The Inter-American Convention Against Terrorism was adopted by the member countries of the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...

(OAS) at its

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held in

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, on 3 June 2002. The convention, negotiated pursuant to a mandate from the OAS Foreign Ministers shortly after the terrorist attacks of

11 September 2001 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

in the

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, reflects the

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' hemispheric-wide commitment to enhancing cooperation in the fight against

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

. In brief, the convention: *Improves regional cooperation in the fight against terrorism, thereby enhancing hemispheric security. *Commits parties to endeavor to sign and ratify the relevant U.N. anti-terrorism instruments (a major element in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1373). *Commits parties to use the recommendations of the

Financial Action Task Force The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), also known by its French name, Groupe d'action financière (GAFI), is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering and to ma ...

(FATF) and other specialized entities as guidelines in taking measures to prevent, combat and eradicate the financing of terrorism. *Denies safe haven to suspected terrorists, both as refugees and asylum-seekers, and denies use of the political offense exception by suspected terrorists to prevent extradition or rendering of mutual legal assistance. *Extends the terrorist acts covered under the relevant U.N. anti-terrorism instruments to

financial crimes Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and discipline of money, currency, assets and liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business Administration wich study the planning, organizing, leading, and controlling of an ...

(e.g., money laundering) and other provisions of the U.N.'s Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. The OAS Convention thus elaborates for regional use a variety of legal tools that have proven effective against

transnational organized crime Transnational organized crime (TOC) is organized crime coordinated transnational crime, across national borders, involving groups or markets of individuals working in more than one country to plan and execute illegal business ventures. To ach ...

in recent years. *Enhances cooperation in a number of areas, including: exchanges of information on border control measures and law enforcement actions; appointment of a single national point of contact as liaison with other states and relevant bodies; exchanges of experience and training; technical assistance; and mutual legal assistance. *Demonstrates regional solidarity in fight against terrorism. *Facilitates the implementation of a number of the mandates in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1373 and expands the signatory states' ability to act upon some of the recommendations set forth in the Resolution. {{As of, 2007, alt=To date, the convention has been signed by 33 of the 34 active member states and ratified by 24. Convention oversight is the task of the OAS's Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism.

Sources

:The original version of this article was in part adapted fro
Inter-American Convention Against Terrorism
a

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publication of the

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External links

Text of the Inter-American Convention Against Terrorism
Terrorism treaties Organization of American States treaties Treaties concluded in 2002 Treaties entered into force in 2003 Treaties of Antigua and Barbuda Treaties of Argentina Treaties of Brazil Treaties of Canada Treaties of Chile Treaties of Colombia Treaties of Costa Rica Treaties of Dominica Treaties of the Dominican Republic Treaties of Ecuador Treaties of El Salvador Treaties of Grenada Treaties of Guatemala Treaties of Guyana Treaties of Honduras Treaties of Mexico Treaties of Nicaragua Treaties of Panama Treaties of Paraguay Treaties of Peru Treaties of Trinidad and Tobago Treaties of the United States Treaties of Uruguay Treaties of Venezuela 2002 in Barbados