The international community must condemn all forms of terrorism and cooperate to eliminate it expeditiously. Many nations represented here became independent through the exercise of their right to self determination. Many had to wage an armed struggle against foreign or alien domination to realize this right. The right of peoples to use all legitimate means to resist foreign occupation, colonial and alien domination is undisputed. It is specifically upheld by the Declaration on Friendly Relations among States and by the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.
All nations revere freedom fighters as heroes.
Unfortunately a deliberate effort is currently underway to portray freedom fighters as terrorists. Yet, today, these great defenders of liberty seem to be emulating the political stratagems of their past colonizers. The International Community, and this Commission, must not be misled by the political and conceptual confusion created in recent years by the campaign to denigrate legitimate freedom struggles as terrorist movements. It is perhaps not surprising that some of those States which seek to denigrate freedom struggles as terrorist movements are also themselves the principal perpetrators of terrorism. This Commission needs to devote attention to this growing phenomenon of State terrorism.