UN General Assembly
2004

the United Nations. New Zealand condemns all acts of terrorism and will continue to contribute strongly to the campaign against terrorism. In particular, we condemn the inhumanity of terrorists in Beslan who sacrificed children as pawns in pursuit of their political objectives. However, attempts to suppress terrorism by force will not by themselves be enough unless we also address the causes which drive people to support, finance or be recruited into terrorism. In that regard, no action will be more important to the undermining of terrorism today than finding a just and sustainable solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people. The international community must work with those countries to overcome the failure of leadership, the lack of resolve and the cycle of violence and retaliation which stand in the way of solving that conflict. Finally, in the Pacific region, New Zealand's own neighbourhood, we can celebrate the progress which has been made in Bougainville and in the Solomon Islands in ending conflict and re-establishing the rule of law. In both cases, a concerted regional response