Strasbourg, 24/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Committee of Ministers (meeting at deputy level) of the Council of Europe reaffirmed its determination to fight against all forms of terrorism. It invites the organisation's 43 member nations to sign and/or ratify the European Convention for repression of terrorism and other relevant instruments. A committee of government experts has been instructed to hold regular discussions on terrorism-related conventions being prepared by the United Nations in order to coordinate the positions of the Member States.
The Committee of Ministers also requested Secretary General Walter Schwimmer to make urgent proposals in the context of Budget 2002 preparation and to grant special attention to preventing terrorism in the context of two projects entitled "Responses to Daily Violence in a Democratic Society" and "Democratic Institutions in Action - Elections", as well as to examine the possibility of a project specially devoted to the fight against terrorism. The fight against terrorism has been placed on the agenda of the next session of the Committee of Ministers (7 and 8 November). A high level delegation of observer States, including the United States, will be invited to attend.