- Prelims: Current events of international importance(Terrorism, FATF, UNSCR resolution 1267 etc
- Mains GS Paper II: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate, Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
- There have been meetings and conferences on the issue of countering terrorism worldwide:
- United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee
- No Money for Terror Conference
- Interpol Conference.
INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE
Context
Terrorism:
- Terrorism is the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.
Interlinkage between organized crime and terrorism:
Background(Past terror attacks):
- September 11, 2001 terror attack in New York
- November 26, 2008 attacks on multiple targets in Mumbai.
- The attacks on the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris (2015)
- Bardo Museum in Tunis (March 2015)
- Istanbul attack (2016)
Implications:
- The 9/11 attack came to be regarded as ‘new age terrorism.
- State-sponsored terrorism: Mumbai underscored the dangers of state-sponsored terrorism.
- The cognitive map of terrorism changed.
- Rise of new terrorist entities such as the Islamic State (IS) and al Qaeda(each with their own caliphs).
- Indications of new complicated patterns of relationships among various terrorist conglomerates.
- Provided a fillip to many fringe extremist organizations that nurse a terror mindset.
Why is Al-Qaeda getting more ground?
- It has both an advocacy and an advisory role, vis-à-vis Taliban in Afghanistan.
- Al-Qaeda’s activities are becoming more decentralized.
- It is finding fertile grounds in the Sahel region of Africa and in Eastern Africa, apart from its salience in Afghanistan.
- The Haqqani Network within the new Taliban government provides an opportunity for al-Qaeda to find greater traction across the region.
Current Issues which meetings didn’t address:
- Very little discussion on how to deal with the spate of newer terror groups.
- The ambit of activities of al-Qaeda and the IS had widened and become more widespread.
- Religious extremism: No discussion about ideology intertwined with religious extremism had become an even more potent threat than previously.
- The terrorist ‘handle’ had become a useful ploy for many governments to drum up support for their various initiatives.
Way Forward
- Threat for future generation: It would be wise for those in authority to heed the warning that terrorism could well prove to be the defining threat of not merely the present, but to future generations as well.
- counter-terrorism experts across India to read proper meanings of terror attacks like Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) and Mangalore (Karnataka) attacks.
- These are symptoms of growing radicalisation which could lead to the creation of organizations on the model of the Indian Mujahideen (of the early 2000s).
- Constant and careful vigil by counter-terrorism experts is needed to keep track of activities and links that are being established (under the radar) by global terrorist outfits whose presence is not as widely advertised as that of al-Qaeda and the IS.
- The most needed step from world leaders is not to accept all declarations of a decline in levels of terrorism at face value and not to treat some terrorists as good and others as bad, based on each nation’s predilections.
- Reactivate the proposal for the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) that has been languishing in the offices of the UN (since India first proposed this in the 1990s), and finalize the list of items needed to check terrorism globally.
QUESTION FOR PRACTICE
Q. Discuss the types of organized crimes. Describe the linkages between terrorists and organized crime that exist at the national and transnational levels.(UPSC 2022) (200 WORDS, 10 MARKS)
