United Nations Security Council Resolution 1624 – Threats to international peace and security (Security Council Summit 2005)

Resolution 1624 (2005)

The Security Council,

Reaffirming its resolutions 1267 (1999) of 15 October 1999, 1373 (2001) of28 September 2001, 1535 (2004) of 26 March 2004, 1540 (2004) of 28 April 2004,1566 (2004) of 8 October 2004, and 1617 (2005) of 29 July 2005, the declaration annexed to its resolution 1456 (2003) of 20 January 2003, as well as its other resolutions concerning threats to international peace and security caused by acts of terrorism,

Reaffirming also the imperative to combat terrorism in all its forms andmanifestations by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,and also stressing that States must ensure that any measures taken to combat terrorism comply with all their obligations under international law, and should adoptsuch measures in accordance with international law, in particular internationalhuman rights law, refugee law, and humanitarian law,

Condemning in the strongest terms all acts of terrorism irrespective of their motivation, whenever and by whomsoever committed, as one of the most serious threats to peace and security, and reaffirming the primary responsibility of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security under theCharter of the United Nations,

Condemning also in the strongest terms the incitement of terrorist acts and repudiating attempts at the justification or glorification (apologie) of terrorist actsthat may incite further terrorist acts,

Deeply concerned that incitement of terrorist acts motivated by extremism andintolerance poses a serious and growing danger to the enjoyment of human rights,threatens the social and economic development of all States, undermines global stability and prosperity, and must be addressed urgently and proactively by the United Nations and all States, and emphasizing the need to take all necessary andappropriate measures in accordance with international law at the national and international level to protect the right to life,

Recalling the right to freedom of expression reflected in Article 19 of theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the General Assembly in 1948(“the Universal Declaration”), and recalling also the right to freedom of expression in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted bythe General Assembly in 1966 (“ICCPR”) and that any restrictions thereon shallonly be such as are provided by law and are necessary on the grounds set out inparagraph 3 of Article 19 of the ICCPR,

Recalling in addition the right to seek and enjoy asylum reflected in Article 14of the Universal Declaration and the non-refoulement obligation of States under theConvention relating to the Status of Refugees adopted on 28 July 1951, togetherwith its Protocol adopted on 31 January 1967 (“the Refugees Convention and itsProtocol”), and also recalling that the protections afforded by the Refugees Convention and its Protocol shall not extend to any person with respect to whom there are serious reasons for considering that he has been guilty of acts contrary tothe purposes and principles of the United Nations,

Reaffirming that acts, methods, and practices of terrorism are contrary to thepurposes and principles of the United Nations and that knowingly financing,planning and inciting terrorist acts are also contrary to the purposes and principlesof the United Nations,

Deeply concerned by the increasing number of victims, especially amongcivilians of diverse nationalities and beliefs, caused by terrorism motivated by intolerance or extremism in various regions of the world, reaffirming its profoundsolidarity with the victims of terrorism and their families, and stressing the importance of assisting victims of terrorism and providing them and their familieswith support to cope with their loss and grief,

Recognizing the essential role of the United Nations in the global effort to combat terrorism and welcoming the Secretary-General’s identification of elementsof a counter-terrorism strategy to be considered and developed by the General Assembly without delay with a view to adopting and implementing a strategy to promote comprehensive, coordinated and consistent responses at the national,regional and international level to counter terrorism,

Stressing its call upon all States to become party, as a matter of urgency, to theinternational counter-terrorism Conventions and Protocols whether or not they areparty to regional Conventions on the matter, and to give priority consideration tosigning the International Convention for the Suppression of Nuclear Terrorismadopted by the General Assembly on 13 April 2005,

Re-emphasizing that continuing international efforts to enhance dialogue and broaden understanding among civilizations, in an effort to prevent the indiscriminate targeting of different religions and cultures, and addressing unresolved regional conflicts and the full range of global issues, including development issues, will contribute to strengthening the international fight against terrorism,

Stressing the importance of the role of the media, civil and religious society,the business community and educational institutions in those efforts to enhance dialogue and broaden understanding, and in promoting tolerance and coexistence,and in fostering an environment which is not conducive to incitement of terrorism,

Recognizing the importance that, in an increasingly globalized world, Statesact cooperatively to prevent terrorists from exploiting sophisticated technology,communications and resources to incite support for criminal acts,

Recalling that all States must cooperate fully in the fight against terrorism, inaccordance with their obligations under international law, in order to find, deny safehaven and bring to justice, on the basis of the principle of extradite or prosecute,any person who supports, facilitates, participates or attempts to participate in thefinancing, planning, preparation or commission of terrorist acts or provides safehavens,

1. Calls upon all States to adopt such measures as may be necessary andappropriate and in accordance with their obligations under international law to:

(a) Prohibit by law incitement to commit a terrorist act or acts;

(b) Prevent such conduct;

(c) Deny safe haven to any persons with respect to whom there is credibleand relevant information giving serious reasons for considering that they have beenguilty of such conduct;

2. Calls upon all States to cooperate, inter alia, to strengthen the security oftheir international borders, including by combating fraudulent travel documents and,to the extent attainable, by enhancing terrorist screening and passenger securityprocedures with a view to preventing those guilty of the conduct in paragraph 1 (a)from entering their territory;

3. Calls upon all States to continue international efforts to enhance dialogueand broaden understanding among civilizations, in an effort to prevent theindiscriminate targeting of different religions and cultures, and to take all measuresas may be necessary and appropriate and in accordance with their obligations underinternational law to counter incitement of terrorist acts motivated by extremism andintolerance and to prevent the subversion of educational, cultural, and religiousinstitutions by terrorists and their supporters;

4. Stresses that States must ensure that any measures taken to implementparagraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this resolution comply with all of their obligations underinternational law, in particular international human rights law, refugee law, and humanitarian law;

5. Calls upon all States to report to the Counter-Terrorism Committee, aspart of their ongoing dialogue, on the steps they have taken to implement this resolution;

6. Directs the Counter-Terrorism Committee to:

(a) Include in its dialogue with Member States their efforts to implement thisresolution;

(b) Work with Member States to help build capacity, including through spreading best legal practice and promoting exchange of information in this regard;

(c) Report back to the Council in twelve months on the implementation ofthis resolution.

7. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

Adopted by the Security Council at its 5261st meeting, on 14 September 2005.