As the so-called Islamic State expands its reach and influence, it is evident that many find its narratives and tactics appealing. Countering that appeal and preventing the spread of the group’s violent ideology is essential to its long-term defeat. Partly as an acknowledgment of this fact, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched his new plan of action on preventing violent extremism in January. This International Peace Institute Global Observatory piece by Alistair Millar, Executive Director of the Global Center, explores whether the United Nations is equipped to deliver on the Secretary-General’s new plan of action.
The new plan to prevent violent extremism has already drawn some criticism for dwelling too much on what member states ought to do to prevent extremism, rather than offering a concrete plan of action for the United Nation to undertake. However, it does build on a host of initiatives emanating from the UN Security Council and General Assembly over the past decade, and expands the preventive dimension of multilateral activities in this area.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to roll out a plan of action to improve multilateral efforts on countering violent extremism (CVE), or what the United Nations increasingly calls “preventing” violent extremism, known under the acronym PVE. The forthcoming UN plan of action on preventing violent extremism will cap an intense year for new policies and programs in the field, which kicked off during the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism hosted by President Barack Obama and followed up at the opening of the UN General Assembly. The article explores why CVE is more critical than ever and why it is important to differentiate CVE from traditional counterterrorism measures. Looking ahead to discussions among member states and the UN system on a plan of action on CVE, the article encourages states to invest sufficient political capital to ensure that the outcome is best suited to their strategic goals. Overall, the article underscores that CVE measures represent a valuable opportunity to shape more concrete prevention efforts with an urgency that reflects the scale of the challenge.
On 24 September, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2178 with the support of over 120 states representing a broad cross-section of the UN membership. Resolution 2178 called on all UN member states to ensure increased border security and to screen for or arrest foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) travelling to or returning from conflict areas. Rightly so, it also urges states to counter violent extremism by taking preventive measures, such as engaging with communities at the local level to stop the spread of extremist ideologies.
On 23 October 2014, the Global Center, the Human Security Collective, and the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague convened an expert meeting at the European Union (EU) in Brussels to discuss the implications of the resolution and to explore appropriate and effective responses to the threat of FTFs, both within the EU and as part of the Union’s foreign security and development programming.
Building upon the discussion in Brussels, this policy brief is a compilation of essays from all three organizations on the challenges and opportunities for addressing the FTF threat from a European Union perspective. It also examines the implementation of Resolution 2178 as an integral part of national and multilateral foreign security and development policies and initiatives.
The widely endorsed adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2178 reflects an understanding by the international community that the response to the threat posed by violent, transnational, and nonstate groups, like the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), must be multidimensional. This brief explores the evolution of the UN’s response to transnational terrorism since 2001, including the emergence of new international actors, and highlights the innovative focus on “countering violent extremism” or “CVE” in the resolution. Moreover, the brief highlights the new opportunities presented by the resolution to underscore the critical role of human rights and foster a more balanced response going forward. Arguing that the world body should adopt an approach that is cognizant of existing efforts but also strategic in adding value, this brief sets out a number of practical recommendations for the UN and key stakeholders to consider in their efforts to implement Resolution 2178.
In view of its primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security, the UN Security Council plays a number of important roles in supporting UN entities and member states’ in their CVE efforts – whether through shaping international obligations and norms, mandating peacekeeping and political missions, or enhancing coordination and capacity within the UN Secretariat to meet emerging threats. This brief explores how the Security Council could better leverage these roles to further integrate CVE considerations into their responses to terrorism and conflicts that are influenced by terrorism and violent extremism. It also highlights some of the key challenges and opportunities in further integrating CVE practice into the work of the UN, in particular through Security Council.
Justice, human rights, and the rule of law have prominently featured in global deliberations on the post-2015 development agenda and remain fundamental components of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. With the expiration of the Millennium Development Goals initiative in 2015, a crucial opportunity now exists to begin identifying and deepening these synergies. This policy brief examines human rights and rule of law in the context of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and in relation to the wider UN system. The brief concludes with several recommendations for strengthening the strategic coherence of the UN’s rule of law-related initiatives in ways that both further the aims of the UN Global Strategy and align with a potential rule of law agenda in the post-2015 development framework.
The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, adopted by the General Assembly in 2006, presented a watershed moment for the institution that has historically faced fundamental divisions on counterterrorism issues, which has limited cooperation among member states. The broad consensus reflected in the Strategy’s multidimensional response to terrorism, including a strong emphasis on prevention, across the international, regional, and national levels, has provided a critical foundation for collaborative international efforts to address transnational terrorism and violent extremism. The biennial review process offers member states the opportunity to reaffirm their commitment and shape multilateral norms and initiatives to address this complex challenge.
In anticipation of the review, which took place on 12-13 June 2014, this report reflects on the United Nations’ performance on counterterrorism issues since the adoption of the Strategy in 2006, and in particular, developments since the 2012 review. It offers a strategic analysis of the changing counterterrorism landscape since the last review and explores ways of enhancing the review process to meet member state demands for a more substantive and effective process. The report concludes with a set of practical recommendations for the UN and member states to strengthen UN counterterrorism capacities, particularly through internal coordination, responsive programming, improved reporting, and strategic communication.
This report is the second in the Global Center’s “Blue Sky” series, and follows on the 2012 report entitled “Reshaping United Nations Counterterrorism Efforts: Blue-Sky Thinking for Global Counterterrorism Cooperation 10 Years After 9/11.”
The policy brief discusses the role of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) and the opportunities presented by the renewal of its mandate before the end of this year to further strengthen and clarify its role in the multilateral counterterrorism framework. It explores recent changes in the multilateral counterterrorism architecture, including the establishment of new entities within and outside the United Nations with a focus on countering terrorism and violent extremism.
The brief offers three key recommendations to 1) enhance CTED’s mandate and capacities to offer an analysis of counterterrorism capacity-building gaps; 2) develop regional or thematic action plans that reflect the transnational nature of contemporary terrorism and can form the basis of more contextually targeted interventions; and 3) develop closer collaboration with key UN partners to deliver a more integrated UN response to terrorism and violent extremism.
The roles of women in international peace and security efforts have been underscored by the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000 and subsequent thematic resolutions on women, peace, and security issues. The roles of women as they relate to terrorism and counterterrorism issues, however, have remained less explored by policymakers and international counterterrorism actors. As the international community shifts from a reactive to a more preventive approach regarding terrorism and violent extremism, the need for a more comprehensive multistakeholder approach to addressing these challenges has become apparent. Yet, little attention has been paid to integrating a gender dimension into UN and many national efforts to address the problems of terrorism and violent extremism.
This policy brief explores the conceptual and operational challenges in integrating a gender dimension into counterterrorism policy and programming and offers a set of recommendations for the United Nations and other actors to consider when developing effective and sustainable counterterrorism efforts.
In 2001 the report of the UN Secretary-General on the prevention of armed conflict reiterated a pledge to move the United Nations from a “culture of reaction to a culture of prevention.” Reflecting these trends, international actors have expressed greater interest in taking a more preventive approach on terrorism and countering violent extremism issues. How the strategic objective of terrorism prevention is to be implemented, however, remains an ongoing challenge for policymakers and practitioners. This policy brief offers an overview of the prevention agenda at the United Nations and considers how the agenda relates to international counterterrorism efforts. Following an exploration of the tools and resources currently and potentially available to the Security Council, this brief outlines a series of recommendations for consideration by UN officials, member states, and relevant stakeholders for strengthening UN capacities and enabling a more dynamic, integrated, and proactive approach to the complex security challenges the United Nations confronts today.
