Annan calls for '5 Ds' to fight terrorism

May 2, 2006, 18:59 GMT

New York - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday spelled out his vision of a world fighting global terrorism through diplomatic efforts and international conventions, calling his programme the 'five Ds.'

They are: Dissuading people from resorting or supporting terrorist acts; denying terrorist the means to carry out attacks; deterring states from supporting terrorism; developing state capacity to defeat terrorism, and defending human rights.

Annan was asked by heads of state and government last year to work out a an anti-terrorist programme for the world organization, which has no military force or weapons except for its conventions against terrorism.

'I believe all five are interlinked conditions crucial to the success of any strategy against terrorism,' Annan told the UN General Assembly in presenting his 32-page programme.

'To succeed, we will need to make progress on all those fronts,' he said.

The UN has several conventions fighting terrorism, including prohibiting states from harbouring and training terrorists, financing or supporting terrorist organizations.

But negotiations to agree on a comprehensive convention on international terrorism have so far failed because governments could not agree on the definition of terrorism.

Annan believed that his five Ds would enhance the way the UN could fight terrorism.

'These recommendations stem from a fundamental convictions which we all share: that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes, is unacceptable and can never he justified,' he said.

He urged governments to drive a wedge between terrorists and their potential constituencies by launching a global message that terrorism is unacceptable in any form. He called for innovative ways to deprive terrorists access to conventional weapons as well as weapons of mass destruction.

He urged governments to pay more attention to victims of terrorist acts and to defend the human rights of 'all,' including those suspected of terrorism and those affected by terrorist acts.

The five Ds will be discussed by the 191-nation assembly.