ROSMUN 2017 Rosary Sisters High School Model United Nations

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1 ROSMUN 2017 Rosary Sisters High School Model United Nations Committee: Security Council Issue: The Question of Countering Terror Razan Abu Lafi Introduction Terrorism is considered as a threat to international peace, security and human rights. This issue has further taken the center of attention especially after the 11th of September attacks. Unfortunately, the world is witnessing growth in violent extremism and radicalization which are embedded in the thoughts and actions of terrorists organizations which carried out terrorist attacks in many countries across the world. The victims are mostly from countries where terrorist groups are active including areas of conflict and civil war such as Iraq and Syria. However, terrorism knows no boundaries and as a result numerous nations in many parts of the world are also negatively affected. Source: Although there is no global definition for terrorism but there is global agreement that this threat should be combated through countering violent extremism, addressing the underlying conditions leading to the spread of terrorism, suppressing of the financing of terrorism, capacity building and offering assistance to Member States in combating terrorism and the use of the internet for terrorist purposes. Other measures were adopted by some Member States including the U.S. which included military solutions such as carrying out air strikes against terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria. ROSMUN 2017 Page 1

2 Definition of Key-Terms 1. Terrorism: The term terrorism can be used in multiple meanings, since countries around the world haven t come to a final agreement regarding this term; however, it is mostly used to describe the illicit utilize of force and violence against individuals or collectives, to coerce in order to achieve political, ideological or religious objectives. 2. ISIL or DAESH: The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is an extremist militant group which is led by a group of terrorists and was founded in 1999 by Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. The group was originally founded in 2006 as the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). However, in April 2013, the group announced a change in their name, which became the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). ISIL's main goal is to create a new Islamic caliphate and spread their ideology among the vulnerable youth. 3. Al Qaeda: It is an Islamic extremist militant organization founded by Osama Bin Laden in They are also known as The Base or The Foundation. The group are claimed to have carried out the 9/11 attacks. 4. Boko Haram: Boko Haram means Western Education is Sinful, in which Boko means western education or western life, and Haram mean sinful or forbidden. They are an extremist militant Islamic group that is based in the north of Nigeria, but the group is also active in neighboring countries including Chad, Cameroon and Niger. 5. Taliban: It is an Islamic and political movement in Afghanistan founded in 1994 by Hamid Gul, Mohammad Omar, Abdul Ghan Baradar and Baituallah Mehsud. The group operated from 1991 till 2001 when they held power in Afghanistan. During their time of control the group enforced strict Islamic laws, organized bombings and attacks within Afghanistan. Background Information As previously noted terrorism poses serious threat to international safety and security and is considered as a violation of human rights. Terrorism in all of its forms whether carried out by terrorists groups or by criminal acts related to terrorism such as drug trafficking and money ROSMUN 2017 Page 2

3 laundering requires international cooperation as the issue transcends boundaries. Furthermore, the issue of radicalization and violent extremism gave rise to numerous attacks against innocent civilians. There are several terrorist organizations which pose threat to international security and stability including Al-Qaeda which was established by Osama Bin Laden. Throughout the years, they became an independent terrorist group. Al-Qaeda has committed numerous deadly terrorist attacks in many countries including the 11th of September attacks. Boko Haram is also a militant extremist group which is spread mainly in northern Nigeria. It pledged affiliation to ISIL in March 2015, and they are still operating predominantly in Northern Africa, in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger. Since 2009, the group has been accountable for continuous and ceaseless attacks, bombings, homicide and massacres. Other than the attacks, The Chibok Schoolgirls abduction was the center of attention. On the 14 th of April 2014, 276 female school students were kidnapped in Chibok, Borno State. Fortunately, 57 girls survived and managed to escape. Others were either forced to marry Boko Haram s members or were recruited as sex slaves. The Islamic State of Iraq (ISIS) or the Islamic Sate of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is another terrorist organization which recruits many fighters from all over the world, and they aim to build an Islamic Caliphate. ISIL employs vulnerable youth from all over the world with their extremist ideology that violates the International Humanitarian Law. Such terrorist group has been committing horrifying terrorist attacks in many countries across the world. Source: ROSMUN 2017 Page 3

4 Countering terror and terrorist groups is the headline of the United Nations especially after September 11 attacks. The Security Council has been extremely active in addressing this issue through its numerous resolutions. In 2005, the Secretary General established the Counter- Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) to coordinate and offer assistance to Member States in countering Terror. In 2006, the United Nations established the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC). Later, Member Sates came up with a framework to counter terrorism which is the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy which is based on four pillars of which are mainly: Addressing conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism; Preventing and combating terrorism; Building Member States capacity to prevent and combat terrorism and to strengthen the role of the United Nations system in this regard; Ensuring the respect for human rights for all and the rule of law as the fundamental basis for countering terrorism. (1) In addition, the UN Counter Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) concentrates on those four pillars of the Strategy by providing assistance to Member States in countering Terror. This strategy is reviewed every two years by The General Assembly and in the fifth review which was held in The General Assembly took into consideration the Secretary-General's Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism and resolution (A/RES/70/291) was successfully adopted. The plan of action sets specific methodologies that center around the four pillars. Numerous measures were also taken by Member States in order to combat different terrorist groups including carrying out airstrikes in addition to adopting the Plan of Action to Counter Terror. Furthermore, addressing the issue of funding, foreign fighters, countering violent extremism, regional and international cooperation, legal issues and addressing the underlying causes of the spread of terrorism became the focus of the United Nations and members of the Security Council. They are prolifically working on combating crimes which might have direct contact with terrorism, such as, trafficking, Narco-Terrorism, money laundering, trafficking in small arms and light weapons and other Transnational Organized Crimes. Major Countries involved- P5 positions France: France has been affected by terrorism as several terrorist attacks were carried out which made France work relentlessly to improve its counter-terrorism strategies. As a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), France is working on eliminating financial terrorism as they announced new measures to combat it of which some have already been implemented. Furthermore, France has successfully enacted several laws including a law in 2015 which increased the surveillance measures and the blockage of websites that support terrorism. Nonetheless, it is mainly done under judicial permission to avoid affecting the freedom of ROSMUN 2017 Page 4

5 speech. France has also adopted a Plan to Counter Violent Extremism. The French government participated in the operations against terrorists as well as enhancing capacity building in countries that combat terrorism. France has also implemented a Victim Compensation Scheme for victims of terrorist acts in France and outside France. Also, according to the 2006 Anti- Terrorism Act, the assets of those who commit terrorist acts are frozen, and the sanctions were further increased by the Act adopted by the Parliament. There are several French units which fight terrorism including: The counter-terrorism unit at the Directorate General of External Security (DGSE Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure), The Central Domestic Intelligence Directorate (DCRI- Direction centrale du renseignement intérieur), The Anti- Terrorist Coordination Unit (UCLAT Unité de coordination de la lutte anti-terroriste), The National Intelligence Council (CNR Conseil national du renseignement), and police units. United States of America: USA had a significant role in the war against terrorism. USA enhanced and strengthened their ability to impede and help in preventing future attacks through the National Counterterrorism Center. One of United States of America's major targets is to combat extremism through enhancing their laws against extremism, as well as promoting and supporting Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) efforts as they believe that one of the effective methods to eradicate terrorism is through defeating extremism. In 2015, President Obama held the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism where numerous ambassadors attended this global meeting. The Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism is specialized in coming up with strategies to counter terror through sharing information, strengthening capacity, assisting other governments in countering terrorism and ensuring law enforcement to combat and disrupt any terrorist attack. The Bureau of Counterterrorism (CT) also works hand-in-hand with stakeholders to counter violent extremism. It has several programs and initiatives including: Antiterrorism Assistance Program (ATA) Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Countering the Financing of Terrorism Finance (CFT) Counterterrorism Partnerships Fund (CTPF) Foreign Emergency Support Team (FEST) Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) International Security Events Group (ISEG) Regional Strategic Initiative (RSI) Technical Support Working Group (TSWG) Terrorist Screening and Interdiction Programs (TSI) Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP) Partnership for Regional East African Counterterrorism (PREACT) Source: ROSMUN 2017 Page 5

6 Russian Federation: Russian Federation is one of the nations who took leading measures in order to combat terrorism. As required by the Federal law of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Defense works with other organizations in order to counter terrorism through securing arms facilities, air and maritime and carrying out counterterrorism operations. ** Below is the list of key strategic functions of the RF Ministry of Defense in combating international terrorism: Analyze the information on the current status of international terrorism, its dynamics and escalation trends; Formulate suggestions on developing cooperation in combating terrorism; Take part in developing an effective counterterrorism system in line with the current tactical situation and terrorism development trends; Coordinate joint efforts intended to prevent terrorist attacks on nuclear sites or attacks involving weapons of mass destruction; Take part in special operations to eliminate illegal armed groups and block illegal traffic of arms, ammunition and fissile and highly toxic materials; Prevent the development of pro-terrorist views and sentiments among general public. (2) China: China held several talks on counterterrorism with five nations in It is mostly occupied with counterterrorism endeavors in Asia and it asserts that the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) is behind the violence and unrest in Xinjiang. The CPC- Communist Party of China - issued several measures that included increased surveillance. China is also a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, and the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering. In 2015, China hosted the 13th ASEAN Regional Forum Inter-Sessional Meeting on Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime. China cooperates with other countries to counter terror including military training. United Kingdom; In 2015, the UK fundamentally expanded its endeavors to battle terrorism. The UK extended its military actions against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) through military air strikes. They have also taken several measures to counter threats related to Northern Ireland especially by Dissident Republican Groups. Several strategies have been adopted by the government to counter threats including electronic surveillance collection, as well as enhancing law enforcement and border security. The ROSMUN 2017 Page 6

7 Metropolitan (Met) Counter Terrorism Command aims to counter terrorism at all levels whether local or international and works with other agencies to ensure security. Furthermore, security at airports and borders are highly advanced as UK has improved its biometric abilities to ensure safety at airports. The USA and the UK work closely in matters pertaining to this issue including information sharing and coordination to counter terror. The UK is also a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which aims at combating financing of terrorism. Furthermore, UK has adopted several measures to combat violent extremism. Relevant Security Council resolutions S/2017/2 Chairs and Vice-Chairs of Security Council subsidiary bodies for S/RES/2331 (2016) Maintenance of international peace and security S/RES/2322 (2016) Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts S/RES/2309 (2016) Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts: Aviation security Chairs and Vice-Chairs of Security Council subsidiary bodies for S/RES/2255 (2015) Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts S/RES/2253 (2015) Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts S/RES/2250 (2015) Maintenance of international peace and security S/RES/2249 (2015) Threats to international peace and security cause by terrorist acts S/RES/2242 (2015) Women and peace and security S/RES/2220 (2015) Small arms S/RES/2199 (2015) Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts S/RES/2195 (2014) Adopted by the Security Council at its 7351st meeting S/RES/2185 (2014) Adopted by the Security Council at its 7317st meeting S/RES/2178 (2014) Addressing the growing issue of foreign terrorist fighters S/RES/2170 (2014) Condemnation of ISIL, ANF and all other individuals or groups associated with Al-Qaida S/RES/2133 (2014) Prevention of kidnapping and hostage-taking committed by terrorist groups S/RES/2129 (2013) Mandate of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) until 31 December ROSMUN 2017 Page 7

8 S/RES/1963 (2010) Mandate of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) until 31 December S/RES/1805 (2008) Mandate of Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) extended until 31 December S/RES/1787 (2007) Extension of Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) mandate S/RES/1631 (2005) UN cooperation with regional organizations in maintaining international peace and security S/RES/1624 (2005) Prohibition of incitement to commit terrorist acts S/RES/1618 (2005) Condemnation of terrorist attacks in Iraq S/RES/1611 (2005) Condemnation of terrorist attacks in London S/RES/1566 (2004) Creation of working group to consider measures against individuals, groups and entities other than Al-Qaida/Taliban S/RES/1540 (2004) Security Council unanimous adoption of resolution 1540 on the threat of proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons S/RES/1535 (2004) Creation of Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) S/RES/1535 Creation of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) S/RES/1530 (2004) Condemnation of bomb attacks in Madrid S/RES/1516 (2003) Condemnation of bombings in Istanbul S/RES/1465 (2003) Condemnation of bomb attack in Bogota, Colombia S/RES/1456 (2003) Declaration by Foreign Ministers on combating terrorism S/RES/1450 (2002) Condemnation of terrorist attacks in Kenya S/RES/1440 (2002) Condemnation of hostage taking in Moscow \ S/RES/1438 (2002) Condemnation of bombings in Bali S/RES/1377 (2001) Ministerial declaration on global effort to combat terrorism S/RES/1373 (2001) Creation of Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC) S/RES/1373 Creation of Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) S/RES/1368 (2001) Condemnation of 11 September attacks against United States Source: ROSMUN 2017 Page 8

9 Possible Solutions In countering terrorism, several measures should be addressed including combating violent extremism, capacity building, border control, the use of the internet by terrorist, the issue of foreign fighters and their recruitment in addition to adopting a strategy to address this issue in countries which suffer from lack of stability and conflicts including those in the Middle East. Consensus should be achieved to ensure successful solutions which might be implemented especially regarding resolving conflicts through conflict prevention measures and reconciliation. Bibliography 1. "UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force." United Nations. United Nations. Web. 14 Feb "MOD Mission." Counterterrorism : Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. Web. 14 Feb U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State. Web. 14 Feb U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State. Web. 14 Feb "Chapter 1. Strategic Assessment." U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State. Web. 14 Feb "Counterterrorism." Counterterrorism. Web. 14 Feb "Fight against Terrorism." France ONU. Web. 14 Feb "Home." France Diplomatie :: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development. Web. 14 Feb "Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development: France in the World." France Diplomatie :: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development. Web. 14 Feb "Resolutions - United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee." United Nations. United Nations. Web. 14 Feb Administrator. "Global Policy Forum." UN Involvement Against Terrorism. Wed. 14 Sept "Al Qaeda Has Launched More than 100 Attacks in West Africa in 2016." FDD's Long War Journal. Wed. 7 Sept "COUNTER TERRORISM." United Nations. United Nations. Wed. 7 Sept "COUNTER TERRORISM." United Nations. United Nations. Wed. 7 Sept "COUNTER TERRORISM." United Nations. United Nations. Wed.. 7 Sept "Death of Senior Leader Caps Bad Month for ISIS." CNN. Cable News Network. Wed. 7 Sept "GW Hires Former Islamic Extremist." CNN. Cable News Network. Wed. 14 Sept "ISIS: Everything You Need to Know." CNN. Cable News Network. Wed. 14 Sept Irshaid, Faisal. "Isis, Isil, IS or Daesh? One Group, Many Names." BBC News. BBC, 02 Dec Wed. 14 Sept "Is Bin Laden's Son Being Groomed for Key Al Qaeda Role?" CNN. Cable News Network. Wed. 14 Sept ROSMUN 2017 Page 9

10 21. "Security Council Resolutions Pertaining to Terrorism UN Counter-Terrorism Committee." United Nations. United Nations. Wed. 14 Sept Srun Sakada, Senior Follow. "Terrorism Causes, Effects, and Solutions." Share and Discover Knowledge on LinkedIn SlideShare. 11 Apr Wed. 14 Sept "Syria Iraq: The Islamic State Militant Group." BBC News. BBC, 02 Aug Wed. 7 Sept "UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force." United Nations. United Nations. Wed. 14 Sept "UN and Counter-Terrorism." UN News Center. United Nations. Wed. 7 Sept Useful Link ROSMUN 2017 Page 10