§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the remarks by Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock on identifying terrorism. [135464]
§ Mr. MacShaneDuring his address to the UN General Assembly debate on 1 October 2001 our then Permanent Representative, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, remarked that "what looks, smells and kills like terrorism is terrorism". An internationally agreed definition of terrorism would be beneficial and we are working in the UN to achieve one. But so deep is the controversy surrounding certain groups, an internationally agreed definition does not seem possible in the short term. Sir Jeremy Greenstock's formulation 43W was a means to unite UN members—at a vital time— around practical steps to counter the threat, rather than on debating the definition of terrorism.