UN General Assembly
2006

whenever and wherever it raises its ugly head. Terrorism has become closely intertwined with organized crime. It is now directly linked with people smuggling, the trade in illicit drugs, the illegal trade in small arms and money-laundering. Terrorism is a major impediment to development and poses a terrible challenge to civilized society. We support all measures undertaken in the United Nations to meet this challenge. We have ratified all United Nations conventions in this regard. 06-52879 8 In our capacity as Chair of the ad hoc committee on measures to eliminate international terrorism we shall spare no effort to realize the international legal framework to facilitate our common struggle against terrorism. It is our fervent hope that the comprehensive convention on international terrorism will soon become a reality. The illicit trade in and trafficking of small arms and light weapons has contributed to the escalation of many local conflicts because of the easy availability of arms for non-State actors. Sri Lanka is concerned that, despite the commitment of the international community