3 August 2004 

International Legal Experts to Tackle Terrorism
in the Region

Australia will host a gathering in Canberra of international legal experts as part of efforts to boost the fight against terrorism in our region on 4-5 August 2004.

The meeting is the first for the Legal Issues Working Group which was established at the Regional Ministerial Meeting on Counter-Terrorism, co-chaired by Australia and Indonesia in February in Bali.

We will be working with regional countries to build legal regimes that make it harder for terrorists. Strong and seamless legal frameworks to counter terrorism are just as important as an effective first response to a terrorist incident.

The legal experts will consider what more can be done in the region to strengthen anti-terrorism laws, in keeping with our international legal obligations, and cooperative arrangements for gathering evidence and extraditing terrorist suspects.

There have been some notable successes against terrorism in our region but we must keep striving to ensure there are no legal loopholes available to the terrorists. The Bali counter-terrorism process is making a real contribution in this vital area.

Indonesia will host a parallel working group meeting on law enforcement issues in mid-August as further follow-up to the Bali Ministerial Meeting.

These meetings again highlight Australia's ongoing commitment to fight the scourge of terrorism in cooperation with our neighbours and friends and to bring terrorists to justice wherever they are found.

Inquiries:  Chris Kenny (Mr Downer's office) 02 62777 500 - Steve Ingram (Mr Ruddock's office) 02 6277 7300