الفهرس

‮The Role of The United Nations Task Force

in Countering Terrorism

Richard Barrett*

‮

‮

First I would like to add my voice to others who have rightly praised the President of the Tunisian Republic and the Islamic Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation for convening this conference. We have already heard many contributions that have increased our understanding of the challenges presented by today's terrorism and that have increased our determination to address them.

The United Nations system will no doubt take note of the many statements that have emphasised the need for action at the international level, whether to address the specific conditions that appear conducive to the spread of terrorism, or in ensuring that misunderstandings and misrepresentations about cultures and religions are corrected quickly, loudly and clearly.

The United Nations system, along with other bodies in the wider international community, has come together in a remarkable affirmation of joint purpose to form a counter-terrorist task force under the leadership of the Secretary- General himself. The Task Force aims to achieve two things: first to ensure that the United Nations system acts as one in its counter-terrorism work, and second to contribute where it can add value to the tremendous task facing Member States in their implementation of the Global Strategy adopted unanimously by the General Assembly in September 2006.

There are several areas of Task Force activity which recognise the urgent need to promote understanding between peoples and cultures and to undermine the divisive and pernicious message of terrorism. One project is to invite all Member States to share their experience of radicalisation and extremism that lead to terrorism and to say what measures they have taken to overcome it. The Task Force hopes to be able to prepare a report that gives the main details of programmes introduced by States to counter radicalisation. This will be useful for many other States that face similar problems but are as yet unsure how best to proceed. There is a great demand for advice and help in this difficult area, and although radicalisation and extremism that lead to terrorism in one country or region may differ from those factors in another, the Task Force believes that the similarities are such that a cross fertilisation of ideas will be of great value. The Task Force will not offer any judgement on the effectiveness of counter-radicalisation programmes and initiatives, which is for Member States to decide, but by producing a report it will allow Member States to make contact with one another to ask about the resource implications and success rates of ideas that have been tried elsewhere.

Increasingly States have reached a common understanding that they cannot defeat terrorism by force alone. States are also aware that the terrorism that is growing today does not address local issues, but bundles up all grievances, whether political or social, into a global campaign of violent protest. Faced with this new phenomenon, States are only too keen to work together because they realise that action - or inaction - in one State will have repercussions for the security of another.

Some States have progressed even further than the introduction of initiatives to counter radicalisation by helping those who have become radicalised to return to their families and communities. Through discussion with terrorists and their associates, in particular in prisons after their arrest and conviction, officials have come to understand more about what has made these otherwise normal people cross the line to terrorism. The information they have gathered has helped them to develop their counter-radicalisation programmes, and at the same time has allowed them to de-radicalise some prisoners who have been misled in their belief that violence may solve their problems. States that have introduced these programmes have enjoyed some success and some disappointments, and the Task Force hopes that it may work with these States and others to identify how best to de-radicalise terrorists and their sympathisers, not just for their own good, but also to dissuade them from spreading their influence and ideas among other vulnerable prisoners.

The Task Force has also invited Member States to identify repentant terrorist who may be courageous and determined enough to explain to others what tempted them towards terrorism and why they now understand that this was wrong. The Task Force has offered to make short films or tapes of these people and to distribute them among vulnerable groups whose members might identify with the repentant terrorist and listen carefully to his message. The Task Force hopes that this may be one small way to counter the specious propaganda spewed out by the terrorists themselves.

Another invitation that the Task Force has offered Member States is to identify people who might have influence among the communities vulnerable to the terrorist message. These might be sportsmen, community leaders or others with authority and charisma. The Task Force would then offer to promote these alternative influences in so far as they were prepared to speak out against terrorism.

The Task Force also believes that in all the work that States do to counter radicalisation, it is essential that world leaders, opinion formers and the media use an appropriate vocabulary. Terrorism is a form of criminality; it has nothing to do with any religion or community. The terrorists of today aim to mislead their audience by claiming that they act in the name of a higher cause; they trade on naivety and ignorance and offer baseless religious arguments to support their agendas. Any criticism or commentary on terrorism which uses similar terms only serves to reinforce the claims and justifications put forward by the terrorists. We should all be clear to refer to terrorism with words that truly describe its murderous criminality and give the terrorists no comfort by accepting and repeating their misleading vocabulary.

The Task Force, and the United Nations system as a whole, seek ways to isolate terrorists from their target audiences by exposing the falsity of their message and the true consequences of their acts. Increasingly those who listen to the terrorist message are themselves isolated from the balancing influences of family, friends and communities. This is particularly true for vulnerable individuals who are drawn into the terrorist net through the Internet.

The Internet is a great liberator and a wonderful means to promote open debate, but terrorist use of the Internet presents problems for the world community. Not only do terrorists use the Internet to spread their propaganda and make new recruits, but they can also use it to plan, finance and train for attacks. The Task Force has therefore asked Member States to say what they think of this problem and what if any measures they have taken at the national or regional level to deal with it.

By definition, problems of the Internet can only be addressed successfully at the international level. The Task Force offers a forum for Member States to explore their shared concerns and examine possible solutions. The Task Force intends to gather opinions from the Internet industry, technicians, civil society groups and legal experts, as well as from officials. It will prepare a report that all Member States may share.

In all its work, the Task Force is very aware that it is far easier to reach the vast and overwhelming majority of people who will never become terrorists than to influence the tiny few who may cross that line. But the more we understand about who those people are and what compels them towards violence, the more we may be able to take effective action. Terrorism is a real challenge, but the determination and energy to address it that has been displayed at this conference must surely give us all hope that we will be able to defeat it. The Secretary-General's Task Force stands ready to help in any way that Member States believe appropriate.

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(*) Coordinator of the Al-Qaida/Taliban Monitoring Team of the United Nations Security Council.

منشورات المنظمة الإسلامية للتربية والعلوم والثقافة ـ إيسيسكو ـ 1429هـ/2008م