Remarks by the FATF President BJørn s. Aamo at the opening session of the Special meeting of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee with Member States and relevant international and regional organizations on “preventing and suppressing terrorist financing”
United Nations, New York, 20 November 2012
Thank you very much for arranging this meeting.
Deputy Secretary-General Eliasson, Chairman Puri, distinguished Ambassadors and representatives from member states and international and regional organisations, dear colleagues.
It is with great pleasure that I am taking part in this meeting on behalf of the more than 180 countries that belong to the Global Network of the Financial Action Task Force and its FATF-style regional bodies.
This meeting is important for the FATF and our regional bodies. We have been working for more than 10 years to fight terrorist financing through the FATF Recommendations and to assist in the implementation of the relevant UN instruments, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373.
I believe that a successful implementation of an effective system to combat terrorist financing should be achieved through a holistic approach. For us this means that the financial provisions of relevant UN instruments are embedded in our 40 FATF Recommendations against terrorist financing and money laundering.
This also means setting up a framework that is effective, and that harms terrorism as much as it protects civil liberties and human rights. We shall be able to have two ideas in our head at the same time. We shall fight terrorism at the same time as we respect and encourage human rights.
When my country, Norway, faced the terrorist attacks in Oslo and on Utøya in July 2011, the answer of our government and our people was to defend our way of life and our strong democratic traditions with transparency and freedom of expression. We shouldn’t give in on such issues under the threat of terrorism.
Over the years, the FATF has been working tirelessly to assist countries in the implementation of an effective framework against terrorist financing and money laundering. We are far from declaring victory and much remains to be done.
Deputy Secretary General, Chairman, Executive Director, distinguished representatives; today’s meeting is another step forward by the global community to fight terrorist financing by fostering the implementation of FATF Recommendations and UN instruments underlining how the two organisations work together for common aims.
Thank you.
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