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Patterns
of Global Terrorism:
Western Hemisphere
Overview |
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Office of
the Coordinator for Counterterrorism
Department of
State Publications
Office of the Secretary of State
US State Department
April 30, 2003
"The
purposes of this convention are to prevent, punish, and eliminate terrorism."
The
Inter-American Convention Against Terrorism opened for signature in Barbados
in June 2002 and signed by 34 member states of the Organization of American
States
The text is in PDF
and ZIP format. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do
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  When
compared to other regions of the world, the Western Hemisphere generally does
not attract attention as a “hot zone” in the war on terror. Terrorism in the
region was not born on 11 September 2001, however; Latin American countries have
struggled with domestic sources of terrorism for decades. International
terrorist groups, moreover, have not hesitated to make Latin America a
battleground to advance their causes elsewhere. The bombings of the Israeli
Embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992 and the Argentine-Jewish Cultural Center in 1994
are two well-known examples. More recent international terrorist attacks in
Bali, Indonesia, and Mombasa, Kenya, in 2002 demonstrate that no region of the
world—and no type of target—is beyond the reach or strategic interest of
international terrorist organizations.
Recognizing
this threat and the impact of terrorism on their economic and social
development, the vast majority of countries across the Americas and the
Caribbean have given strong support to the international Coalition against
terrorism. In June, at the OAS General Assembly in Barbados, member states
adopted and opened for signature the Inter-American Convention Against
Terrorism—a direct response to the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the
United States and the first international treaty against terrorism adopted since
the attacks. The Convention, a binding legal instrument which is consistent
with, and builds upon, previous UN conventions and protocols relating to
terrorism and UN Security Council Resolution 1373, will improve regional
cooperation in the fight against terrorism through exchanges of information,
experience and training, technical cooperation, and mutual legal assistance. The
Convention will enter into force when six states have deposited their
instruments of ratification. All OAS member states but one have signed (Dominica
is the exception); Canada became the first state to ratify in late 2002.
President Bush transmitted the Convention to the Senate for its advice and
consent to ratification in November.
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May 05, 2003
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