Member Countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, hereinafter referred to as “the Parties”;
RECALLING the Charter of the United Nations and relevant principles of international law, the relevant international conventions and protocols relating to counter terrorism and relevant resolutions of the United Nations on measures aimed at countering international terrorism, and reaffirming our commitment to protect human rights, fair treatment, the rule of law, and due process as well as the principles enshrined in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia done at Bali on 24 February 1976;
REAFFIRMING that terrorism cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilisation or ethnic group;
RECALLING also the ASEAN Declaration on Joint Action to Counter Terrorism and the Declaration on Terrorism adopted at the ASEAN Summits in 2001 and 2002 respectively;
REAFFIRMING our commitment to the Vientiane Action Programme done at Vientiane on 29 November 2004, particularly its thrust on “shaping and sharing of norms” and the need, among others, to work towards the conclusion of an ASEAN Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement, and an ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism, and the establishment of an ASEAN Extradition Treaty as envisaged by the 1976 Declaration of ASEAN Concord;
DEEPLY CONCERNED over the grave danger posed by terrorism to innocent lives, infrastructure and the environment, regional and international peace and stability as well as to economic development;
REALISING the importance of identifying and effectively addressing the root causes of terrorism in the formulation of any counter terrorism measures;
REITERATING that terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, committed wherever, whenever, and by whomsoever, is a profound threat to international peace and security and a direct challenge to the attainment of peace, progress and prosperity for ASEAN and the realisation of ASEAN Vision 2020;
REAFFIRMING our strong commitment to enhance cooperation in countering terrorism which covers the prevention and suppression of all forms of terrorist acts;
REITERATING the need to improve regional cooperation on counter terrorism and undertake effective measures through deepening cooperation among ASEAN law enforcement agencies and relevant authorities in countering terrorism;
ENCOURAGING the Parties to become parties as soon as possible to the relevant international conventions and protocols relating to counter terrorism;
Have agreed as follows:
Article I
Objective
This Convention shall provide for the framework for regional cooperation to counter, prevent and suppress terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and to deepen cooperation among law enforcement agencies and relevant authorities of the Parties in countering terrorism.
Article II
Criminal Acts of Terrorism
1. For the purposes of this Convention, “offence” means any of the offences within the scope of and as defined in any of the treaties listed as follows:
1. Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, signed at The Hague on 16 December 1970;
2. Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation, concluded at Montreal on 23 September 1971;
3. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Internationally Protected Persons, Including Diplomatic Agents, adopted in New York on 14 December 1973;
4. International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages, adopted in New York on 17 December 1979;
5. Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, adopted in Vienna on 26 October 1979;
f. Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of Violence at Airports Serving International Civil Aviation, supplementary to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of
Civil Aviation, done at Montreal on 24 February 1988;
6. Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, done at Rome on 10 March 1988;
7. Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf, done at Rome on 10 March 1988;
8. International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, adopted in New York on 15 December 1997;
9. International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, adopted in New York on 9 December 1999;
10. International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, adopted in New York on 13 April 2005;
11. Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, done at Vienna on 8 July 2005;
12. Protocol of 2005 to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, done at London on 14 October 2005; and
13. Protocol of 2005 to the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf, done at London on 14 October 2005.
2. On depositing its instrument of ratification or approval, a Party which is not a Party to a treaty listed in paragraph 1 of this Article may declare that, in the application of this Convention to that Party, that treaty shall be deemed not to be included in paragraph 1 of this Article. This declaration shall cease to have an effect as soon as the treaty enters into force for the Party having made such a declaration, which shall notify the depositary as stated in paragraph 2 of Article XX of this entry into force.
3. When a Party ceases to be a party to a treaty listed in paragraph 1 of this Article, it may make a declaration as provided for in this Article, with respect to that treaty.
Article III
Sovereign Equality, Territorial Integrity and Non-Interference
The Parties shall carry out their obligations under this Convention in a manner consistent with the principles of sovereign equality and territorial integrity of States and that of non-interference in the internal affairs of other Parties.
Article IV
Preservation of Sovereignty
Nothing in this Convention entitles a Party to undertake, in the territory of another Party, the exercise of jurisdiction or performance of functions which are exclusively reserved for the authorities of that other Party by its domestic laws.
Article V
Non-Application
This Convention shall not apply where the offence is committed within a single Party, the alleged offender and the victims are nationals of that Party, the alleged offender is found in the territory of that Party and no other Party has a basis under this Convention to exercise jurisdiction.
Article VI
Areas of Cooperation
1. The areas of cooperation under this Convention may, in conformity with the domestic laws of the respective Parties, include appropriate measures, among others, to:
1. Take the necessary steps to prevent the commission of terrorist acts, including by the provision of early warning to the other Parties through the exchange of information;
2. Prevent those who finance, plan, facilitate, or commit terrorist acts from using their respective territories for those purposes against the other Parties and/or the citizens of the other Parties;
3. Prevent and suppress the financing of terrorist acts;
4. Prevent the movement of terrorists or terrorist groups by effective border control and controls on issuance of identity papers and travel documents, and through measures for preventing counterfeiting, forgery or fraudulent use of identity papers and travel documents;
5. Promote capacity-building including trainings and technical cooperation and the holding of regional meetings;
6. Promote public awareness and participation in efforts to counter terrorism, as well as enhance inter-faith and intra-faith dialogue and dialogue among civilisations;
7. Enhance cross-border cooperation;
