International Convention against terrorist bombings adopted.

• Position: General Assembly 52

The adoption by the General Assembly on 15 December of an International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings crowned the work of the Sixth Committee (Legal) in 1997. The Convention, which will be open for signature from 12 January 1998 to 31 December 1999, will enter into force 30 days after the twenty-second State party has ratified it.

The Convention provides that States either prosecute or extradite those accused of terrorist bombings within their territory, and also calls on States to adopt further measures to prevent terrorism and strengthen international cooperation in combating such crimes.

While States expressed reservations to some of the Conventions provisions, the adopted text was seen by many to represent the best possible compromise. The main issues in the debate were whether the Convention should exempt the acts of those struggling against foreign occupation and whether some acts of State military forces could be considered terrorism. In its final form, the Convention made no distinction between terrorist acts and the activities of national liberation movements. It also said the activities of military forces of States were not governed by the Convention. Despite those differences, the Sixth Committee approved the Convention by consensus.

The 24-article Convention defines a terrorist bomber as a person who unlawfully and intentionally delivers, places, discharges or detonates a bomb, explosive, lethal or incendiary device in, into or against a place of public use, a State or government facility, a public transportation system or an infrastructure facility, with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury or the destruction of such a place resulting in major economic loss. The Convention specifies crimes which are extraditable under treaties which States parties sign among themselves. It explicitly does not govern the military activities of States in armed conflict or in exercise of their official duties.

States which ratify the Convention must take steps to establish their jurisdiction over terrorist bombings committed in their territories. They can also have jurisdiction when the offences are committed against their nationals or facilities abroad.

International Criminal Court

In a somewhat related resolution, the Assembly decided to convene a diplomatic conference of plenipotentiaries in Rome, from 15 June to 17 July 1998, to finalize and adopt a convention to establish a permanent international criminal...