Draft statement against terrorism drops reference to money laundering

Shanghai: In an apparent nod to China, a revised draft of an anti-terrorism statement to be issued by leaders at their Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit dropped an earlier specific reference to fighting money-laundering.

The full text of the draft follows:

1. Leaders unequivocally condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, and express their deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims of a large number of nationalities and their families and to the people and Government of the United States of America.

2. Leaders consider the murderous deeds as well as other terrorist acts in all forms and manifestations, committed wherever, whenever and by whomsoever as a profound threat to the peace, prosperity and security of all people, of all faiths, of all nations. Terrorism is also a direct challenge to APEC’s vision of free, open and prosperous economies, and to the fundamental values that APEC members hold.
3. Leaders deem it imperative to strengthen international cooperation at all levels in combating terrorism and affirm that UN should play a major role in this regard, especially taking in account the importance of all the relevant UN resolutions.

4. Leaders commit to strive to prevent and suppress all forms of terrorist acts in the future in full observance of fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations and other international law, pledge to implement the UN Security Council Res. 1373 faithfully and immediately, express their strong support for all efforts aimed at strengthening international anti-terrorist regime, and call for early signing and ratification of all basic universal anti-terrorist Conventions including International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.

5. Leaders are determined to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation in line with specific circumstances in their respective economies, through:

* Appropriate financial measures to stop the flow of funds to terrorists, including accelerating and deepening work on combating financial crimes through the APEC Finance Ministers’ working Group on Fighting Financial Crime and related international standard-setting bodies;
* Adherence by all economies to international requirements for the security of air and maritime transportation. They call on Transport Ministers to continue the discussions on best practices for airport, aircraft, and port security, get effective outcomes as early as possible and assure full implementation and cooperation in this regard;
* Strengthening of energy security in the region by implementing recommendations of the APEC Energy Security Initiative such as developing real-time information sharing mechanisms during oil emergencies, examining oil stockpiling options, investigating possible sea-lane security issues and sharing experiences on use and coordination of oil supplies and liquid natural gas in case of an emergency;
* Strengthening of APEC activities in the area of critical sector protection, including telecommunications, transportation, and energy.
* Enhancement of customs communication networks and expeditious development of an integrated electronic customs network which would allow customs authorities to better enforce laws while minimizing the impact on the flow of trade.
* Cooperation to develop electronic movement records systems that will enhance border security while ensuring movement of genuine travellers is not disrupted.
* Strengthen capacity building and technical cooperation to enable member economies to put into place and enforce effective counter-terrorism measures.
* Cooperation to limit the economic fallout from the attacks and move t restore economic confidence in the region through collective growth strategy by boosting domestic demand as well as ensuring stable environment for trade, investment, travel and tourism.

6. Leaders also pledge to cooperate fully to assure that international terrorism does not disrupt economies and markets, through close communication and cooperation among economic policy and financial authorities.”

— Reuters