SPECIAL CONFERENCE
AGENDA: Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by Terrorist Acts
AGENDA: Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by Terrorist Acts
“Missiles may kill terrorists, but good
governance kills terrorism.”
305 Introduction Terrorism continues to
threaten the entire international community, as barely a week passes without
news reports of terrorist acts committed in different parts of the globe.306 It
endangers innocent civilians, and no one is secure from this risk.307 Since
1934, terrorism has been discussed internationally, when the League of Nations
wrote a document on terrorism; it was adopted in 1937, but was never
ratified.308 As of 2015 the United Nations (UN) has not adopted a universal
definition of terrorism, which limits the ability for Member States and the
international community in creating a world free from terrorism.309 However,
different definitions may be found in the documents of the Security Council
(SC) and other UN bodies.310
SC resolution 1566 (2004) condemns: "criminal acts, including against
civilians, committed with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury,
or taking of hostages, with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the
general public or in a group of persons or particular persons, intimidate a
population or compel a government or an international organization to do or to
abstain from doing any act, which constitute offences within the scope of and
as defined in the international conventions and protocols relating to
terrorism, are under no circumstances justifiable by considerations of a
political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other
similar nature."
Since 2001, the SC has taken greater
measures to address the issue of terrorism and has encouraged Member States to
suppress the methods and means to commit terrorist acts, criminalize terrorist
activities, and to cooperate with one another in investigation process,
detection and prosecution of terrorists.312 More recently, the issues of foreign
terrorist fighters and youth extremism have become particularly challenging for
the international community.313 The number of recruited fighters who have
joined the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Al-Qaida, and other
groups has increased to over 25,000 individuals this year, and terrorist groups
are actively recruiting young, disenfranchised people into their ranks via
internet and particularly social media portals making the ability to inhibit
these challenges difficult.314
International and Regional Framework Since 1963, the international
community has created 18 universal legal instruments on counter-terrorism,
including 14 initial documents and 4 substantive amendments. 315 These
addressed the problem of terrorism and specific types of terroristic activities
and their targets, such as civil aviation, maritime navigation, hostages,
nuclear materials, platforms located on the continental shelf, and financing of
terrorism.316 Since the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 in New York, at least
10 of 16 conventions have been ratified or acceded to by two-thirds of Member
States.317 The most recent legal instruments relating to anti-terrorism were
adopted in 2010.318 These are: the Convention on the Suppression of Unlawful
Acts Relating to International Civil Aviation (2010), which has not yet come
into force and the Protocol
Supplementary to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of
Aircraft (2010).319 Both the Convention and the Protocol criminalize the usage
of civil aviation as means to conduct terroristic attacks including placing an
explosive device on an aircraft and authorizing the aircraft commander to take
reasonable measures against an individual that poses a threat to the safety of
the aircraft.
Since 2000, within the framework of the Ad
Hoc Committee established pursuant to the General Assembly (GA) resolution on
“measures to eliminate international terrorism,” Member States have worked
towards a convention on international terrorism.321 This would supplement the existing
framework and adhere to the guiding principles of international anti-terrorism
conventions.322 The draft includes the criminalization of terrorist acts,
prosecution or extradition for perpetrators, exclusion of the exceptions to
such criminalization on various grounds from legislation, and calls on Member
States to cooperate, exchange information, assist in the processes of
investigation, and take all necessary measures to prevent terroristic acts.323
However, the convention has been delayed by the inability of Member States to
agree upon a common definition of terrorism.324 While the proposed definition
itself is not seen as controversial by Member States, the debate falters on two
arguments: that this definition should include the use of armed forces against
civilians by the state and that people under foreign occupation have a right to
armed struggle against the oppressors, which means that any definition can not
contradict this right.325
United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy
In December 2004, the High-level Panel on
Threats, Challenges and Change first stated the need for a global
counter-terrorism strategy to target the factors that contribute to the
outspread of international terrorism, reinforce the rule of law, and promote
human rights.326 In his report on 27 April 2006, UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan presented five pillars for the future common strategy, which includes
deterring groups from resorting to terrorism, preventing terrorist groups from
acquiring means to carry out terroristic attacks, have states refrain from
supporting terrorist groups, strengthening the capacity of Member States to
combat counter-terrorism, and defending human rights in relation to terrorism
and counter-terrorism activities.327 On 8 September 2006 the Global
Counter-Terrorism Strategy was adopted.328 This global instrument provides a
framework for both the UN system and Member States to strengthen capacity to
prevent and combat terrorism, ensuring the respect to human rights and rule of
law.329 It also reiterates that terrorism may be defeated only if the UN
focuses on prevention rather than reaction to terrorist activities.330
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced his intention to present a
comprehensive plan of action to prevent violent extremism to the GA in 2016.331
This plan will build upon the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy to establish a
system-wide approach for addressing the root causes of terrorism, as well as
recommending individual and collective action to counter the spread of extremism.
Security Council
The SC did not focus on the issue of
terrorism until the adoption of resolution 1373 (2001), which called upon
Member States to become parties to these conventions and established the
Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) as a subsidiary body of the SC.333 Resolution
1373 criminalized financing of terrorism, called upon Member States to freeze
all assets related to those involved in terrorist activities, to cease any
sources of financial support for terrorists, cooperate with other states in
fighting terrorism, and demanded that Member States implement specific measures
aimed at strengthening their capacity to prevent terrorist activities.334
In September 2005, resolution 1624 (2005)
on incitement to commit acts of terrorism was adopted by the SC.335 The
resolution required Member States to include the prohibition of incitement in
their legislation and ensure the prosecution of those, "with respect to
whom there is credible and relevant information giving serious reasons for considering
that they have been guilty of such conduct."336 Finally, the most recent
resolution on the agenda item of the “threat to international peace and
security caused by terrorist acts” was adopted by the SC on 12 February
2015.337 In resolution 2199 (2015) the SC encouraged a number of financial
measures to counter terrorism, such as assets freezing, closure of any sources
of financing for terrorist organizations, condemned any trade relations with
Al-Qaida associated groups and urged Member States take all necessary measures
to prevent terrorists in Iraq and Syria from benefiting from oil, hostages, and
antiques trade.338 To note, according to the provisions of this resolution,
Member States have to report to Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee within 120 days of
the implementation of the resolution.339
Regional
and sub-regional instruments
Many
legal frameworks for combating terrorism have been adopted by regional
organizations.340 These documents include the organizations’ own definitions of
terrorism, measures to prevent and combat terrorist crimes, legal basis of the
issue, including the extradition of the criminals, and the framework for
cooperation among Member States, such as information exchange.341 The
Organization of American States was the first to adopt its regional Convention
To Prevent And Punish The Acts Of Terrorism Taking The Form Of Crimes Against
Persons And Related Extortion That Are Of International Significance (1971).342
It was followed by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism (1987), European Convention on
the Suppression of Terrorism (1977) and Arab Convention on the Suppression of
Terrorism (1998).343 In 1999, the Convention of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference on Combating International Terrorism (1999), Organisation of the
African Unity Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism (1999),
and Treaty on Cooperation among the States Members of the Commonwealth of
Independent States in Combating Terrorism (1999) were all adopted.344
Role of the
International System
In
1996, the UN General Assembly created the Ad Hoc Committee on Terrorism, which
works with the GA Sixth Committee on the international legal aspects of
strengthening the efforts of Member States in countering terrorism.345 The body
conducts biannual reviews of Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, the most recent
of which was introduced in June 2014.346 The UN Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) and the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) provide
technical assistance to the Member States.347 UNODC helps Member States with
implementing legal frameworks on terrorism and terrorist financing, while CTITF
implements the UN’s counter-terrorism efforts and provides support to all
Member States.348 In October 1999 through resolution 1267 (1999) the SC
established the Sanctions Committee and introduced the sanctions regime for
individuals and entities associated with Al-Qaida and the Taliban.349 These
sanctions included assets freeze, arm embargo and travel ban.350 In 201l, with
resolutions 1988 (2011) and 1989 (2011), the SC separated Al-Qaeda and the
Taliban sanctions list.351 After establishing the CTC, in 2004 the SC
established the CTC Executive Directorate to facilitate technical assistance to
Member States and monitor the implementation of Resolution 1373.352 Also in
2004, the SC established the 1540 Committee to monitor the implementation of
resolution 1540.353
The subject of human rights in the context
of terrorism and counter-terrorism has been an issue since the establishment of
the CTC in 2001 and from then has paid more attention to its human rights
policy.354 Specifically, the Executive Directorate was mandated to liaise with
the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other human rights
organizations in the context of counter-terrorism.355 In 2005, Member States
affirmed their commitment to protect human rights in the process of the fight
against international terrorism through the establishment of the Special
Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental
freedoms while countering terrorism.356 Among the tasks of the Special
Rapporteur are identifying and exchanging best practices in countering
terrorism with respect to human rights, maintaining dialogue with the
governments on the possible areas of cooperation, and making specific
recommendations on promotion and protection of human rights while countering
terrorism.357 Through resolution 1566, the SC established a Working Group to
recommend possible measures against individuals and groups involved in
terrorist activities as well to discuss the creation of fund to assist the
victims of terrorism.358 On 28 July 2015, the SC held its most recent debate on
threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts and issued
a presidential statement in which it expressed its condemnation of all
terroristic attacks and violations of international law by Boko Haram in West
Africa and underlined the importance of sustained national and regional efforts
to assist the conflict-affected population and provide it with all possible
support.359
Counter-Terrorism
Implementation Task Force
The CTITF was created by the
Secretary-General in 2005 and approved by the GA through the Global Counter-
Terrorism Strategy.360 In June 2013, the CTITF held a high-level “International
Counter-Terrorism Focal Points Conference on Addressing Conditions Conducive to
the Spread of Terrorism and Promoting Regional Cooperation,” which gathered
experts and official representatives from more than 100 Member States and
regional and international organizations.361 The participants of the Conference
identified the key challenges, priorities and ways to successfully implement
Pillar I of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy – addressing conditions
conductive to the spread of terrorism - at the global, regional, and local
levels.362 Participants expressed their support for socioeconomic development,
conflict prevention and peaceful resolution, supporting victims of terrorism,
and elaborating counter-radicalization programs.363 Attendees further reiterated
the importance of regional and international cooperation among the Member
States, and underlined that respect for human rights and liberties and
countering extremism may not be considered mutually exclusive.364
Role of the Regional Organizations
In
2004 the African Union (AU) established the African Centre for the Study and
Research on Terrorism (ACSRT) with the aim to accumulate information and
analyses on terrorism, provide cooperation between AU Member States and expand
the Counter-Terrorism capacity building programs for the region.365 The
Director of ACSRT holds the position of AU Special Representative for
Counter-Terrorism Cooperation.366 The position was established in 2010 to
provide support to the AU in assessing the situation within Member States and
identifying major steps to counter terrorism.367 Similarly, Counter-terrorism
initiatives of the Organization of American States are mostly provided through
the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE), created in 1999.368
With the help of CICTE American states have enhanced their cooperation in
financial control against money laundering and financing of terrorism, and
improved the quality of identification and travel documents control.369 The
Council of Europe has also organized many international conferences related to
terrorism on topics such as: preventing terrorist acts, bringing terrorists to
justice, and protecting victims.370 Additionally, the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe works actively on suppressing money-laundering and
ensuring border security, while also assisting participating countries to
elaborate and implement counter-terrorism measures that also follow human
rights standards.371
Foreign Terrorist Fighters
The threat to international peace and
security caused by the foreign terrorist fighters (FTF) has become one of the
most crucial issues to be addressed by the international community.372 Since
the beginning of the conflict in Syria, over 25,000 FTF from more than 80
Member States have joined ISIL and the Al-Nusra Front.373 For the first time,
the SC addressed this issue by unanimously adopting resolution 2178 on 24
September 2014, defining FTF as “individuals who travel abroad to a State
rather than their States of residence or nationality to engage in, undertake,
plan, prepare, carry out or otherwise support terrorist activity or to provide
or receive training to do so.” The SC also condemned violent extremism and
reiterated the necessity to prevent travel and support for FTF.374 The
resolution further demands that Member States amend their legislation to enable
the prosecution of those travelling or attempting to travel for terrorism
purposes.375 On 23 September 2014 the Global Counterterrorism Forum adopted the
“Hague-Marrakech Memorandum on Good Practices for a More Effective Response to
the FTF Phenomenon.”376 The document included good practices in four parts of
the FTF issue: radicalization to violent extremism, recruitment and
facilitation, travel and fighting, as well as return and reintegration.377 The
memorandum was aimed at helping the governments elaborate their policies in
regard to counter-terrorism.
On 29 May 2015 the SC held a meeting, to
which for the first time the Ministers of the Interior were specifically
invited, to discuss the first report of the CTC on the implementation of the SC
resolution 2178 by states affected by the FTF problem.379 The first report
underlined the necessity to enhance the information exchange among the states,
which drew attention to the significant risks posed by returning terrorist
fighters and discussed the issue of human rights in the context of countering
terrorism.380 In a Presidential Statement, adopted at this meeting, the SC stressed
the need for Member States to establish laws criminalizing recruitment,
transportation and provision of FTF with weapons and financing; strengthen
border management; and more effectively address radicalization particularly
among youth.381 The Statement also urged the better cooperation, exchange of
information, and use of terrorist database with the International Criminal
Police Organization (INTERPOL).382 The Secretary-General of INTERPOL, Mr.
Jurgen Stock stressed the necessity of making more information available to
personnel working directly at the border, particularly to the border
screeners.383
In resolution 2178, the SC also urged
Member States to create new or strengthen the existing legal basis to address
the flow of FTFs into Syria and Iraq.384 Member States have so far implemented
their multi-dimensional responses to the threat posed by FTFs, thus already
showing the potential of Resolution 2178 to bring major impact towards
resolving this issue.385 Nevertheless, according to the report released by the
CTC, the amount of FTFs continues to grow rapidly.386 In his statement Mr.
Jean-Paul Laborde, Assistant Secretary-General of CTC Executive Directorate
said that despite all the measures taken by Member States it is still easy for
any person wishing to join terrorist groups to contact a recruiter
unanimously.387 He underlined the importance of advance passenger aviation
system to enhance border and aviation security and once again reiterated the
importance terrorist financing issue.
Youth and Extremism
The interest of extremist groups in youth
has increased in the past decade, with the majority of FTFs being young males
aged 15-25.389 On 23 April 2015, the SC held its first open debate on the role
of youth in countering violent extremism and promoting peace.390 Factors
leading to the radicalization of youth include unemployment, personal trauma,
and unmet expectations of their future.391 This threat may be mitigated by push
factors for youth radicalization such as strengthening public-private cooperation,
educating youth, and supporting youth initiatives and organizations.392 During
the briefing the Secretary-General claimed “the role of youth lies at the heart
of international peace and security.”393 During the debate representatives of
Member States also stressed attention on the necessity to target the issue of
incitement to violent extremism and the use of the Internet by terrorist groups
to recruit youth.394 Youth are recruited into joining such causes through
different means, but it is most heavily done via the Internet.
Radicalized youth have been shown to be a
major threat to international peace, stability, and development as they will
abandon their education and derail the community’s development endeavors.396 In
June 2015 a conference entitled “Youth and the Internet: Fighting
Radicalization and Extremism” was held at the UN Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris.397 The role of the
Internet in youth radicalization, the experiences of Member States, and
research on the issue were all discussed in an attempt to understand the
issue.398 UNESCO specifically presented its proposal for multidimensional pilot
projects aimed at empowering youth and addressing the spread of extremism among
youth online.399 Not only does this threaten international security, but it is
also detrimental to the sustainability of development and the future of the
world’s next generation.
Case Study: Capacity-Building in the Horn of Africa Region
The
Horn of Africa remains one of the most complex and problematic regions in the
world. Countries within the region suffer from political instability, ongoing
conflicts and humanitarian crises.401 Moreover, since the attacks of 11
September 2001, the region has been considered a major source of terrorism.402
In order to address these issues, the Horn of Africa Region Capacity Building
working group was established within the Global Counterterrorism Forum.403 The
working group identifies the current counter-terrorism challenges, capacity
gaps of the state and seeks for measures to address these gaps, involving
financial resource, expertise, and mobilizing political will.404 For the Horn
of Africa, the working group identified 5 major capacity-building directions,
which are: “law enforcement, criminal justice and rule of law, border
management, countering violent extremism [CVE], and countering terrorist
financing.”405 During their most recent plenary session on 11-14 March 2014 the
Working Group noted that countering violent extremism is strongly
interconnected with development, and especially underlined the importance of
stability in Somalia for security in the region.406 They also discussed the
necessity to increase the amount of trainings for the growing number of law
enforcement officers, judges, and prosecutors in frames of Anti-Money
Laundering/ Countering the Financing of Terrorism.407 At the latest plenary
meeting of the Working Group, INTERPOL shared its plans to expand the use of
its databases through cooperation with the International Organization for
Migration and combining their databases on one platform, with a pilot program
in Tanzania and Djibouti.
Conclusion
International
terrorism and terrorist groups, such as ISIL, Al-Qaida, and their affiliates,
pose a serious threat to international peace and security. The crimes committed
by these groups continue to cause enormous human suffering around the globe. In
order to combat terrorism and restore peace and security in the affected
regions, Member States must address the issue considering all existing
challenges, including the incitement of terrorism, recruitment of foreign
terrorist fighters, radicalization of youth, and the financing of terrorist
groups activities through trade. In 2001, Secretary-General Kofi Annan stressed
the necessity for the UN to change a “culture of reaction to a culture of
prevention” as the only way to counter terrorism.409In the UN system, the SC
plays the most important role in facilitating this change, but it also depends
on the endeavors and resolve of all Member States on national, regional,
sub-regional, and international levels, as well as their ability to reach
consensus to achieve this.
Further Research
While the issues pertaining to terrorism
and counter-terrorism are complex, there are a few questions which delegates
should consider as they continue their research. How can the international
community ensure the respect of human rights while countering terrorism? How
can the process of creating a universal terrorism definition be facilitated?
Acting under its mandate, how can the SC address the issue of youth
radicalization and its root causes, especially online recruitment? What else
can Member States do to address the issue of terrorist groups financing? How can
the Member States control the recruitment of foreign terrorist fighters from
their states through direct contact with recruiters as well as via social
media? How can capacity be increased among Member States for combatting
terrorism?
