COUNTERTERRORISM
Counterterrorism is a key issue on the agenda of the G8 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Whistler,
particularly in light of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. The aim of the
counterterrorism initiative is to enhance international cooperation to make it harder for terrorists
to operate.
Eight days after the terrorist attacks, G8 leaders issued a statement reaffirming their collective
commitment to fighting terrorism. They asked their foreign affairs, finance, justice, interior and
all other relevant ministers “to draw up a list of specific measures to enhance counterterrorism
cooperation.” A network of more than 150 G8 crime and terrorism experts in the Lyon/Roma
Groups has been working to develop concrete actions and measures to fight terrorism and
ensure public security, supporting and complementing the United Nations efforts.
At Whistler, foreign ministers are expected to review the experts' work and consider how the G8
can continue to help the UN provide technical and legal assistance to states lacking the
capacity to apply UN Security Council Resolution 1373 and meet their counterterrorism
obligations. Adopted on September 28, 2001, Resolution 1373 calls for the suppression of
terrorist financing and other support to terrorists, such as the supply of weapons. It also asks
states to sign the 12 UN counterterrorism conventions. The G8 supports and complements the
UN by working closely with the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee, established under this
resolution.
Foreign ministers may also assess the G8's work on preventing terrorists or those who harbour
them, from gaining access to weapons of mass destruction, radiological weapons and missiles.
And they are expected to discuss international action in Afghanistan—both the ongoing military
campaign and assistance programs to rebuild the country.
What the G8 has done
In response to a wave of hostage takings and aircraft hijackings in the 1970s, leaders first
addressed the problem of terrorism at their summit in Bonn in 1978, the first time a political item
had been placed on the agenda of what was then the G7. The broadening of discussions
beyond macroeconomics was a milestone in the evolution of the G7—the G8 since 1997—into
a political forum for consultation, exchange and policy coordination among countries that share
common values and interests.
In the battle against terrorism, the G8 contributes by strengthening international standards of
security, discussing new forms of terrorism and reflecting upon the consequences of major
terrorist incidents. Over the years, it has been the main catalyst for the negotiation of the
majority of the 12 international counterterrorist conventions and protocols passed in the UN,
most of which have been developed by the Roma Group, formerly known as the G8 Counter-Terrorism Expert Group, created in 1978.
In 2001, foreign ministers in Rome reaffirmed the G8's support for negotiating a comprehensive
convention against international terrorism and a convention against nuclear terrorism.
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