PLAN OF ACTION ON HEMISPHERIC COOPERATION TO PREVENT,
COMBAT, AND ELIMINATE TERRORISM

(Adopted at the second plenary session, held on April 26, 1996)

The ministers and the heads of delegation of the member states of the Organization of American States (OAS), meeting in Lima, Peru, at the Inter-American Specialized Conference on Terrorism, firmly resolved to achieve the overall objectives set forth in the Declaration of Lima to Prevent, Combat, and Eliminate Terrorism, agree to the following Plan of Action:

The governments

1. Shall endeavor to establish terrorist acts as serious common crimes or felonies under their domestic laws, if they have not yet done so.

2. Shall promote the prompt signing and ratification of and/or accession to international conventions related to terrorism, in accordance with their domestic laws.

3. Shall periodically share updated information on domestic laws and regulations adopted in the area of terrorism and on the signing and ratification of and/or accession to relevant international conventions.

4. Shall provide pertinent legal information and other background data on terrorism to the General Secretariat, which shall keep them organized and up-to-date.

5. Shall promote measures for mutual legal assistance to prevent, combat, and eliminate terrorism.

6. In keeping with relevant domestic and international laws, shall extend their utmost cooperation with respect to criminal proceedings initiated against alleged terrorists, by providing to the state that has exercised jurisdiction any evidence in their possession. If appropriate, they shall facilitate direct communication among the jurisdictional bodies to expedite the presentation of evidence of the crime.

7. As an expression of their firm political will to employ all legal means to prevent, combat, and eliminate terrorism, shall promote strict and timely compliance with applicable extradition treaties or, if appropriate, shall deliver the alleged perpetrators of terrorist acts to their competent authorities for prosecution, in accordance with their domestic laws, if sufficient legal grounds for doing so exist.

8. In keeping with their domestic laws, shall adopt the necessary measures to refuse to make concessions to terrorists who take hostages and to ensure that they are brought to justice.

9. When they deem it appropriate, shall report to each other and take measures to prevent and address any abuses, related to terrorist acts, of the privileges and immunities recognized in the Vienna conventions on diplomatic and on consular relations and in the applicable agreements concluded between states and international organizations and agencies.

10. Shall endeavor, in keeping with their domestic laws, to exchange information concerning terrorist individuals, groups, and activities. In this context, when a state finds that there are sufficient grounds for believing that a terrorist act is being planned, that state shall provide as soon as possible any pertinent information to those states potentially affected in order to prevent the commission of that act.

11. Shall endeavor to promote and enhance bilateral, subregional, and multilateral cooperation in police and intelligence matters to prevent, combat, and eliminate terrorism.

12. Shall extend, when possible, their utmost cooperation and technical assistance for the regular and advanced training of personnel entrusted with counterterrorism activities and techniques.

13. Shall coordinate efforts and examine measures to improve cooperation in the areas of border security, transportation, and travel documents in order to prevent terrorist acts. They shall also promote the modernization of border control and information systems to prevent the passage of persons involved in terrorist acts as well as the transport of equipment, arms, and other materials that could be used to commit such acts.

14. Shall make special efforts to adopt, in their territories and in keeping with their domestic laws, measures to prevent the provision of material or financial support for any kind of terrorist activity.

15. Shall adopt measures to prevent the production of, trafficking in, and use of weapons, munitions, and explosive materials for terrorist activities.

16. Shall adopt measures to prevent the terrorist use of nuclear, chemical, and biological materials.

17. When appropriate, shall share information on the findings of and experience afforded by investigations of terrorist activities.

18. Shall endeavor to assist the victims of terrorist acts and shall cooperate among themselves to that end.

19. Where appropriate and in keeping with their domestic laws, shall furnish to the state of which the victims are nationals, in a complete and timely manner, the information in their possession regarding such victims and the circumstances of the crime.

20. Shall endeavor to provide humanitarian and all other forms of assistance to member states upon request following the commission of terrorist acts in their territories.

21. Shall begin to study, within the framework of the OAS and on the basis of an evaluation of existing international instruments, the need for and advisability of a new inter-American convention on terrorism.

22. Shall hold meetings and consultations to afford one another their utmost assistance and cooperation in preventing, combating, and eliminating terrorist activities in the Hemisphere and, within the framework of the OAS, shall follow up on the progress made in implementing this Plan of Action.

23. Shall recommend to the General Assembly of the Organization of American States that it consider convening a meeting of experts to examine ways to improve the exchange of information among the member states in order to prevent, combat, and eliminate terrorism.

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