UN terrorism forum ends in acrimony

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hosts 10 victims of atrocities, but meeting is marred by accusations of pro-Israeli agenda.

Ingrid Betancourt, who was recently released from six years in captivity in Colombia, pictured with Ban Ki-moon, speaks to delegates at a United Nations symposium.

UNITED NATIONS // A UN meeting designed to highlight the plight of victims of terrorism was bogged down in controversy this week, with Arab League members criticising the event for being politically biased. Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, hosted Tuesday's forum to highlight the suffering of ordinary people at the hands of terrorists, rather than the political agendas of those behind such outrages. Ingrid Betancourt, who was recently released from six years in captivity in Colombia, and Ashraf al Khaled, whose wedding in Jordan was marred by terrorist bombings in Nov 2005, were among 18 victims to share their experiences. But the inclusion of Arnold Roth, an Israeli whose daughter died in a Palestinian suicide bomb attack in 2001, and the absence of any victims of Israeli aggression as a counterbalance, provoked criticism from the Arab world. During a debate last week, diplomats from the UAE and Egypt voiced concern over how the UN had chosen the victims. Ten experts who also addressed the symposium at UN headquarters in New York. Anwar al Barout, chargé d'affaires of the UAE mission to the UN, urged caution in the selection process and said the government "underscored the need not to politicise the goals of that meeting". Maged Abdel Fatah Abdel Aziz, Egypt's envoy to the UN, said his government "aspires that arranging such seminars should be conducted in a more transparent way, away from selectivity and politicisation". "The criteria for selecting the victims of terrorism, in the absence of a uniform and agreed legal definition of terrorism, led to the politicisation of the event rather than dealing with the subject in its humanitarian aspect and to ensure support for those victims," the ambassador said. Concerns surrounding the conference were heightened when it emerged that the running costs - which amounted to US$300,000 (Dh1.1million) were jointly met by the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and Colombia, and these countries were assumed to have influenced the selection process. Further controversy arose amid reports that Riyad Mansour, head of the Palestinian Permanent Observer Mission to the UN, had not been invited to attend - although this was later described by the world body's bureaucrats as an administrative blunder. Despite years of discussion, there is no internationally accepted definition of terrorism, partly because of the long-standing dispute between Israelis and Palestinians. What Israel describes as terrorist attacks are seen by many in the Arab world as the legitimate response of an occupied population to its oppressor, with groups such as Hizbollah and Hamas being viewed as freedom fighters. Arab and Muslim governments routinely denounce Israel for committing what has controversially been termed "state-sponsored terrorism". Disagreements over the definition have plagued efforts to co-ordinate an antiterrorism strategy, with the General Assembly adopting the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Sept 2006 only after a year of fractious negotiations. Defending his event, Mr Ban acknowledged that the Symposium on Supporting Victims of Terrorism was "contentious", but said the world body was limited to selecting only victims of certain types of terrorism. In the absence of a universally agreed definition of terrorism, the UN bases its approach on 16 articles of international law that address specific issues such as hijackings, violence against civilians and acts aimed at promoting political goals. While these definitions cover the experience of Mr Roth, whose daughter died in a Jerusalem blast, they do not encompass the actions of Israeli forces against Palestinians that many in the Arab world describe as terrorism. "In selecting the participants for this symposium, we have been guided by these existing 16 legal instruments," Mr Ban said. "Unfortunately, there has not been agreement on a single, comprehensive convention on international terrorism, even though we have suffered so much, so often from these tragic and merciless acts of terrorism." Speaking two days before the seventh anniversary of September 11, Mr Ban said the selected victims came from the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas and presented a fair representation of the world's terrorism victims. Ms Betancourt, the French-Colombian hostage who spent 2,321 days held captive by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc, until her release two months ago, urged delegates to raise the profile of terrorism's victims. Mr Khaled, who lost his father and father-in-law during a suicide bombing attack in Jordan at his wedding reception, one of three blasts in luxury Amman hotels attributed to al Qa'eda, said the event was worthwhile despite the controversy. "Even if a group was neglected this time, we can address this to the secretary general and, in the coming conventions or symposium, they will be present," Mr Khaled said. "Even if a group was this time not addressed to join us, but we heard from the victims, this was a success for us. Hopefully we can reach an agenda and get it on the right track for all the victims of terror." @email:[e-mail]