International instruments against terrorism.

Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft (Developed by ICAO and adopted in Tokyo in 1963; 171 States parties as of 17 September 2001)

Known as the "Tokyo Convention", this treaty applies to acts affecting in-flight safety. It:

* authorizes the aircraft commander to impose reasonable measures, including restraint, on any person he or she has reason to believe has committed or is about to commit such an act, which are necessary, to protect the safety of the aircraft;

* requires contracting States to take custody of offenders and to return control of the aircraft to the lawful commander.

Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft (Developed by ICAO and adopted in The Hague in 1970; 174 States parties)

Known as the "Hague Convention", this treaty combats aircraft hijackings. It:

* makes it an offence for any person who board an aircraft in flight, "unlawfully, by force or threat thereof or any other form of intimidation, seizes or exercises control of that aircraft", or attempts to do so;

* requires parties to the Convention to make hijackings punishable by "severe penalties";

* requires parties that have custody of an alleged offender to either extradite him or submit the case for prosecution;

* requires parties to assist each other in connection with criminal proceedings brought under the Convention.

Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation (Developed by ICAO and adopted in Montreal in 1971; 175 States parties)

Known as the "Montreal Convention", this treaty applies to acts of aviation sabotage, such as bombings aboard aircraft in flight. It:

* makes it an offence for any person, unlawfully and intentionally: to perform an act of violence against a person on board an aircraft in flight if that act is likely to endanger the safety of that aircraft; to place an explosive device on an aircraft; and to attempt such acts or be an accomplice of a person who performs or attempts to perform such acts;

* requires parties to the Convention to make offences punishable by "severe penalties";

* requires parties that have custody of offenders to either extradite the offender or submit the case for prosecution.

Protocol on the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of Violence at Airports Serving International Civil Aviation (Adopted in Montreal in 1988; 107 States parties)

This protocol extends and supplements the provisions of the Montreal Convention to encompass terrorist acts at airports serving international civil aviation.

Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against internationally Protected Persons including Diplomatic Agents (Adopted by the General Assembly in 1973; 107 States parties)

This treaty outlaws attacks on State officials and representatives. It:

* defines an internationally protected person as a Head of State, Minister for Foreign Affairs, representative or official of a State or an international organization who is entitled to special protection from attack under international law;

* requires each party to criminalize and make punishable "by appropriate penalties, which take into account their grave nature": the intentional murder, kidnapping or other attack upon the person or liberty of an internationally protected person; a violent attack upon the official premises, the private accommodations, or the means of transport of such person; a threat or attempt to commit such an attack; and an act "constituting participation as an accomplice".

International Convention against the Taking of Hostages (Adopted by the General Assembly in 1979; 96 States parties)

Known as the "Hostages Convention", this treaty combats the unlawful taking of hostages It:

* provides that "any person who seizes or detains and threatens to kill, to injure or to continue to detain another person in order to compel a third party, namely, a State, an international intergovernmental organization, a natural or juridical person, or a group of persons, to do or abstain from doing any act as an explicit or implicit condition for the release of the hostage commits the offence of taking of hostages within the meaning of this Convention".

Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (Developed by IAEA and adopted in Vienna in 1980; 68 States parties)

Knowns as the "Nuclear Materials Convention this treaty combats unlawful taking and use of nuclear material. It:

* criminalizes the unlawful possession, use and transfer of nuclear material, the theft of nuclear material, and threats to use nuclear material to cause death or serious injury to any person or substantial property damage:

Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (Developed by IMO and adopted in Rome in 1988; 52 States parties)

This treaty applies to terrorist activities on ships It.

* establishes a legal regime applicable to acts against international maritime navigation that is similar to the regimes established against international aviation;

* makes it an offence for a person to seize or exercise control over a ship by force, threat or intimidation; to perform an act of violence on board a ship that endangers the safe navigation of the ship; to place a destructive device aboard a ship; and other acts against the safety of ships.

Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf

(Adopted in Rome in 1988; 48 States parties)

This protocol extends the Rome Convention on maritime navigation and applies to terrorist activities on fixed offshore platforms. It:

* establishes a legal regime applicable to acts against fixed platforms on the continental shelf that is similar to the regimes established for international aviation.

Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Detection (Developed by ICAO and adopted in Montreal in 1991; 67 States parties)

This treaty provides for chemical marking to facilitate detection of plastic explosives to combat aircraft sabotage. It obligates States parties to:

* take necessary and effective measures to prohibit and prevent the manufacture and use of unmarked plastic explosives and prevent their movement into or out of their respective territories;

* exercise strict and effective control over possession and transfer of unmarked explosives made or imported prior to the entry-into-forceof+6 the Convention;

* ensure that all stocks of such unmarked explosives not held by the military or police are destroyed or consumed, marked Dr rendered permanently ineffective within three years;

* ensure that unmarked plastic explosives held by the military or police, are destroyed or consumed, marked or rendered permanently ineffective within fifteen years;

* ensure the destruction as soon as possible of any unmarked explosives manufactured after the date of entry into force of the Convention for that State.

International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings (Adopted by the General Assembly in 1997; 26 States parties)

This treaty seeks to deny "safe havens" to persons wanted for terrorist bombings. It:

* creates a regime of universal jurisdiction over the unlawful and intentional use of explosives and other lethal devices with intent to kill or cause serious bodily injury, or to cause extensive destruction of a public place.

* obligates States parties to prosecute such terrorists if it does not extradite them to another State that has issued an extradition request.

International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (Adopted by the General Assembly in 1999; 4 States parties; will enter into force when ratified by 22 States)

This treaty obligates States parties either to prosecute or extradite persons accused of funding terrorist activities, and requires banks to enact measures to identify suspicious transactions. It:

* requires States parties to take steps to prevent and counteract the financing of terrorists, whether directly or indirectly, through groups claiming to have charitable, social or cultural goals or which also engage in such illicit activities as drug trafficking or gunrunning;

* commits States parties to hold those who finance terrorism liable-criminally, civilly or administratively-for such acts;

* provides for the identification, freezing and seizure of funds allocated for terrorist activities, as well as for the sharing of the forfeited funds with other States on a case-by-case basis. Bank secrecy will no longer be a justification for refusing to cooperate.

RELATED ARTICLE: Other UN Measures to Combat Terrorism

The Security Council, as the principal international organ dealing with international peace and security, has also long been involved in the fight against terrorism. Immediately following the 11 September incident, in resolution 1368 (2001), the Council condemned "unequivocally" the terrorist attack against the United States and called on all States to work together urgently to bring thew perpetrators to justice. By resolution 1333 (2000), it demanded that Afghanistan's Taliban authorities act swiftly to close all camps where terrorists are trained. By resolution 1269 (1999), it unequivocally condemned all acts of terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable, and called on Member States to adopt specific measures and, by resolution 1267 (1999), demanded that the Taliban turn over Usama bin Laden to appropriate authorities so that he could be brought to justice.

For its part, the General Assembly, at the opening of its fifty-sixth session, adopted resolution 56/1, strongly condemning the "heinous acts of terrorism" and calling for urgent action to enhance international cooperation to eradicate terrorism.

The General Assembly adopted in 1994 the Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism, and the supplementary Declaration of 1996, condemning all acts and practices of terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable, wherever and by whomever committed, and urging all States to take measures at the national and international levels to eliminate international terrorism. The Legal Committee of the General Assembly is elaborating a draft convention for the suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism and drafting a comprehensive convention on the elimination of terrorism.

In 1999, the Assembly established a Terrorism Prevention Branch, within the Vienna-based United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention. The Branch researches terrorism trends and assists countries in upgrading their capacities to investigate and prevent terrorist acts. The Office also lists on its Web site (www.undcp.org/terrorism_conventions.html) the complete texts of all 12 international instruments relating to terrorism.