T&T, US co-sponsor resolution against terrorism

(Trinidad Express) Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar attended a meeting of the 15-member United Nations (UN) Security Council which was open to UN member states which do not belong to the council.
Trinidad and Tobago nevertheless yesterday decided to co-sponsor a resolution against terrorism sponsored by the United States just one day after she expressed “some reservations” about the move. Persad-Bissessar was among the Heads of State and Governments representing their countries at the Security Council meeting who delivered statements in support of the resolution. “As a firm believer in the ability of the United Nations to contribute to the resolution of international problems such as terrorism, Trinidad and Tobago has studied the text of the resolution (S/2014/688) and finds that despite some imperfections, the resolution provides a useful platform for the launch of greater international cooperation in the battle against terrorism,” Persad-Bissessar said in her statement at the Security Council meeting. She also said that in keeping with the relevant provisions in “this historic resolution” Trinidad and Tobago would be “seeking to take advantage of cooperation mechanisms with other member states, whether bilaterally or in the context of other arrangements to improve” this nation’s ability to address several aspects in the fight against terrorism.
She said this included this nation’s ability to conduct criminal investigations or proceedings relating the financing or the support of terrorist acts and “to exchange information to monitor the transit of foreign terrorist fighters”. US President Barack Obama chaired the meeting which ended with the Security Council voting unanimously in favour of the resolution compelling UN member states to stop of their citizens leaving their homelands to join ISIS (also known as ISL) and other militant groups based in the Middle East and block them from returning to threaten their native countries using passports already granted.
Obama sought to win over any doubting UN member states during his address at the opening ceremony of the Assembly yesterday. He said the Security Council will “adopt a resolution that underscores the responsibility of states to counter violent extremism”. “But resolutions must be followed by tangible commitments. So we’re accountable when we fall short. Next year, we should all be prepared to announce the concrete steps we have taken to counter extremist ideologies—by getting intolerance out of schools, stopping radicalisation before it spreads, and promoting institutions and programmes that build new bridges of understanding,” Obama said.
Persad-Bissessar told the UN Security Council of this nation’s experience during the 1990 coup attempt by the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen. “Many will recall that over two decades ago, Trinidad and Tobago was able to successfully combat the efforts of a terrorist group to overthrow the democratically-elected government of the day,” Persad-Bissessar said.
Before she attended the UN Security Council meeting, Persad-Bissessar spoke with the local media covering her trip to New York for the 69th UN General Assembly. She did so after she hoisted the Trinidad and Tobago flag at Bowling Green in New York in commemoration of Republic Day yesterday. “We will have to do legislative initiatives. We will also have to do administrative initiatives with respect to immigration, border controls, law enforcement,” Persad-Bissessar said. She said she discussed the matter with Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran who travelled with her to New York as part of the Trinidad and Tobago delegation at the UN Assembly. The Prime Minister also said she discussed the matter with National Security Minister Gary Griffith and Housing and Urban Development Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal in his capacity as the Leader of the House who sets the legislative agenda for the Parliament. Persad-Bissessar also said she spoke with a former foreign affairs minister who she did not identify by name.
The reservations her administration had on Tuesday that such resolutions are framed in a way for larger nations to comply with were “sorted out with advice” she received from Attorney General Anand Ramlogan, who did not accompany her to New York. “Again the thinking is that what we are already doing, we are well on the way to dealing with some of the initiatives that would be required under the resolution,” Persad-Bissessar said.