CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF REMJA-V Having concluded its deliberations on the various items on its agenda, the Fifth Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas (REMJA-V), convened under the auspices of the OAS, approved the following conclusions and recommendations for transmission, through the Permanent Council, to the General Assembly of the OAS at its thirty-fourth regular session. I. HEMISPHERIC COOPERATION AGAINST TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME AND AGAINST TERRORISM REMJA-V reaffirms that the damage caused and the threat posed by the different types of transnational organized crime and terrorism, to our citizens and to our democracies and to the economic and social development of our states, make it necessary and urgent to continue to strengthen and enhance mutual legal and judicial cooperation at the hemispheric level, as well as to enact laws, procedures, and new mechanisms, if they have not done so, to enable them to combat these crimes effectively. In this connection, it underscores that the Declaration on Security in the Americas, adopted in Mexico City on October 28, 2003, states that terrorism and transnational organized crime are part of the new threats, concerns, and other diverse challenges affecting the security of the states of the Hemisphere and reaffirms that “the Meetings of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas (REMJA) and other meetings of criminal justice authorities are important and effective fora for promoting and strengthening mutual understanding, confidence, dialogue, and cooperation in developing criminal justice policies and responses to address new threats to security.” Considering that, although the international community has made progress in drawing up regulations to combat these forms of crime, differences persist in the way States criminalize this conduct, which can create obstacles for more effective international cooperation. REMJA-V recognizes that it is advisable that the subject of transnational organized crime continue to be dealt with by the many bodies of the OAS as they have been doing in the framework of their respective competence, such as CICAD, the Consultative Committee of CIFTA, the CIM, the Inter-American Children’s Institute, REMJA, and MESICIC. REMJA-V reaffirms that the measures carried out by the States Parties in combating terrorism shall take place with full respect for the rule of law, human rights, and fundamental freedoms, without undermining the rights and obligations of States and individuals in keeping with International Law, International Law on Human Rights and International law on Refugees. REMJA-V expresses satisfaction that in the period following REMJA-IV, OAS Member States have taken significant steps to strengthen hemispheric implementation of United Nations counter-terrorism and transnational organized crime instruments in effectively addressing these crimes. In particular, during the interval between REMJA-IV and REMJA-V, numerous OAS Member States became Party to the 1999 Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, as well as earlier universal counter-terrorism instruments. Similarly, numerous OAS Member States became Party to the 2000 United Nations Convention Against Transnational