PEMUN Security Council (Novice) Preventing Terrorism and Extremism in the Horn of Africa

Transcription

1 PEMUN 2018 Security Council (Novice) Preventing Terrorism and Extremism in the Horn of Africa

2 Dear Delegates Your chairs would like to welcome you to this year s PEMUN conference and to your committee, Security Council in the Novice category. The topic you will be discussing is Preventing Terrorism and Extremism in the Horn of Africa. This topic is concerning because of the religious and economic issues surrounding the zone. In this document you will find information related to this topic below, as well as the chair s in case you have any further doubts. We recommend for you to do some background research not only on your country, but also on the other countries in the committee. We hope you can have a successful event and that you can arrive to solutions! Chairs: Fernando de la Parra (Head Chair) fdelaparra.cu@peterson.mx Gerardo Sánchez (Under Chair) gsanchezherrera.cu@peterson.mx Santiago Chong (Under Chair) sjfloresch.cu@peterson.mx Nicolás Espuny (Under Chair) nespuny.cu@peterson.mx

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction to Committee.....pg 4 Introduction of the problem.....pg 4 History of the problem.....pg 5 UN actions...pg 5 Current Situation..pg 6 Country Involvement...pg 6 Controversial points......pg 5 Possible Solutions...pg 5 Questions to Consider.pg 5 Resources/References pg 6

4 Introduction to Committee The committee of Security Council, as the UN, was created after World War II, to address the problematic of international organization. Security Council has the main focus of maintaining international peace and security, as well as taking charge of the acceptance of new members to the United Nations. This committee has the power of establishing internal sanctions, and the authorisation of taking military actions through fair reasoning of the Security Council. Introduction of the problem As known worldwide, islamic terrorism and extremism are arriving to worrying rates of popularity in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. Citizens all around the world are being targeted by islamic terrorist groups like DAESH or AL QAEDA because of their religion or culture. While the world prays for every european and north american city attacked by these terrorists, in Africa, attacks are more common, and no one seems to care about it. The United Nations estimates that more than 10,000 people were killed in 2016 by terrorist attacks in the horn of Africa. Many countries like Syria, Mali, Algeria or Burkina Faso are being controlled and destroyed without control with very little response from army s worldwide. Extremist organizations are safe in the African continent due to the lack of sources gubernamental forces have to control their population.

5 History of the Problem Twenty years ago, terrorist attacks were something that happened once in awhile in countries like Uganda, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Argelia, but in a period of 5 years, at the beginning of the 21st century, everything changed. Islamic extremist organizations were created because of the occidental occupation done in the last century in muslim countries, in an attempt to gain control of oil and the economy of non-developed countries all around Africa. UN Actions Because of the security situation the UN does not maintain a full international presence in Somalia, and its UN Political Office for Somalia is based in Nairobi, capital of neighbouring Kenya. However, the UN continues to expand its footprint in Mogadishu, with 61 missions conducted recently by international staff from the UN Support Office for AMISOM (African Mission in Somalia), UNPOS (United Nations Political Office for Somalia), the UN Mine Action Service, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Food Programme, the UN World Health Organization, the UN Children s Fund and the UN Development Programme. The African Union (AU) has made a call to the Security Council to reaffirm its commitment to deploy a UN peacekeeping force.

6 Current Situation The greater horn of Africa is one of the most conflict-affected parts of the world. All countries in this region have been terrorised by terrorist acts. There are certain trends in this countries that can lead to why this happens. Some of this are: Socio Economic marginalization, rising income inequality, limited market and limited infrastructure, and unprecedented demographic shifts. Country Involvement China France Russian Federation In an ongoing effort to expand its global reach, China is looking to establish an outpost in the tiny nation of Djibouti, strategically located on the Horn of Africa. In the geopolitical world, this latest development falls into the category of big things coming in small packages, and as usual, it raises questions about the nature of China's expansion. The news of the possible outpost follows a recent visit to Djibouti by People's Liberation Army Chief of Staff General Fang Fenghui. Nevertheless, China is insisting that its interest not be misinterpreted as a sign of military expansion. France s Operation Barkhane, a counterterrorism operation focused on facing terrorists operating in the Sahel, continued and was supported by the important contributions of the UN in Mali. This way, France s involvement in preventing terrorism in the horn of Africa has strengthened. Russia has projected its hard and soft power as a great power in Africa again. Russia s trade with Africa has increased immensely in recent years. Russian armed forces has involved in peacekeeping operations in Africa. Still, Africa is not in the central of Russian foreign policy. But the developments in Gulf of Aden can make Russia more eager to concentrate on the Horn of Africa.

7 The United Kingdom The UK government continued to work closely with the UN and ONU in order to assist and prioritize the investigation and prosecution. This way, the UK puts effort in preventing terrorism cases like the girls kidnapped in Nigeria. The United States Egypt After the 9/11 attacks, the US has focused in controlling a possible increase of extremism in the horn of Africa. It is considered as an important point that needs to be secured in order to protect their Homeland Security. Unlike in the past, Egyptian hidden agenda to keep the horn of Africa in crisis came to be challenged by Somalia, Somaliland, South Sudan, the Sudan and Ethiopia. These countries assured that they will not die for the greedy cause of Egypt in this 21 st century.the two policies the Egyptian leaders conducted towards the Horn of Africa are to Islamize the non-muslim community and make the non-arab Muslims Arabs in one hand and the second strategy was to fully control the Nile River riparian countries by any means possible. Ethiopia The Government of Ethiopia s 2016 counterterrorism efforts focused on fighting al Shabaab in Somalia and pursuing potential threats in Ethiopia. Ethiopia collaborated with the United States on regional security issues and participated in capacity-building trainings. The Ethiopian Federal Police (EFP) partnered in the investigation of an al-shabaab 2014 suicide attack in Djibouti, agreed to join a Joint Task Force on a terrorism case, and continued law enforcement cooperation with the United States. The EFP also requested an expansion of an FBI EFP

8 Memorandum of Understanding on information sharing on transnational crime and ISIS. In May, the Ethiopian government denounced ISIS branch in Libya in response to a video which showed the beheading of 16 Ethiopian migrants; it was the second time in two years Ethiopian migrants in Libya were killed by the group. Italy Japan Kazakhstan Senegal Italy has been late to realize the mutual benefits that can accrue from a more robust partnership with Africa. Which means Italy has just started a relationship with the african continent and it is time to see which type of relationship it is going to be with regards to this topic. Japan and the EU developed a program to enhance institutional capacities in securing and managing national borders. This program ensures controlled borders, which prevent extremism to spread between countries. Kazakhstani security agencies have been busy since war broke out in Syria (Even though Syria is in the middle east, it makes a point on what they are doing against Terrorism), in 2011, which created an opportunity for radicalised Kazakhstanis to go find their idea of "jihad". Since 2011, Kazakhstani intelligence has prevented 559 citizens from leaving the country to join terrorist or militant groups abroad, the KNB said. High-profile attacks in late 2015 in Mali and in early 2016 in Cote d Ivoire and Burkina Faso increased concerns in Senegal that it could become a target for terrorist attacks. The government did several important legislative and structural changes to confront the threat by terrorist in the region. These changes were not fully implemented by the end of The risk of terrorism in Senegal comes from internal and external factors.

9 Externally, threats around Senegal arise because of the presence of the Senegalese military in the region which terrorists operate. Internally, religious ideals are arising. These ideals are well outside the moderate Islam that predominantes in Senegal. Sweden Ukraine Uruguay Djibouti Sweden is active within the EU, UN, and Council of Europe on countering violent extremism and the recruitment of foreign terrorist fighters. The Swedish government continued to highlight that terrorism can be motivated by right-wing, left-wing, or religious convictions. The Swedish Security Service (SÄPO) noted that the greatest terrorist threat in Sweden comes from violent extremists. Ukraine is a staunch supporter of a more active involvement of the United Nations in conflict resolution in Africa. Increased attention on the part of the Security Council to peacemaking and peace-building in the African continent is going to be one of the main priorities for Ukraine during its membership in this body. To this end, we will use the unique experience of Ukraine s participation in the UN peacekeeping operations and that of membership in the UN Peacebuilding Commission, including Vice-chairmanship in Peacebuilding Commission. Uruguay has participated in peace missions since they began, and its involvement has become increasingly significant in the last 20 years. Nowadays, Uruguay is within the top ten troop contributors to UN-led peace operations. Djibouti offered an important platform for regional counterterrorism and countering violent extremism in It continued to contribute troops to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and its military (Forces Armees Djiboutiennes, or the FAD). It

10 also received help from the U.S; helping them to train their troops. Camp Lemonnier served as headquarters to the U.S. Africa Command s Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) and is the only enduring U.S. military installation in Africa. Djibouti s relations with Eritrea, its neighbor to the north, remained hostile after a 2008 border conflict in which dozens of Djiboutian soldiers lost their lives. To the south, Somalia s struggle with al-shabaab continued to pose a threat Djibouti s security. The Somalia-based al-shabaab claimed responsibility for the May 2014 suicide attack against a popular restaurant in Djibouti City. As a result, enhanced security measures in Djibouti City remained in place throughout Eritrea Somalia Kenya The Government of Eritrea continued to make regular public statements about its commitment to fighting terrorism. Eritrea also continued and broadened its support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen; it allowed military elements of the coalition to base in Eritrea. The Government of Eritrea has been under UNSC sanctions since December 2009 as a result of past evidence of support for al-shabaab and regional destabilization. In Somalia, terrorist groups gained the time and space needed to regroup and recruit new fighters. The same thing occurred in 2015, however, there were no successful attacks attributed to al-shabaab outside of Somalia and northeastern Kenya. As mentioned, al-shabab has had no success on committing terrorist attacks lately.although ISIS claimed responsibility for small-scale attacks in Somalia and Kenya, the group failed to launch a major attack in East Africa. Kenya is a strong counterterrorism partner of the United States throughout East Africa. Kenya faces an ongoing terrorist threat from

11 the Somalia-based terrorist group al Shabaab, against which the Kenya Defense Forces have engaged in military operations in Somalia since 2011 as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Kenya remained a target of al-shabaab terrorist attacks, most of which occurred along the northern border region with Somalia. Sudan South Sudan Turkey Uganda The government of Sudan has a long history of harboring terrorist organizations and radical Islamic groups. It is the only sub-saharan African government on the U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism List and the only one that has officially provided support and safe haven for terrorist organizations. The risk of terrorist attacks in South Sudan over the past years can be classified as high. Compared to other countries, it is still placed somewhere in the middle of a terrorism ranking. Over the past 5 years a total number of 133 terrorist incidents has been recorded, in which 1392 people have been killed and 927 injured. Turkey is the newest country to intervene in Somalia and its involvement has produced some positive results. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan s courageous visit to Mogadishu in August 2011 at the height of the famine and his decision to open an embassy gave fresh impetus to efforts to establish lasting peace. Widespread Somali gratitude for Turkish humanitarian endeavours and the country s status as a Muslim and democratic state established Turkey as a welcome partner. Uganda hosts two organizations the ADF and LRA that the US added to its Terrorist Exclusion List in There have been numerous attacks by the Christian LRA against civilian targets in northern Uganda over the past two years.although Uganda's Islamic community is relatively small, it is still

12 capable of being radicalized. A recent Pew Research Center poll in Uganda determined that more than one-quarter of Ugandans thought suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilian targets are justified in defense of Islam. Controversial Points There are many controversial points to consider in this topic, the biggest one of course is how terrorism is viewed in the world. However, you might also want to consider the controversy surrounding the involvement of the United States, given that they are often referred to as The World s Policemen. Does this situation prove that? Possible Solutions It goes without saying that PEMUN is focused on finding solutions to the problems. That being said, we would like to encourage you to take your debate strategy towards finding solutions. You can take some of the causes of this issue mentioned above, and try to find possible solutions for this problem, with that as a guideline. Questions to Consider What is my country s involvement, with relation to the other countries? What are the challenges of my country with relation to this topic? What are the challenges of the involved countries? What can my country do to support involved countries? What are possible solutions that benefit my country? What are possible solutions that benefit ALL involved countries?

13 Resources