Preamble
Deeply
concerned about the worldwide escalation of
acts of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,
Recalling the
Declaration on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the
United Nations of 24 October 1995,
Recalling also the
Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism, annexed to
General Assembly resolution 49/60 of 9 December 1994, in which,
inter alia, "the
States Members of the
United Nations solemnly
reaffirm their unequivocal
condemnation of all
acts,
methods and practices of
terrorism as
criminal and unjustifiable, wherever and by whomever committed,
including those which jeopardize the
friendly relations among
States and peoples and
threaten the
territorial integrity and
security of
States",
Noting that the
Declaration also
encouraged States "to
review urgently the
scope of the
existing international legal provisions on the
prevention,
repression and
elimination of
terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, with the aim of ensuring that there is a comprehensive
legal framework covering all
aspects of the matter",
Noting that
terrorist attacks by means of
explosives or other
lethal devices have become increasingly widespread,
Being convinced of the
urgent need to enhance
international cooperation between
States in devising and adopting effective and
practical measures for the
prevention of such
acts of terrorism and for the
prosecution and
punishment of their perpetrators,
Considering that the occurrence of such
acts is a matter of
grave concern to the
international community as a whole,
Noting that the
activities of
military forces of
States are
governed by
rules of
international law outside the
framework of this
Convention and that the
exclusion of certain
actions from the coverage of this
Convention does not condone or make
lawful otherwise
unlawful acts, or preclude
prosecution under other
laws,