Madrid Terrorism Conference Makes Important Recommendations. But, Will Anybody Listen?

By Victor Comras

The Madrid International Summit on Democracy, Security, and Terrorism came and went without much press coverage, or notice, in the United States. Other countries gave it somewhat greater play. It brought together some 200 international leaders, personages and terrorism experts. It provided a backdrop for a dozen or more major speeches by world leaders reaffirming their commitment to fight terrorism. This included the annoucement by Secretary General Kofi Annan of a new United Nations Global Anti-Terrorism Strategy. And, it commemorated the tragic Madrid train bombing, as well as 9/11 and other terrorist attacks in Dar-es-Salaam, Nairobi, Tel Aviv, Bali, Riyadh, Casablanca, Baghdad, Bombay, and Beslan. Its final message was named the "Madrid Agenda." And it is a very important document. But who will read it, and will it ever be implemented? The International Community may just be too set in its current ways of treating international terrorism to pay much regard.

The Madrid Agenda sets forth an activist program for combating terrorism worldwide. It lays out a series of principles that should provide increased backbone for international and national action against terrorism. First on the list is a clear statement that "TERRORISM IS A CRIME AGAINST ALL HUMANITY.'

The Madrid Conference consisted of key speeches, panel discussions, and teams of experts developing specific recommendations. Those attending sought to develop, what the final document called "A Comprehensive Reponse to Terrorism." "We owe it to the victims," the final report states, "to bring the terrorists to justice."

"A multilateral approach is indispensable," the final document states, and international institutions, especially the United Nations, must become "more transparent, democratic and effective in combating the threat." National law enforcement agencies also need the powers required. Military action may also be necessary. But, whatever measures are used to counter terrorism, they must "fully respect international standards of human rights and the rule of law."

The final recommendations provide a broad agenda for combating terrorism and treating the underlying risk factors. They lay out an activist program. This includes adoption of a direct and simple definition of terrorism as "any action ...intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non combatants, with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a Government or an international organization to do or abstain from doing any act.�

The final document also recommends that the United Nations act quickly to implement the Secretary General's Global Anti-Terrorism Strategy. In addition countries should undertake new efforts to coordinate their law enforcement and military actions against terrorism. This must inclued increased information sharing and cooperation between national intelligence and enforcement agencies, strengthening the role of regional organzations, and creating new mechanisms to promote and protect victim rights..

The Conference also recommends that actions be taken to treat the underlying risk factors including the "creation of programmes, national and international, to monitor the expression of racism, ethnic confrontation and religious extremism, their impact in the media, as well as to review school textbooks for their stance on cultural and religious tolerance."

What now? What happens to this Madrid Agenda? What can we expect to result? The first test will be to see what steps the United Nations takes to implement its own new global strategy. The devil will be in the details, and developing the necessary political consensus to adopt these measures may prove quite difficult. Beyond that, the UN must find new ways to hold its members accountable when they fail to comply with any new or existing measures. Unfortunately, the United Nations has not always been successful in this regard.

For its part, the Club de Madrid, which sponsored the conference, will present the Madrid Agenda to the United Nations, the forthcoming Community of Democracies ministerial meeting in Chile, as well as other institutions and governments. They have promised to engage with universities, specialised research institutes and think-tanks to elaborate the proposals made by the Summit�s working groups and panels.
"The space for dialogue and exchange of ideas opened by this Summit," they say, ""must continue."

The full text of the Madrid Agenda is here

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