Considering all options to ensure CCIT's enforcement

With a growing call among the international community to put in place a stronger mechanism to combat terrorism, India said it is considering all options, including "voting" to ensure that the seminal Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) is brought into force.

India's Ambassador to the UN Syed Akbaruddin told reporters here today that the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, an initiative that India launched in 1996 to fight against terrorism has seen "enormous" forward movement except for what would be the exclusion from the definition of terrorism.

"That is the debate. As far we are concerned given the crescendo of support in the General Debate, there is a majority that exists in support of that effort. The issue is only a procedural one of how do we convert that majority into a legal document," he said.
 

Akbaruddin added that usually legal documents are arrived at by common agreement among all and while that has been the effort so far, it has worked.

"If it requires, we will consider how to move this ahead even if it requires voting. The issue is we will take that call at a time of our choosing. We have waited for this for long, we are considering all options and voting is an option which we will not close.

"Ultimately in democracies and in democratic organisations, the will of the majority cannot be continuously blocked by a limited number of countries who have objections to one small finite part or the other," he said.

He explained that there are several elements in the exclusion clause, and there are some who would like to remove some exclusions even as they want the CCIT to be stronger.

The Indian envoy added that India is confident if put to a vote, based on what has been talked so many times that there is a large majority in support of that convention.

"It's only a call that we have to take that at what stage do we convert that majority into a general agreement in the UN process," he said.