UNITED NATIONS, April 26: Members of the United Nations Security Council on Monday underscored that “any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivations, whenever and by whomsoever committed”. They reaffirmed that terrorism was one of the most serious threats to global peace and security,

After an open briefing by the chairmen of its three anti-terrorism committees, the Security Council expressed its ‘grave concern’ at the risks posed by non-state actors who attempted to develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer or use nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their means of delivery.

It welcomed the General Assembly’s recent adoption of the International Convention on the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.

Ambassador Wang Guangya of China, which holds the council’s presidency for April, stressed the three mandates of the committees –- dealing with sanctions against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, counter-terrorism and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The ambassador reaffirmed the council’s call for enhanced cooperation between the bodies and their experts in monitoring implementation of its relevant resolutions.

Ambassador Cesar Mayoral of Argentina, the chairman of the Al Qaeda/Taliban sanctions committee, said its sanctions regime was being implemented globally and its consolidated list of individuals and entities related to Al Qaeda and Taliban was updated periodically.

He stressed that the counter-terrorism sanctions regime was, in the first place, about the accuracy of targeting the right individuals and entities and the political will of all states to make it effective through strict sanctions implementation. It was difficult to envision a world completely free from terrorist threats, but a common mission sought to prevent such threats from materializing, he said.

The chairman of the counter-terrorism committee, Ambassador Ellen Margrethe Loj of Denmark, said the panel had enhanced its dialogue with the member states, including through its first country visit to Morocco last month, which included participation from the World Customs Organization, the Financial Action Task Force, Interpol and the European Union. A key to the success of such visits was follow-up, she said, adding that similar trips were planned to Albania, Kenya and Thailand.

Recalling that Secretary-General Kofi Annan had referred directly to the central role of the committee and its executive directorate in the fight against terrorism, she said that, for technical reasons, the latter had not become fully operational, which had seriously limited its ability to sustain the various types of dialogue with member states on which it had embarked.

Ambassador Mihnea Ioan Motoc of Romania, chairman of the committee dealing with WMDs, said 115 states and one organization had submitted reports.