DOCUMENT No. 17 

CICA Declaration on Eliminating Terrorism and Promoting

Dialogue Among Civilizations, Almaty,  Kazakhstan

June 5, 2002 

We, Heads of State or Government of the Member States of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), gathered in Almaty for the First CICA Summit, do hereby declare the following:

We are deeply concerned by the increase in all acts of terrorism worldwide, including in CICA Member States. We are fully committed to fighting terrorism and strengthening bilateral, regional and international cooperation, in accordance with the UN Charter, required to meet this challenge. We emphasize the central role of the United Nations, its General Assembly and Security Council, in developing the framework for this.

We express our deepest sorrow over the loss of innocent lives in all acts, methods or practices of terrorism and convey our sympathies and condolences to the families of the victims.

We condemn all forms and manifestations of terrorism, committed no matter when, where or by whom, as barbaric offences and criminal acts indiscriminately directed at the life and well-being of innocent individuals and peoples as well as threatening the peaceful coexistence among nations. No considerations whatsoever can be invoked to justify terrorism.
We are convinced that terrorism constitutes a direct violation of human rights and, in particular, the right to life, freedom, security and development.

We emphasize that eliminating terrorism is the common goal of all cultures and civilizations. We believe that all religions of the world reject violence and terrorism and advocate the protection of human rights.

We underline that terrorism cannot be attributed to religion, nationality, or civilization. We believe that it is essential not to allow terrorists to lure us into a conflict of religions, cultures or civilizations. We also pledge to be particularly vigilant, in order to ensure that the global fight against terrorism does not become a war targeting particular cultures, regions or nations. We all stand united in this fight.

We reaffirm our strong commitment to all norms and principles of international law, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including the right to self-determination, and the CICA Almaty Act concerning the maintenance of international peace and security and the promotion of good-neighbourly and friendly relations and cooperation among countries.

We actively support efforts undertaken by the international community, in accordance with the UN Charter, to combat terrorism. The fight against terrorism should be global, comprehensive and sustained, and not selective or discriminatory and should avoid applying double standards. We are also against using the fight against terrorism as a pretext for interference in the internal affairs of sovereign States. We reject the use of force not in compliance with the UN Charter against sovereign States.

We reaffirm the key significance of, and pledge to fully support implementation of UN Security Council Resolution No. 1373 and other relevant UN resolutions on combating terrorism which provide the basic framework for national, regional and international obligations and efforts to combat this universal evil.

We underscore the need to respect human rights and rule of law in combating terrorism.

We encourage States, parties to the various UN anti-terrorism Conventions to consult and cooperate, in accordance with the provisions of these Conventions, to ensure their effective implementation. We will contribute to the early elaboration and adoption by the UN of the other appropriate instruments, such as the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism and the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.

We are open for cooperation in combating terrorism with all other states, regional and international organizations and forums. Taking into account the tans-national character of terrorism, as well as its close links with other challenges and threats to security such as organized crime, narcotics and human trafficking as well as illicit arms trafficking, we will seek to foster cooperation between our relevant authorities and to maintain regular exchange of information in order to enhance international capacity to stop financing of terrorism and eliminate it.

We consider as one of the primary tasks of the international community to strengthen efforts to eliminate poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, extremism, intolerance, entrenched hatred and all forms of discrimination. We believe that it is necessary to ensure sustainable development of all regions of the world and to pay more attention to the socio-economic impact of globalization. It will also be of high importance for our cause to encourage the peaceful settlement of regional and international crises and conflicts.

We support international efforts for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Afghanistan in order to help revive this country as a stable and prosperous member of the international community.

The CICA Member States intend to strengthen cooperation and dialogue among them in order to promote common values, mutual understanding and confidence for the benefit of the joint fight against terrorism.

We consider CICA as a unique Asian forum which comprises states of different cultures and traditions making it one of the most important mechanisms to promote dialogue among civilizations and cultures. In this context we reconfirm our full support for the UN General Assembly Resolution No. A/RES/56/6 on Dialogue among Civilizations and are convinced that implementation of its Programme of Action positively contributes to international efforts to attain universal peace, welfare and stability. The CICA Member States intend to comprehensively and actively promote such a dialogue taking into account that Eurasia has not only been a cradle of some of the world’s largest civilizations but has also served as a bridge between them.n

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