2016 GA4 Special Political and Decolonization 1
Index Introduction... 3 Definition of key-terms... 4 General Overview... 6 Major parties involved and their views... 9 Timeline of important events/documents... 13 UN involvement... 14 Possible Solutions... 16 List of Sources... 17 2
Forum: United Nations GA4 Special Political and Decolonization Issue: Measures to prevent international recruitment from terrorist organizations Student Officers: Jessica Fastman & Mateo Rabinowicz Position: Chairs GA4 2016 Introduction The 9/11 events are seen as a significant turning point in the issues regarding terrorism, the international spotlight was placed on this because through the years, there was a significant increase in the number of extremist terrorist groups which everyday have more followers. This boost can be associated to the War on Terror, launched by President Bush in September 2001 or the constant blaming upon terrorist attacks to the islamic peoples. Recruitment methods have changed over time, with the advance of technology it has become much easier to capture people's attention and due to social media, ideas can be spread much faster and are reached by a significant amount of people within seconds. By the use of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Youtube, it is easier to reach younger people who start to believe such extremist ideas and adopt them as their own. Therefore, it has been much easier for terrorist organizations to expand their fields to every part of the world, being able to have dormant cells everywhere which are waiting for a message to be activated and carry out an attack. Over the years, it can be considered that the most influential and dangerous terrorist, jihadist groups which have grown in the number of new recruits are: The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Boko Haram, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda and Taliban. So in fact, the purpose of this report is to further investigate the ways in which terrorist recruitment is done so as for Member States to be able to prevent the entry or transit of anyone who is suspected as a terrorist or is related to such type of organization. 3
Definition of key-terms Recruitment- Is the process of attracting, selecting and appointing candidates who have the suitable skills for a job within an organization. Islamic Terrorism- Terrorist acts committed by Muslim groups or individuals using the Quran and the Hadith to justify their acts, having Islamic or Islamist motivations. Dormant/ Sleeper Cells- A cell or group within an organization which lies passive until it receives orders or decides to act. Radicalization- A process by which an individual or groups adopts extreme political, social or religious aspirations and rejects contemporary ideas and expressions related with freedom of choices. Foreign Fighter - According to the U.N. Security Council Resolution 2178, foreign terrorist fighters are "individuals who travel to a state other than their states of residence or nationality for the purpose of the perpetration, planning, or preparation of, or participation in, terrorist acts or the providing or receiving of terrorist training, including in connection with armed conflict." Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)- Known as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), is an Islamic fundamentalist group which claims to be a worldwide caliphate, meaning that it claims a military, political and religious authority over all Muslims worldwide. It follows a Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam. It's leader being Abu Bakr al-baghdadi. Boko Haram- A terrorist group having its base in northeastern Nigeria but also being active in Chad, Niger and north Cameroon. Since 2015 it confirmed its loyalty to the Islamic State (ISIS), its leader is Abubakar Shekau. According to the Global Terrorism Index published in 2015, it is considered the world's deadliest terrorist group. It follows a Sunni ideology and opposes the Westernization of Nigerian society. 4
Hezbollah- A Shia Islamist group and political party from Lebanon. Created in 1985 and within its main objectives, it includes "expulsion of the Americans, the French and their allies definitely from Lebanon, putting an end to any colonialist entity on our land" and also to bring justice for those crimes which were made against Muslims. Within its ideology, it includes: Anti- Semitism, Anti-West, Anti-Western imperialism and Islamic nationalism. According to the European Union, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, Hezbollah's military wing is seen as a terrorist organization, distinguishing it from the political party. Its Secretary General is Hassan Nasrallah. Al Qaeda- A militant Sunni Islamist organization founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden and other Arab volunteers who were fighting against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s. It is mostly characterized by suicide attacks and the bombing of different targets simultaneously. It has performed several attacks on the civilian population of several countries such as the 9/11 attack and the 2002 Bali bombing. Within its ideology it claims to intend to break all foreign influences in Muslim countries and to create a new caliphate that'll dominate the entire Muslim world. Since bin Laden's death, the organization has been lead by Ayman al-zawahiri and it is considered to now be fragmented into several regional movements with almost none connection between each other. Its direct affiliates are: Al- Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Al-Qaeda in Somalia,Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Al- Qaeda in Syria, Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, Al-Qaeda in Lebanon, Al-Qaeda in the Malay Archipelago, Al-Qaeda in Kurdistan, Al-Qaeda in West Africa, Al-Qaeda in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Al-Qaeda in Gaza, Al Qaeda in Spain and Al-Qaeda in Sinai Peninsula. Taliban- An Islamic fundamentalist political movement from Afghanistan who held power on that country from 1996 to 2001, forcing the implementation of the Sharia (Islamic law) lead by Mullah Mohammed Omar until his death in 2013 and now preceded by Mullah Akhtar Mansour. It has been internationally condemned for the harsh implementation of the Sharia which had as as consequence the mistreatment of many Afghans and especially women. 5
General Overview Background Information The implementation of new propagandistic techniques and the increased use of the internet in relation to the recruitment of terrorist groups has risen within the years. According to the EU anti-terror division, there are more than 3000 fighters from the EU states working for the Islamic State alone. It is estimated by the Soufan Group that there are 12000 in Syria alone from 81 countries, having the highest concentration of terrorist fighters in the world. Research has indicated that at least 23 of the 42 active groups that were designated by the US Department of State as Foreign Terrorist Organization utilize school-aged youth somehow. These have different goals and motivations and are located in several countries and regions of the world such as Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Nepal, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Thailand, Palestine, Lebanon, Colombia, Somalia, Philippines, Japan, Sri Lanka, Peru, Bosnia, North Africa, and Western Europe. According to the New York Times, half of ISIS members are foreign fighters and 4000 of them are Westerns. They have been able to capture people's attention by introducing "Jihadi John, a British Muslim charged of decapitating Western journalists. By this the group has gained international fame and uses methods such as the publication of this videos, the use of Twitter and Facebook as methods of propaganda so as to capture people's attention and expand the number of recruited people. In 2009, the Association of Chief Police Officers indicated that two hundred schoolchildren in Britain were identified as being at risk of extremism or being attracted by radicalizers. In 2014, Resolution 2178 was passed, the Council condemned violent extremism and decided that Member States should prevent the recruiting, organizing, transporting or equipping of individuals who travel to a State other than their States of residence or nationality for the purpose of the perpetration, planning of, or participation in terrorist acts. 6
Recruitment methods- Propaganda through the media and the Internet Terrorist groups are currently using innovative methods to recruit people from all ages. Nowadays, the internet place an important part in the role of propaganda and digital media platforms tools for any means. Therefore, important terrorist groups had adopted this methodology for targeting and solicit support from them. In general, groups are using online platforms to attract young people who feel identify with them by producing content and exposing their ideological or practical instruction, explanations, justifications or promotion of terrorist activities. These is achieved through the use of different media means such as virtual messages, presentations, magazines, audio and video files. Youth is persuaded by video games developed by terrorist organizations or followers to show their ideology. Besides, some of these groups have password-protected and restricted-access websites where they expressed clandestine activities. Many groups had applied this tactics which were successful in many territories taking advantage of people lacking general knowledge and education. The different groups are: Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group tries to reach young boys and adolescents from its youth website, al-fateh. It also runs a television station, Al Aqsa TV. There, cartoons are played, Disney-like characters, and colorful children s stories. By this media, messages of violence are spread to promote and encourage hatred of Israel together with a high praise jihad and martyrdom. On Al Aqsa TV, there is a children s program called Tomorrow s Pioneer that had a popular character loved by kids who watch it named Farfur. In one of the episodes, Farfur was beaten to death by an Israeli soldier. After that, this character was replaced by another who was also murdered by his enemy. Hezbollah terrorist group, had designed different videogames called Special Force and Special Force 2 in which the player is a first-person-shooter soldier simulating a mission in which they kill israeli soldiers. They adapted media content to their ideology and activities with mass communications and media related terrorist propaganda. For example kids watch puppet shows of former President Bush getting stabbed on television. Other online magazines promoting violence against Israel. 7
The Net- By this methodology, a videotape is sent to a group of people which has already been exposed to radicals and extreme ideas. The video conveys the different tactics and methods that the terrorist organization practices. As a consequence, most of the people will respond positively and engage with the organization because of their already radicals thoughts. Others will reject the message and will not be involve with the group. The terrorists organizations take into account several characteristics when sending the video message. These factors varied in each person, and are the location, influences and lifestyle of the targeted population. This model is more effective in people who tend to have extremist and radicals ideas. One of the groups which actively does this is Al Qaida in places where their ideas are widespread like Pakistan. 8
Major parties involved and their views Afghanistan- Radicalization and recruitment of people in the Middle East is difficult to track, therefore, initiatives and measures coming from the United Nations and States are complex to achieve. Nevertheless, the Afghanistan government had taken actions on the matter regarding recruitment from terrorist groups inside madrasas. Madrasas is the name given to schools and educational religious colleges for the study of the Islamic religion. They are used as recruitment centers taking advantage of indoctrination with extreme ideologies and thoughts which made them susceptible of being recruit. The government, aware of this problematic and concerned about the consequences, impulse the creation of 34 new Madrasas under its direct control and supervision to counter the effect of terrorist groups radicalising the youth. The curriculum, according to UNICEF, will be dedicated to religious studies in a 40 percent, another 40 percent to general education studies, and the remaining 20 percent to English language and computer skills. United States- After the September 11 terrorist attacks 2001, Islamic terrorism became very significant in terms of national security concerning the United States. In response, the War on Terror, an international military campaign, was launched by president George W. Bush. Mostly, it was focused on countries that had association with Islamic terrorism organizations such as Al- Qaeda and similar minded organizations. In 2013, Obama announced that the U.S was no longer pursuing a war on terror because military focus should have been upon specific enemies. Since the 9/11 attacks, also the government has worked to improve information sharing between federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement as well as public. In August 2011, it was released by the U.S presidency a strategy to counter violent extremism being called "Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States". It includes approach of community engagement, batter training and counternarratives. Since 2007, more than 50 American citizens and permanent residents were arrested because of having connection or attempts to join terrorist groups abroad, including Al Qaeda. In 2013, 9 Americans are known for having joined or intended to join a foreign terrorist organization. 9
Countries that are receiving recruits- Iraq, Syria and Libya- These countries during the last decade have been experiencing invasions and wars. Although four years have passed since the US retreat from Iraq, the country is still suffering the consequences. Syria and Lybia are both going through civil wars and thousands of peoples are trying to escape so as to have a better life somewhere else. The direct consequence of the situations that were mentioned is the rise of extremist groups who share their ideals and provide solutions to people's problems who in the desperate need, end up being caught by such organizations. Countries from Europe from which recruits are leaving- United Kingdom, Belgium and France- According to Shiraz Maher (ICSR), there are more British Muslims fighting in the Islamic State than for the British armed forces. It is estimated that in Belgium, there are at least 520 militants of a population of 11.2 million. France is the country which exports the biggest number of jihadists, it exports nearly 1600 out of 5000. All these figures can be justified because in most of this countries, Islam and Muslims are often considered outsiders and in consequence of such prejudice, they escape the country and join extremist groups such as ISIS where they find a feeling of belonging and are identified with the other people. 10
Countries from which recruits are leaving- Australia- It seems that Australia is the country which has become the largest per capita contributor of foreign fighters to ISIS. It is estimated that 150 out of 300 Australians have left the country to join the extremist group. Tunisia and Morocco- According to The Guardian, it is estimated that there are more Tunisian people fighting for ISIS than combatants from any other country. According to the Tunisian interior ministry, at least 2400 citizens have become combatants since 2011. Since 2011, 1500 Moroccans have left the country to join ISIS so as to fight in Iraq and Syria while 300 have left so as to fight in Libya where ISIS has exploited a power vacuum so as to solidify itself. Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia- After the release of the first propaganda video of a training camp in the Filipino jungle, the Philippines has become the latest ISIS target for expansion. Approximately 100 people have left the country to join ISIS while 200 have already left Malaysia and another 200 have left Indonesia so as to fight for the jihadist group. 11
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Timeline of important events/documents September 11, 2001 Year 9/11 events Event September 29, 2001 Security Council Resolution 1373 March 20, 2003 September 2006 December 30, 2006 February-October 2011 March 15, 2011 October 20, 2011 December 18, 2011 April 15, 2013 August 19, 2014 US Invasion of Iraq United Nations Global Counter Terrorism Strategy Execution of Saddam Hussein Libyan Civil War Beginning of the Syrian Civil War Death of Muammar Gaddafi Last troops pulled out of Iraq Boston Marathon Explosion Beheading of James Foley by ISIS September 2014 Security Council Resolution 2178 January 7, 2015 November 13, 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting November 2015 Paris attacks February 2015 Security Council Resolution 2199 March 2016 March 2016 March 2016 March 2016 Istanbul bombing Brussels bombing Aden car bombing in Yemen Iraqi soccer stadium bombing 13
UN involvement Security Council Resolution 1373- Adopted after the 9/11 events on September 28, 2001. Within its main aims, it established its aim to hinder terrorist groups and for UN members to share their intelligence in relation to these groups so as to assist in combating international terrorism. It calls for all states to have laws against terrorism. Security Council Resolution 2178- Approved in September 2014, asks countries to take steps towards the Foreign Terrorist Fighters threat, including preventing suspected FTFs from entering or transiting their territory and to adopt legislation to prosecute them. It asks cooperation within Member States by sharing information on criminal investigations and prosecutions. Security Council Resolution 2199- Approved on February 2015, sets up financial measures to fight terrorism such as asset freezing and close financial sources of terrorism including illegal drug trading and the extraction of natural resources. It condemns the destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL and Al-Nusrah Front. European Union Counter Terrorism Strategy- Aims to combat terrorism globally while still respecting human rights, allowing citizens to live under an area of freedom, security and justice. It basically consists in 5 objectives which are the following: Prevent Identify and tackle factors that contribute to radicalization and the processes by which individuals are recruited to perform terrorist acts. To achieve this aim, the Council adopted an EU strategy for combating radicalization and recruitment to terrorism in June 2014, while on December of the same year, it adopted a guidelines that set out a series of measures to be implemented by EU member states. Protect The protection of external borders, improvement of transport security, the protection of citizens and infrastructure plus the reduction of vulnerability of critical infrastructure. The EU is working on legislation that regulates the use of passenger name record data for law purposes. Pursue Strengthens national capabilities by the improvement of practical cooperation and information exchange between police and judicial authorities (Europol and Eurojust), so as to tackle terrorist financing and deprive terrorists of the means that they mount attacks and communicate. In May 2015, the Council and European Parliament adopted rules to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. 14
Respond Improving capabilities to deal with the aftermath, coordination of the response and the needs of victims. It includes the development of EU crisis coordination arrangements, revision of civil protection mechanism, development of risk assessment or the sharing of practises on assistance of terrorism victims. Engagement with international partners Improve relations between the EU and other countries so as to be able to cooperate towards the end of terrorism. United Nations Global Counter Terrorism Strategy- Adopted by Member States on September 2006, it is a unique global instrument that'll enhance national, regional and international efforts to counter terrorism. 15
Possible Solutions Within the possible solutions to the issue, what must be done is to make the population fully aware of the risks that include joining such organizations and also to be able to smear such violent ideologies and prove that the message this entities are transmitting are false, that it is not the intention of the religion to perform such acts. Religious awareness has to be raised and it must be cleared that these are interpretations of the Islam, the message that the religion is trying to give out is not the one that Isis or such terrorist groups are trying to give out. Factors that contribute towards radicalization and processes by which individuals are recruited should be identified and such contact should be disrupted. Propaganda should be used so as to antagonize these groups and thus increase knowledge and awareness. National and local leaders should be empowered to challenge this extremist views through programs, training and funding. It is not only the work of governments but also of NGOS and the private sector, so as to increase cooperation and mostly because of the increased influence these have in local communities and the responses they are able to obtain. There should be a call towards the end of discrimination and segregations of minorities within the countries, because such feeling of isolation and lack of belonging, are mostly the ones that incentivize people to unite terrorist groups. 16
List of Sources DENNIS LYNCH. (2014). What Are Foreign Terrorist Fighters? UN, World Leaders Resolve To Stop Western Terrorists. April 25, 2016, de International Business Times Sitio web: http://www.ibtimes.com/what-are-foreign-terrorist-fighters-un-world-leaders-resolvestop-western-terrorists-1695599 Us Department of Education. (2009). Recruitment and Radicalization of School Aged Youth by International Terrorist Groups. United States: Homeland Security Institute. U.S. Mission to the United Nations. (2014). Fact Sheet on UNSC Resolution 2178 on Foreign Terrorist Fighters. April 25, 2016, de U.S. Mission to the United Nations Office of Press and Public Diplomacy Sitio web: http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/texttrans/2014/09/20140924308855.html#axzz46 sfh09bf Daniel R. DePetris. (2014). The 5 Deadliest Terrorist Groups on the Planet. April 25, 2016, de The National Interest Sitio web: http://nationalinterest.org/feature/washington-watchingthe-5-deadliest-terrorist-groups-the-11687?page=2%20tion.pdf Fivefold increase in terrorism fatalities since 9/11, says report. April 25, 2016, de The Guardian Sitio web: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/nov/18/fivefold-increaseterrorism-fatalities-global-index Lauren B. O Brien, M.S.F.S.. (2011). The Evolution of Terrorism Since 9/11. April 25, 2016, de The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Sitio web: https://leb.fbi.gov/2011/september/the-evolution-of-terrorism-since-9-11 Secretary-General. (2012). United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy: activities of the United Nations system in implementing the Strategy. April 25, 2016, de United Nations General Assembly Sitio web: http://www.un.org/en/terrorism/ctitf/pdfs/a%2066%20762%20english.pdf United Nations Office on Drug and Crimes. (2012). The use of the internet for terrorist purposes. New York: United Nations 17