Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, First of all, I would like to thank the government of the Kyrgyz Republic for the idea and initiative to hold this conference and then for hosting it. When this idea was first suggested, much earlier in the year, terrorism was a subject of specific concern for Central Asia, but less of an issue for other OSCE States. Now the situation is very different. The problems that Central Asia has faced for some time have become the concern of all states. Due to certain tragic events, I believe we now have a tremendous opportunity to engage in a dialogue on many levels to address the concerns of terrorism, as well as other related topics. This is an opportunity which did not exist before. The title of my speech is "Can we protect human rights while combating terrorism?" Most of you expect the Director of the OSCE's main Human Rights Institution to automatically give an affirmative answer. I will not disappoint you and say "Yes", but I will also say that making this affirmative answer stand will be a challenge for all of us. We all understand that combating terrorism requires special measures. Central Asian states, some of whom have unfortunately been targets of terrorism, have known this better than others. Please allow me to assure you that you have our sympathy, you have our support. Terrorism is a threat to peace, stability, freedom, and democracy and we should fight to eradicate this evil and protect our citizens from terrorist acts in all states. Terrorism cannot be tolerated and we must fight it. The terrorist acts of 11 September were a crime against humanity. The United Nations Security Council resolution 1373 of 28 September 2001 requires all states to take a wide range of legislative, procedural, economic, and other measures on preventing, prohibiting and criminalizing terrorist acts. Yet we also need to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. While states have a legitimate right for self-defence and for defence of their citizens, we cannot condone terrorism by the use of the very measures that terrorists themselves resort to: striking fear at innocent citizens, persecuting those who hold different religious beliefs or have a different ethnicity or skin colour, denying the right to express freely different views or to associate with those who have different opinions. The balance between legitimate methods to combat terrorism and protecting human rights is delicate. Even developed democratic states have difficulty with this. Yet the one important feature is to maintain a democratic process during these tough times and subject extraordinary measures to periodic reviews. In a joint statement that the UN High Commisioner of Human Rights Mary Robinson, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Walter Schwimmer, and I issued on 29 November of this year, the three major international human rights bodies outlined our views on how to ensure fair balance between legitimate national security concerns and fundamental freedoms. I encourage you to take a close look at that statement. Checks and balances provided by a separation of powers in a democratic political system are the best way to ensure that this delicate balance is maintained. Parliaments, in line with their democratic role, have held hearings on various emergency measures introduced by executive branches in a number of countries. At least in one recent case an anti-terrorism law was not passed by an upper chamber of a Parliament of an OSCE participating State due to a concern that this law would give the government excessive powers and would open doors for violations of human rights. Even in cases when governments feel that they need to derogate from international law there are accepted international procedures to do that and for special circumstances defined in international law. Certain rights such as the right to life, freedom of thought, consciences and religion, freedom from torture may not be derogated from under any circumstance. Likewise, we recognize the need for efficient and quick response to terrorist threats by law enforcement agencies. Nevertheless, the powers given to the law enforcement bodies should be a subject to judicial oversight. Root causes of terrorism, reasons why people join terrorist and extremist organizations need to be addressed. Legitimate, non-violent dissent should have its place in any society even during the toughest times. People should be free to practice their religion or to associate with their co-ethnics. Anti-terrorism measures targeting specific ethnic or religious groups would not only be contrary to international law. They would also risk driving these groups into the hands of extremists who would be able to prey on grievances of those who feel that they are victims of intolerance and persecution. In the Decision No. 1 of the recent Bucharest Ministerial Meeting, the participating States committed themselves to "firmly reject identification of terrorism with any nationality or religion and reconfirm the norms, principles and values of the OSCE." And we need to live up to these commitments. In particular, we should pay close attention to the issue of religious tolerance and encourage an active role of religious communities in combating terrorism. It is the hope of all of us that the current military operation in Afghanistan will lead to a reduction of the threat of terrorism and extremism. There is also a good chance that drug trafficking from Afghanistan may decrease. Given this favorable turn of events, the States of Central Asia have an opportunity to reassess the situation and to use the spotlight that has been cast on the region by the recent developments. This is an excellent moment to begin taking comprehensive action to combat terrorism that would combine law enforcement measures with strategies to include all segments of societies into public lives, to intensify inter-faith dialogue, and to promote civil society, the role of which will be discussed in the next session of this conference. This is crucial for the creation of a safety valve for those who otherwise would be driven to extremism. I am very encouraged by the commitment of Central Asian States to the OSCE values. For example, at the recent OSCE Ministerial Council in Bucharest, Mr. Imanaliev, the Foreign Minister of our host state, stated that the most pressing task for his country is "the consolidation and further development of democratic institutions, consolidation of the supremacy of law, and maintenance of respect for human rights and freedoms." The ODIHR stands ready to play its part to assist the States of Central Asia with meeting these goals. For example, according to paragraph 18 of the Bucharest Plan of Action for Combating Terrorism, the ODIHR "will, on request by interested participating States and where appropriate, offer technical assistance/advice on the implementation of international anti-terrorism conventions and protocols…" We have already had some participating States approach us about possibility of such technical assistance and we encourage you to take advantage of the ODIHR's expertise. Finally, protection of human rights while combating terrorism is also a challenge to the international assistance community. Assistance should not be limited to only lectures on international standards or on obligations to combat terrorism. Similarly, it should not be limited to military hardware. Assistance should be balanced. Assistance with human rights training and development of democratic institutions should go hand-in-hand with other types of assistance. The two are not mutually exclusive. To give you an example, border services should be equipped with technology to identify those who carry false documents or are wanted for crimes in other countries. But they should also be trained in human rights to make sure that legitimate travelers are treated well and that while borders are guarded properly, they also remain open for economic and human contacts as well as for trade. Today and tomorrow we are discussing comprehensive efforts to counter terrorism, and we should continue in the comprehensive, synergetic manner after the conference is concluded. The ODIHR is looking forward to co-operation with relevant actors in implementing the comprehensive approach. We hope that today's gathering is just a first step and we are looking forward to working with Central Asian States and our international partners in the future. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.