UNITED NATIONS, Sept 2: Britain on Thursday circulated a draft UN Security Council resolution that would urge all nations to ban incitement of terrorist acts, expecting that the measure would be approved during the upcoming UN world summit.

Diplomats here noted that Britain has unveiled the draft resolution in an effort to stem the criticism it received following the controversial domestic crackdown in the wake of the attacks in London in July.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair will attend the UN Security Council meeting, scheduled to begin on Sept 14, council envoys said.

The session will be attended by world leaders with seats on the 15-member council, including Presidents Jacques Chirac of France, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil.

US officials said it was not certain if President George Bush would attend the council meeting, but several envoys were confident he would. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines, whose country holds the rotating council presidency for September, would preside over the proceedings.

The draft calls on nations to ‘prohibit by law the incitement of a terrorist act or acts through the adoption of such measures as may be necessary and appropriate and in accordance with their obligations under international law’.

It says all countries should take appropriate measures to counter ‘violent extremist ideologies, including steps to prevent the subversion of educational, cultural, and religious institutions by terrorists and their supporters’.

The resolution also says nations should deny refuge to people with ‘serious reasons for considering that they have been guilty of such conduct’ and see they are brought to justice.

The 191 UN members have been asked to report to the council’s counter-terrorism committee on steps taken to implement the resolution.

Human rights groups fear the measure could justify measures against dissidents.

Richard Dicker, a counsel for Human Rights Watch, said incitement usually means encouraging someone to commit a criminal act and therefore it was ‘appropriate that incitement to commit terrorist acts be punished’.

“But without a clear definition of incitement — and it is lacking in this draft — states could be encouraged to define incitement in overly broad terms and, for example, pass laws to prohibit legitimate articulation of opinion, such as expressing general support for a rebel group,” Mr Dicker said.

Some Arab ambassadors privately expressed fears the resolution would single out Muslims.