UnitedNations-02-Antiterrorism_Pass5.indd

The 1960s and 1970s saw several terrorist acts committed against commercial airlines. The Montreal Convention of 1971 defined terrorism in the skies and addressed this type of violence against civilian targets.

as hijacking an airplane. Each convention requires individual member countries to criminalize terrorist acts in its own domestic laws. Every one of the conventions also identifies certain policies by which the involved parties are required to establish jurisdiction over the crime,and the country where the suspect is found is obligated to establish jurisdiction over the crime in question. That country is then required to refer the crime for international prosecution if the country does not extradite the suspect. This requirement is commonly known as the principle of “no safe haven for terrorists.”Most nations believe it is vital to deprive terrorist suspects of havens where they can flee and be safe from prosecution. Although the fourteen major conventions and protocols related to a country’s responsibilities for combating terrorism would seem to provide ample protection from terrorist activity, the evening news confirm terrorist acts still occur around the world. These laws are sometimes ineffective because many countries are not yet party to these legal instruments, or they have not started to enforce them. Some believe the conventions do not go far enough in identifying terrorist crimes and appropriate means of prosecution. The following identifies the fourteen major terrorism conventions and provides a brief summary of each.

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The United Nations