29 September 2004	Wednesday	13 Shaban 1425

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 28: Russia introduced a draft resolution on Monday asking for a new list of suspected terrorists who would be subject to extradition and stressed that the world body must take tougher actions against terrorists.

The Russian draft condemns all acts of terrorism and stresses the need for the 15-member Security Council to 'cooperate fully' in tracking down the perpetrators and organizers of terrorist attacks.

The resolution asks the committee monitoring what governments are doing to fight terrorism to consider how to draw up a new list of 'individuals, groups and entities involved in or associated with terrorist activities'.

It also asks the committee to consider sanctions to be imposed against those on the list 'including freezing assets, a travel ban and an arms embargo' and to consider the 'expedited extradition of anyone named in the list'.

Russian Ambassador Andrey Denisov told news reporters that council experts would meet on Wednesday to consider the draft. He said he hoped for a vote this week or early next week.

Pakistan's UN Ambassador Munir Akram said seeking to put a definition of terrorism in the draft, drawing up a list of terror suspects and the issue of asylum are 'going to be difficult'.

"If it's a general list, everybody's going to put his favourite guy, or gal, on the list," he said. "There will be no agreement on such a general list." He noted that the General Assembly has tried for years to define terrorism but has never reached consensus.

"One problem is that one country's terrorists are sometimes another country's freedom fighters," several council members said. "The extradition issue also poses problems. Some countries would want assurances the suspects would not face the death penalty or torture," Mr Akram said.

"Our feeling would be that the Russians would do well to focus on the terrorist organization or organizations that have been attacking them and go for them in the same way that we went for Al Qaeda," he said.

German Ambassador to the United Nations Gunter Pleuger also said the proposal was a complicated question. However, China and Britain endorsed the Russian proposal.

The proposed text also defines terrorism: "Any act intended to cause death or serious injury to civilians or taking of hostages with the purpose to provoke a state of terror, intimidate a population or compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act."