The four working groups of the International Counter-terrorism Conference hosted by the Kingdom in Riyadh issued their recommendations today.
Following are the recommendations in detail:
REPORT OF THE FIRST WORKING GROUP
(Origins, sources, culture and ideology of terrorism)
Date: 7 February 2005
Chairman: Ambassador Hayati Guven (Republic of Turkey)
Session Rapporteur: Dr. Mustapha Alem (Saudi Arabia)
Workshop title: Origins, culture and ideology of terrorism
Participants:
- Federal Republic of Germany
- Islamic Republic of Iran
- Federal Republic of Brazil
- Republic of Turkey
- Denmark
- Canada
- State of Kuwait
- Republic of Lebanon
- Malaysia
- Arab Republic of Egypt
- Japan
- European Union
- UN Security Council 1267 Committee Monitoring Team
Session Summary
The Chairman of the workshop was chosen in coordination between member states which nominated Turkey to chair Workshop I.
Germany, Turkey, Egypt and Japan delivered the statements in the session which focused on the origins, culture and ideology of terrorism. Other countries contributed from the floor to the work of the committee and experiences of each state in this field were reviewed. It was emphasized that terrorism is one of the most serious issues and problems of our times, and that it is important to define its causes and explore ways to combat it.
The participants underlined that extreme poverty, unjust social system and structure, corruption, political causes, foreign occupation, extreme exploitation, religious extremism, systemic violation of human rights, discrimination, economic marginalization and culture alienation as a result of globalization can be cited among the root causes of terrorism. They also emphasized that regional conflicts as well provide a pretext for acts of terrorism and for the operations of terrorist organizations. They accepted that these factors, along or together can create a fertile ground where terrorism can flourish. Elimination of these negative factors would contribute to the elimination of terrorism.
Although it is a widely accepted fact that certain factors provide a suitable environment for terrorism to flourish, it is also important to bear in mind that identifying these "root causes" is a very complex and difficult task. Therefore, while identifying the most fundamental factors that give rise to terrorism, it should be noted that this is an open ended list.
However, they also stressed that it is not possible to accept any of those factors as a cause by itself leading to terrorism in a deterministic manner. They affirmed that there exists no single root cause of terrorism or even a common set of causes. There are however a number of predictions and precipitant for the emergence of various forms of terrorism. They agreed that terrorism is better understood as emerging from a process of interaction between different factors, that as a mechanical cause and effect relationship.
Recommendations:
1- Terrorism and extremism constitute a continuous threat to the peace, security and stability of all countries and peoples. They should be condemned and comprehensively confronted by a unified and effective global strategy; and an organized international effort underlining the leading role of the United Nations is needed.
2- No matter what pretext terrorists may use for their deeds, terrorism has no justification. Terrorism under all circumstances, regardless of the alleged motives should be condemned unreservedly.
3- Lack of agreement on a comprehensive definition of terrorism which is acceptable to all hampers international efforts to combat terrorism. Therefore, the problem of definition should be overcome. The proposals contained in the UN High Level Panel Report on New Threats and Challenges could provide a useful basis for a speedy compromise in this field.
4- The violent nature of terrorism forces the international community to concentrate on measures to eliminate terrorist organizations and prevent terrorist acts. On the other hand, it is important to address the factors that provide a fertile ground where terrorism can flourish with a view to contribute to the elimination of terrorism.
5- Serious attempts should be made to solve regional and international conflicts peacefully, so that terrorist organizations are denied the opportunity of exploiting the suffering of peoples under unjust conditions, spreading their misguided ideology and founding a fertile ground for recruitment and for their illegal activities.
6- Terrorism violates the enjoyment of fundamental human rights. Terrorism has no particular region, race, nationality or a specific geographic region. In this context, it should be underlined that any attempt to couple terrorism with any religion would in fact play into the hands of terrorists and should be strongly rejected. Therefore, measures should be taken to prevent intolerance against any religion and to create an atmosphere of common understanding and cooperation based on shared values among nations belonging to different faiths.
7- Guidelines and codes of conduct should be developed by the appropriate UN bodies to assist states and their law enforcement agencies in combating terrorism while observing their obligations under international law including human rights, humanitarian and refugee laws.
8- National reform efforts of countries aiming at widening political participation and pluralism, achieving sustainable development, reaching social equilibrium and promoting the role of civil society institutions should be supported so as to confront the conditions promoting violence and extremism.
9- Programs should be developed and implemented which are aimed at promoting multicultural and inter-religious dialogue. To this effect, policies and mechanism should be set to develop educational systems and other sources of socialization in order to strengthen the values of tolerance, pluralism and human co-existence at grassroots level as well as to provided basic knowledge of civilizations and religions and to raise public and mass media awareness of the dangers of terrorism and extremism.
10- Ideas of tolerance and co-existence should be encouraged and mutual understanding on different religions be deepened through public debate and exchange of thoughts. Standards and codes of ethics should be identified to regulate publication or spreading of materials that promote hatred or inciting violence.
11- Special attention should be given to the situation of migrants. In many cases, these people represent "the Other" and are subjected to racism, xenophobia and intolerance. Addressing the fundamental rights of these persons will help bridge the cultural divide. At the same time, migrants should demonstrate willingness to ingrate into their host societies.
12- The UN is the main forum for consolidating international cooperation against terrorism. member stare are called to join, ratify without reservation and implement the 12 major international conventions on combating terrorism.
13- The UN Security Council resolutions 1267, 1373, 1526, 1540 and 1566 constitute a solid and comprehensive basis for combating terrorism on a universal scale. These resolutions provide a clear road map for the steps that need be taken. All countries should take necessary measures in order to fully comply with the provisions of the above mentioned Security Council resolutions.
14- The task of creating a universal legal instrument is yet to be fulfilled. The discussions in the UN on a comprehensive convention on terrorism have not moved ahead due to differences on the definition of terrorism. All states should exert further efforts in order to conclude the convention.
15- Special attention should be given to measures aimed at preventing terrorists' access to weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. The earliest possible adoption within the UN of the draft international convention for the suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism would be a crucial step in this direction.
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