News highlights:
- The world has been witnessing a flurry of meetings and conferences on the issue of countering terrorism worldwide.
- The United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee meetings, the No Money for Terror Conference, and an Interpol Conference in which terrorism figured prominently.
What is terrorism?
- About:
- Terrorism is a form of political violence that aims to achieve its objectives by creating a climate of fear and apprehension.
- It uses violence in a very particular way, not primarily to bring about death and destruction but to create unease and anxiety about possible future acts of death and destruction.
- Terrorist violence is, therefore, clandestine and involves an element of surprise, if not arbitrariness, designed to create uncertainty and widening apprehension.
- Why it is essential to define the word ‘terrorism’:
- There are two reasons why it is important to define the word ‘terrorism’. Firstly, to understand the problem and
- Secondly, to have special laws for tackling terrorism within the country and to get terrorists extradited from abroad.
- Why the definition of terrorism is futile:
- Despite terrorism being recognised as a global phenomenon, attempts in the past to arrive at an internationally accepted definition of terrorism have proved futile.
- This ambivalence is primarily due to two reasons:
- A ‘terrorist’ in one country may be viewed as a ‘freedom fighter’ in another;
- Some States resort to or encourage various kinds of criminal acts clandestinely, through their own agencies or hired agents to subvert or to destabilise another lawfully established government otherwise or in extreme cases get important political or governmental personalities of another State assassinated. Hence, there is an obvious lack of political will, if not resistance, to any universally accepted definition of terrorism.
- Why terrorism is so radical and devastating:
- By its nature, terrorism is difficult to defend against and maybe impossible.
- Terrorism is a clandestine activity, often carried out by small groups or even lone individuals.
- Unlike regular armies, terrorists go to considerable lengths to be indistinguishable from the civilian population.
- These difficulties have been greatly exaggerated by the advent of new terrorist tactics, notably the growth of suicide terrorism.
- The potential scope and scale of terrorism have greatly increased due to modern technology, particularly the prospect of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) falling into the hands of terrorists.
- It is sometimes argued that modern terrorists not only have easier access to WMD but also have a greater willingness to use them.
Global Efforts:
- Across the globe, the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) leads and coordinates an all-of-UN approach to prevent counter-terrorism and violent extremism.
- UN Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT), under UNOCT, promotes international cooperation in the fight against terrorism and supports the Member States in implementing the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
- The Terrorism Prevention Branch (TPB) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) plays a significant role in international efforts.
- It works to assist the Member States, upon request, with the ratification, legislative incorporation and implementation of the universal legal framework against terrorism.
- The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which is a global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, sets international standards that aim to prevent these illegal activities and the harm they cause to society.
Current Framework for Combating Terrorism in India:
- India recently hosted a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), with the theme of ‘Countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes’ and No Money For Terror.
- The Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967, was amended in August 2019 to allow for the designation of individuals as terrorists.
- In 2016, India and the United States signed an arrangement to exchange terrorism screening information and continue to work on implementation.
- At the central government level, the National Investigation Agency is the lead law enforcement investigative agency to combat terrorism. The Indian Parliament passed amendments to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act of 2008 to allow NIA to investigate terrorism cases overseas. The National Security Guard (NSG) retains the mandate for a nationwide response as the sole federal contingency force.
- India’s state governments continue to be responsible for law and order. India’s state-level law enforcement agencies play a significant role in detecting, deterring, and preventing acts of terrorism.
- State antiterrorism squads were created after 2008 for rapid first response.
Measures needed:
- Comprehensive and multidimensional strategy
- A comprehensive and multidimensional strategy for the “War on Terror” must involve an integrated view of the strategic military and economic domains, among others.
- Financial institutions
- Financial institutions play an important role in combating the financing of terrorism because terrorists often rely on them, especially banks, to transfer money.
- Laws that require banks to perform due diligence on their customers and to report suspicious transactions can help prevent terrorism.
- Intelligence sharing:
- As terrorism is taking global form, intelligence sharing among countries is critical in preventing or minimising terror attacks. Eg, the Easter attack possibility was shared by India to Sri Lanka, though it was not acted upon.
- Global cooperation on extremist content:
- Christchurch’s Call of Action outlined voluntary commitments from governments, and ISPs to address the issue of violent extremist content online.
- India is a signatory to this plan.
- Global sanctions
- Global sanctions against nations that are State sponsors of terrorism. E.g., UNSC must come up with stringent sanctions against nations.
Conclusion:
- Terrorism is a complex, non-static phenomenon. Its associated motivations, financing and support mechanisms, methods of attack and choice of targets are often evolving, thereby compounding the challenges of ensuring an effective strategy to counter it. In this situation, global cooperation is of paramount importance.
- India should play a proactive role in neutralising any threat of terrorism. There is a need for the world to join hands and take concrete multilateral initiatives to ensure that terror groups are dealt with a heavy hand. Accepting and ratifying the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) proposed by India would be the good first step.
Pic Courtesy: The Hindu
Content Source: The Hindu