International community and the battling against terrorism
Outline of the lecture 1) UN and its role in fighting terrorism; 2) Europe; 3) China; 4) Other regions and countries.
General Assembly Actions to Counter Terrorism In the past years Member States have advanced their counter-terrorism work through the General Assembly on both, the legal and the operational tracks. The Assembly's norm-setting work has been marked by recent successes in adopting conventions aimed at suppressing terrorism financing, bombings and access to nuclear material. Member States work to strengthen coordination on practical actions to counter terrorism culminated in the recent adoption of the first ever Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. The General Assembly has focused on terrorism as an international problem since 1972. In the 1970 s and 1980 s it addressed the problem through resolutions. During this period the General Assembly also adopted two counter-terrorism related conventions: the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons in 1973 and the International Convention against the Taking of Hostages in 1979.
General Assembly Actions to Counter Terrorism It was in December 1994 that the Assembly once again redirected attention to the issue of terrorism through a Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism. A supplement to this Declaration established an Ad Hoc Committee on Terrorism in 1996. Since the adoption of this Declaration the Assembly has been addressing the terrorism issue consistently. In recent years, in the framework of the Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee (on terrorism) as well as the Working Group of the Sixth Committee, considerable progress has been made in the elaboration of international instruments. Since 1997, Member States have completed work on three specific counter-terrorism instruments, covering specific types of terrorist activities: the 1997 International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, the 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.
UN General Assembly Resolutions A 1996 non-binding United Nations Declaration to Supplement the 1994 Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism, annexed to the UN General Assembly Resolution 51/210, described terrorist activities in the following terms: "Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or any other nature that may be invoked to justify them".
Secretary-General’s five-pillar strategy Leading up to the 2005 September Summit, and using the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the Madrid train bombings, Secretary-General Kofi Annan, acting on the recommendations of the High-level Panel, launched his proposals for a comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy in a speech in Madrid. His proposed strategy identified five key elements as basic pillars: dissuading groups from resorting to terrorism; denying terrorists the means to carry out an attack; deterring states from supporting terrorist groups; developing state capacity to prevent terrorism; and defending human rights in the context of terrorism and counter-terrorism. With the proposed elements, the Secretary-General offered a vision, for the UN system and beyond, of a comprehensive and effective approach to terrorism that allowed for preventive, as well as operational, actions and incorporated short-, mid- and long-term measures. It was a framework to help sustain the political will of Member States to maintain the fight against terrorism on the global agenda. At the same time, it was also a practical framework to effectively assist Member States in their national, regional and global counter- terrorism efforts.
2005 September World Summit At the World Summit in September 2005, Member States agreed for the first time on a clear and unqualified condemnation of terrorism "in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes. " World leaders, in the Outcome Document that was adopted at the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly held on 14 -16 September 2005 also agreed to make every effort to reach agreement on a common definition of terrorism and finalize a comprehensive convention on combating international terrorism. During their September Summit, world leaders welcomed the elements of the strategy put forward by the Secretary- General. They also asked the General Assembly to further develop the elements with the aim of promoting comprehensive, coordinated and consistent responses at the national, regional and international level to counter terrorism.
Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy adopted by United Nations General Assembly Using the Secretary-General's recommendations as a basis for discussions, Member States on 11 May 2006 began consultations on formulating a comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy in line with the commitment they made at the 2005 September Summit. Those consultations resulted in a unique consensus agreement to adopt the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy on 8 September 2006. The strategy, in the form of a resolution and an annexed Plan of Action, is a unique global instrument that will enhance national, regional and international efforts to counter terrorism. This is the first time that all Member States have agreed to a common strategic approach to fight terrorism, not only sending a clear message that terrorism is unacceptable in all its forms and manifestation but also resolving to take practical steps individually and collectively to prevent and combat it. Those practical steps include a wide array of measures ranging from strengthening state capacity to counter terrorist threats to better coordinating United Nations system’s counter-terrorism activities.
Plan of Action in accordance with Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy 1) To consistently, unequivocally and strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes, as it constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security. 2) To take urgent action to prevent and combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and, in particular: a) To consider becoming parties without delay to the existing international conventions and protocols against terrorism, and implementing them, and to make every effort to reach an agreement on and conclude a comprehensive convention on international terrorism; b) To implement all General Assembly resolutions on measures to eliminate international terrorism, and relevant General Assembly resolutions on the protection of human rights
c) To implement all Security Council resolutions related to international terrorism and to cooperate fully with the counter-terrorism subsidiary bodies of the Security Council in the fulfilment of their tasks, recognizing that many States continue to require assistance in implementing these resolutions. To recognize that international cooperation and any measures that we undertake to prevent and combat terrorism must comply with our obligations under international law, including the Charter of the United Nations and relevant international conventions and protocols, in particular human rights law, refugee law and international humanitarian law.
Following the third biennial review of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy on 28 -29 June 2012, the General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution renewing its unwavering commitment to strengthening international cooperation to prevent and combat all forms of terrorism. Member States also emphasized the need to promote worldwide solidarity in support of the victims of terrorist acts and highlighted the role that they can play in countering the appeal of terrorism. Currently, Member States are negotiating a draft comprehensive convention on international terrorism. The convention would complement the existing framework of international anti-terrorism instruments.
Security Council Actions to Counter Terrorism Since the early 1990 s, the Security Council has been consistently dealing with terrorism issues. Its actions took the form of sanctions against States considered to have links to certain acts of terrorism: Libya (1992); Sudan (1996) and the Taliban (1999 - expanded to include Al-Qaida in 2000 by resolution 1333). A precursor to the intensification of its counter-terrorism work since 2001 9/11 was the adoption in 1999 of resolution 1269, in which the Council urged countries to work together to prevent and suppress all terrorist acts. Prior to the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States, the Security Council had established a strong counter-terrorism tool: the 1267 Committee -- made up of all Council members -- established in 1999 by resolution 1267 and tasked with monitoring the sanctions against the Taliban (and subsequently Al-Qaida as of 2000). At the Security Council’s request, the Secretary-General appointed an Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team to assist the Committee. The Team comprises experts in counter-terrorism and related legal issues, arms embargoes, travel bans and terrorist financing.
Security Council Actions to Counter Terrorism In the aftermath of 9/11, the Security Council established a Counter-Terrorism Committee also comprising all members of the Security Council, under resolution 1373. The resolution obliges Member States to take a number of measures to prevent terrorist activities and to criminalize various forms of terrorist actions, as well as to take measures that assist and promote cooperation among countries including adherence to international counterterrorism instruments. Member States are also required to report regularly to the Counter Terrorism Committee on the measures they have taken to implement resolution 1373. To assist the Committee's work, in 2004 the Council adopted resolution 1535, which called for the setting up of a Counter Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) to monitor the implementation of resolution 1373 and to facilitate the provision of technical assistance to Member states.
UN Security Council In 2004, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1566 condemned terrorist acts as: "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, "
Security Council Actions to Counter Terrorism Through resolution 1540 (2004), the Council established an additional counterterrorism - related body: the 1540 Committee - with the task of monitoring Member States' compliance with resolution 1540, which calls on States to prevent non-State actors (including terrorist groups) from accessing weapons of mass destruction. The Council in a subsequent resolutions urged Member States to take action against groups and organizations engaged in terrorist activities that were not subject to the 1267 Committee's review. Resolution 1566 (2004) established the 1566 Working Group made up of all Council members to recommend practical measures against such individuals and groups, as well as to explore the possibility of setting up a compensation fund for victims of terrorism.
On the margins of the 2005 World Summit, the Security Council held a high-level meeting and adopted Resolution 1624 (2005) condemning all acts of terrorism irrespective of their motivation, as well as the incitement to such acts. It also called on Member States to prohibit by law terrorist acts and incitement to commit them and to deny safe haven to anyone guilty of such conduct. Through a number of additional resolutions, the Council has in the past years strengthened the work of its counter-terrorism bodies. On the heels of the General Assembly’s second review of the implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (A/RES/60/288) and the related adoption of General Assembly resolution 64/297, the Security Council convened on 27 September 2010 an open debate on the threats to international pace and security by terrorist acts. During the meeting, Council members highlighted the need for a comprehensive, multifaceted approach and for enhanced cooperation within the international community to effectively fight terrorism.
In an ensuing presidential statement (S/PRST/2010/19), the Council expressed concerns that the threat posed by terrorism had become more diffuse, with an increase, in various regions of the world, of terrorist acts, including those motivated by intolerance or extremism, and reaffirmed its determination to combat this threat. Noting that terrorism would not be defeated by military force, law enforcement measures and intelligence operations alone, Council members emphasized the need to address the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism. In particular, they called for sustained international efforts to enhance dialogue and broaden understanding among civilizations, in an effort to prevent the indiscriminate targeting of different religions and cultures, could help counter the forces that fuelled polarization and extremism. In its statement, the Council reaffirmed that all terrorist acts were criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivations, whenever and by whomsoever committed, and that terrorism could not and should not be associated with any religion, nationality or ethnic group.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Terrorism Prevention The Terrorism Prevention Branch of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has a specific role to play in these international efforts. For over a decade, the Terrorism Prevention Branch has been the key United Nations entity providing legal counter-terrorism technical assistance to Member States. As mandated by the United Nations General Assembly, the Branch works to assist Member States, upon request, with the ratification, legislative incorporation and implementation of the universal legal framework against terrorism. Within the United Nations system, UNODC possesses significant comparative advantages for offering a comprehensive response to terrorism. In particular, it combines a range of expertise in the related areas of crime prevention and criminal justice, rule of law, drug control, transnational organized crime, money-laundering, corruption and related international cooperation in criminal matters with operational field-level capacity.
EU fight against terrorism Terrorism is not a new phenomenon in Europe. It poses a threat to its security, to the values of its democratic societies and to the rights and freedoms of European citizens. Between 2009 -2013 there were 1010 failed, foiled or completed attacks carried out in EU member states, in which 38 people died. In addition, several European citizens have been kidnapped or killed by terrorist groups around the world. The phenomenon of fighters from Europe travelling to different locations to fight the jihad, and the security threat they may pose inside the EU when they return, are also likely to persist in the coming years. Since these threats do not recognise borders, they must be confronted at both a national and international level.
Definition of EU The European Union defines terrorism for legal/official purposes in Art. 1 of the Framework Decision on Combating Terrorism (2002). This provides that terrorist offences are certain criminal offences set out in a list consisting largely of serious offences against persons and property that; . . . given their nature or context, may seriously damage a country or an international organisation where committed with the aim of: seriously intimidating a population; or unduly compelling a Government or international organisation to perform or abstain from performing any act; or seriously destabilising or destroying the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country or an international organisation.
EU strategy The European Union member states are committed to jointly fighting terrorism and providing for the best possible protection for its citizens. To this end, in 2005 the Council adopted the EU counter-terrorism strategy. The strategy is focused on four main pillars: prevent, protect, pursue and respond. Across these pillars, the strategy recognises the importance of cooperation with third countries and international institutions.
One of the EU priorities in the field of counter-terrorism is to identify and tackle the factors which contribute to radicalisation and the processes by which individuals are recruited to commit acts of terror. To this end the Council adopted an EU strategy for combating radicalisation and recruitment to terrorism. In light of evolving trends, such as the phenomena of lone actors and foreign fighters or the growing potential of social media for mobilisation and communication, the Council adopted a revision of this strategy in June 2014. In December 2014, justice and home affairs ministers adopted a series of guidelines for the revised EU radicalisation and recruitment strategy. These guidelines set out a series of measures to be implemented by the EU and member states. The second priority of the EU counter-terrorism strategy is the protection of citizens and infrastructure and the reduction of vulnerability to attack. This includes the protection of external borders, the improvement of transport security, the protection of strategic targets and the reduction of the vulnerability of critical infrastructure. In this area, the EU is currently working on legislation regulating the use of passenger name record (PNR) data for law enforcement purposes.
The EU is working to hinder terrorists' capacity to plan and organise, and to bring these terrorists to justice. To achieve these goals, the EU has focused on strengthening national capabilities, improving practical cooperation and information exchange between police and judicial authorities (in particular through Europol and Eurojust), tackling terrorist financing and depriving terrorists of the means by which they mount attacks and communicate. In May 2015, the Council and the European Parliament adopted new rules to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
Engagement with international partners The security of the European Union is closely linked with the developments in other countries, particularly in the neighbouring states, and so the EU counter-terrorism strategy needs to be on a global scale. In the strategic guidelines for justice and home affairs, adopted in June 2014, the European Council called for an effective counter-terrorism policy, which integrates the internal and external aspects. On 12 February 2015, the EU heads of state and government stressed the importance for the EU of engaging more with third countries on security issues and counterterrorism. In the relations between the EU and third countries, the counter-terrorism agenda is present in many ways, through high level political dialogues, the adoption of cooperation clauses and agreements, or specific assistance and capacity building projects with strategic countries. The EU cooperates on counter-terrorism with countries in the Western Balkans, the Sahel, North Africa, the Middle East, the Horn of Africa and North America, as well as in Asia.
Cooperation with the US is a fundamental component of the EU's strategy. In recent years, cooperation agreements have been reached in areas such as the financing of terrorism, transport and borders, mutual legal assistance or extradition. US authorities are working more and more closely with Europol and Eurojust. Another important part of the external dimension of the fight against terrorism involves working closely with other international and regional organisations to build international consensus and promote international standards for fighting terrorism. The European Union works with international organisations including the UN and the Global Counter Terrorism Forum, and regional organisations such as the Council of Europe, the OSCE, the League of Arab States or the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation. As part of its cooperation with the UN, and following a number of UN Security Council resolutions, the EU has adopted certain restrictive measures against persons or entities associated with the Al-Qaeda network.
China antiterror strategy In the cultural setting of China, the term is relatively new and ambiguous. Many media and scholarly accounts of terrorism in contemporary China focus on incidents of violence committed in Xinjiang, as well as on the Chinese government's counter-terrorism campaign in those regions. In July 1999, Jiang Zemin, gave shape to China's anti-terrorist policy in order to address his growing concern over the spread of separatism across the borders from Afghanistan, Central Asia and South Asia to Xinjiang and Tibet. The policy had two components prior to 9/11. The first was a preventative strategy, emphasizing tough measures against insurgents at home. Internationally, China tried to enhance cooperation with its neighbors to better position itself in a struggle against terrorism.
China took the initiative to propose to the Shanghai Cooperative Organization (SCO) that a joint anti-terrorist center be established for exchanging intelligence, training special anti-terrorist troops and tightening border control. Inside China, the local governments were put on a higher level of alert. Military preparedness was strengthened to deal with any insurgent activities. And a mass informant system was also created to monitor suspects. Since the 11 September attacks in 2001, the PRC government has strengthened its involvement in multilateral and bilateral 'counter-terrorism' efforts. As a result of these efforts, some Uyghur separatist movements have been labelled as terrorist groups by the United Nations and U. S. Department of State. There have been allegations that the Chinese government has been applying charges of terrorism in an inconsistent and sometimes politically motivated manner.
China has not been free from transnational terrorist acts, with some Chinese minorities spurred into armed protest against the central government by ethnic separatism, Islamic fundamentalism and al-Qaeda's networks. In China's northwest provinces, especially in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, insurgents for Xinjiang independence (Jiangdu) have launched successive attacks to destabilize Chinese rule since the late 1980 s. There is no unified Uyghur ideology, but Pan-Turkism, Uyghur nationalism, and Islamism have all attracted segments of the Uyghur population. Pan-Turkism manifested in the early 20 th century, in opposition to Yang Zengxin's rule. Chinese promotion of atheism during the early years of the PRC reinforced the Islamic beliefs of the Uyghurs, which were further heightened when the political liberalization of the 1980 s allowed Uyghurs to interact with Muslims in the Gulf region and Central Asia. Recent incidents include the 1992 Urumqi bombings, the 1997 Ürümqi bus bombings, the 2010 Aksu bombing, the 2011 Hotan attack, 2011 Kashgar attacks and the 2014 Ürümqi attack.
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International community and the battling against terrorism.pptx