Moussa and Marry Robinson address terror as a challenge

Marry Robinson, UN Human Rights High Commissioner said in a speech read out by Senior United Nations advisor on human rights Kevin Boyle, that terrorism is one of the major challenges facing the UN.

She highlighted the necessity of endorsing the international agreement on the international criminal tribunal.

The Security Council has created an international legal commitment for cooperation in terror-combat, which demand all states to take legislative and economic procedures to stop and incriminate terrorist acts, Robinson added.

Robinson said that there were some problems pertaining to terrorism definition which would be resolved soon and that the international community would soon reach a consensus in this respect.

Robinson said a cause of concern was that, in some countries, non-violent activities have been considered as terrorism, and excessive measures have bean taken to suppress or restrict individual rights including privacy rights, fair trial, and the right to asylum.

Meantime, Arab League Secretary General, Amr Moussa, said confronting terror cannot be done individually.

In his speech to an international conference on terrorism and human rights, held at Cairo Human Rights Studies Centre, Moussa called on the international community to cooperate in combatting terror within the principles of human rights.

Moussa called on the participants in the conference to request the international community to stop the double standard policies in dealing with terror.

An international agreement should be concluded that clearly defined the concept of terror and state terrorism.

Amr Moussa's speech was read out by head of Arab League legal affairs department, Radwan Bin Khadra.