global-one and said the UN could best deal with such a problem. He proposed adoption of a convention dealing with the spread of international terrorism to third countries as one that could be taken now.
EFFECTIVE ACTION URGED
John R. Freeland, the British representative, said there must be effective action by the world community to combat terrorism, particularly to protect the innocent. He said he hoped the committee would draft proposals to be included in a convention for the next General Assembly. Free-land said Britain did not favor any action which would impede the legitimate exercise of the right of self-determination.
“On the other hand, we could not accept any proposition which might give the impression of sanctioning any and every resort to violence against whomsoever committed which was claimed by those who carried it out to be an exercise of the right of self-determination,” he stressed.
The French representative said the committee has to work out a definition of terrorism. He said there are two types, criminal and political terrorism, but that France was against both.
Meanwhile, the Security Council, which was scheduled to resume its debate today on the Middle East postponed the meeting until tomorrow.
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