The United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan Thursday urged all UN member states to agree on a global strategy to outlaw terrorism "in all its forms."
Speaking in Madrid on the eve of commemorations of the Madrid train bombings a year ago, Annan said: "It should be clearly stated, by all possible moral and political authorities, that terrorism is unacceptable under any circumstances and in any culture."
A comprehensive strategy against terrorism should include five "Ds": dissuading disaffected groups from choosing terrorism; denying terrorists the means to attack; deterring states from supporting terrorists; developing state capacity to prevent terrorism; defending human rights in the struggle against terrorism.
"We live in one world and the issue of terrorism affects us all," Annan told the ongoing Madrid terrorism conference.
"When the people of Madrid are hit or people in New York are hit, it has an effect on all of us."
On the same day, King Juan Carlos of Spain called on all nations to exert a firm effort against terrorism, which he termed as an evil that respects no borders and reaches all societies when globalization is a reality.
Free societies "cannot give up" against terrorism, which causes death and suffering, said the king in a speech during the closing of the International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism and Security, effected at Madrid.
He called on all nations to remain united, with determination and cooperation to combat terrorism head on.
The Madrid train bombings on March 11, 2004 -- one of the worst terror attacks ever in Europe -- killed 191 people and injured more than 1,500.
(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2005)
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