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Excellencies, Mr. Secretary-General,
Distinguished participants,
Ladies and gentlemen,

First of all, let me warmly thank the Secretary-General for his support and for his opening statement.

We are here in New York two years after the tragic events that changed the world. But it did not start here and it did not stop here. We have later experienced atrocities in Bali, Casablanca and Riyadh - and most recently in Baghdad where the terrorist attacked the world’s peace organisation itself: The United Nations.

The names of these - and other cities - have been charged with a new meaning: victims of terrorism. So has the United Nations.

We remember the victims from all these onslaughts. And here in New York, where 3000 victims from 90 nations perished. We pay our respect and tribute to their families and to the fine people of this city. The Fire Department of New York and the New York Police Department lost hundreds of brave men and women. Their officers gave their lives so others could live.

We owe it to the victims to make every effort to prevent such atrocities. More than 40 years ago president John F. Kennedy let the world know that the US would “pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty”. Although ours is a new world, with new threats and challenges, we should take his words to our heart. That means fighting terrorism for humanity.

There is no excuse for terrorism. No goal can justify it.

It defies comprehension that some people choose to take completely innocent lives, the lives of people they do not know – even children - for some cause.

• How can people justify random killings and suicide bombings?
• Why do people invoke the name of God when doing devilish deeds?
• How do we eliminate the breedinggrounds of hate?

All of us here are part of the global coalition working relentlessly to track down terrorist groups. We do so by military and police efforts as well as by financial and judicial means. These efforts must continue vigorously. But we must do more.

We have called this conference to shed new light on the roots of terror, and thereby to broaden and enhance our common campaign against this evil. To renew our commitments. To hear the victims of terrorism testify of their ordeals.

Our ambition is to help women and men around the world to build lives of purpose, opportunity and dignity. To stake out a path towards a safer future.

There are no easy solutions to these challenges. The International Expert Meeting on terrorism that was held in Oslo in June this year, made that abundantly clear. But I am convinced that the following issues are among those that have to be addressed.

Firstly, history has shown us that terrorists take advantage of weak and failed states, from where they can operate and plan new horrendous attacks. Afghanistan before 9/11 is a case in point.

Moreover, failed states and repressive regimes often breed hate, fuel extremism and support terror. Economic and social development is necessary to prevent states from failing and give to those in need hope for a better future.

But there seems only to be a marginal connection – if any - between poverty and terrorism. Terrorism is not particularly prevalent among the poorest. On the contrary, terrorists have often proven to come from middle-class or wealthy families.

The rule of law and respect for human rights are the first and the best way to counter terrorism. We must provide outlets for human ambitions, for hopes and beliefs, but also for anger and grief.

In the city of New York this needs no further explanation. But millions of people around the world are denied these basic rights and values.

Secondly, extremist ideologies are also a cause of terrorism. As an ordained Lutheran minister, I am especially concerned about the abuse of religion in the making of a terrorist. Love, respect, brotherhood and tolerance are central to all the great religions. Terrorism is totally alien to them all.

People often express their desires, aims and anger in religious terms. Extremists misuse such language to justify atrocities. This is a perverted use of our religions.

Religious leaders have too often failed to raise their voices against intolerance and extremism, and have not given their followers the guidance they needed.

Why do so many seem so ambivalent?

As human beings we are guided by our hearts and minds. Most rules of behaviour are expressed in words, which speak more to the mind than to the heart. The anti-terror campaign should win the battle of hearts, as well as minds.

It has been said that: “terrorists hate us more than they love life.” The challenge is to make the potential terrorist chose life, not death.

This battle will have to be waged on the grass-roots level, in the congregations and places of worship and meditation. It will have to be fought by local religious leaders and their superiors. To succeed, we must work together, through inter-religious dialogue. And we must reinvigorate these efforts.

In short, our goal must be to achieve universal respect for the fundamental value of all human beings.

Thirdly, countless children are today being raised in an atmosphere of hatred and intolerance. Of lack of human rights.

Education can and should be our primary tool to achieve the opposite. It should promote tolerance and mutual respect. Education should be part of our antiterrorist campaign.

Parents have a special responsibility. They are their children’s first teachers, and must teach them not to hate or to take pride in collective hate. The same applies to school curricula and religious teachings. There are efforts to eradicate hate-inciting statements from schoolbooks and curricula, as a part of wider confidence-building measures. UNESCO is doing useful work in this area.

We need to devote more attention to the role of teaching material and religious teachings in shaping children’s attitudes towards terror and violence in their early, formative years.

Excellencies,
Mr. Secretary General,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Fighting terrorism is an immense task - for individuals, governments, as well as the world community.

Much has been achieved, but more remains to be done. The victims of terror as well as future generations deserve nothing less than our total commitment in fighting terrorism.

• Children must be taught tolerance and not hate.

• Religious leaders must be guided by compassion and respect.
• Governments must satisfy the needs and rights of their citizens.

By shedding new light on the roots of terror, we will help developing more effective measures in fighting terrorism. A broad and enhanced strategy requires the involvement of the United Nations, political and religious leaders, the private sector and civil society. Together we shall prevail in the battle against terrorism.

Thank you for your attention.