Q3: What role can the UN, as a world body play in fighting terrorism and how effective has it been so far in containing this scourge?
UN took new action after the events of September 11, 2001. The Security Council adopted three important resolutions, 1368, 1373 and 1377 after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. These resolutions affirmed the right of self defence, found terrorism to be a threat to international peace and security, and stressed the accountability of the supporter as well as the perpetrator of terrorist acts. They obliged member states to limit the ability of terrorists and terrorist organizations to operate internationally by freezing assets of terrorist-affiliated persons and organizations and denying them safe haven, among other things. They also set forth a Ministerial Declaration on International Terrorism.
Security Council Resolution 1373 is a good example of such UN action. It requires all states to prevent and suppress the financing of terrorist acts, including freezing funds and other financial assets. The resolution also obliges all states to improve border security, clamp down on the recruitment of terrorists, intensify information sharing and law enforcement cooperation in the international campaign against terrorism, and deny terrorists and their supporters any assistance or safe haven.
The Security Council has established a Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC) to oversee implementation of Security Council Resolution 1373, and much more is involved than word and good intentions. Member states sent these reports to the CTC in December 2001 stating the steps they are taking to fight terrorism. These reports included progress in seven critical areas: legislation, financial asset controls, customs, immigration, extradition, law enforcement and arms traffic.
The General Assembly adopted two antiterrorism resolutions that condemned the “heinous acts of terrorism" in Washington, Pennsylvania, and New York. The General Assembly continued its work on the negotiation of international terrorism conventions. Secretary General Kofi Annan repeatedly condemned terrorism acts, as in a speech he delivered on 12 September: “All nations of the world must be united in their solidarity with the victims of terrorism, and in their determination to take action, both against the terrorists themselves and against all those who give them any kind of shelter, assistance or encouragement."
The various agencies of the UN also took new actions. Agencies like the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted resolutions committing members to take measures to limit terrorists' ability to act. The International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA), which is affiliated with the UN, adopted a UN Role in Fighting Terrorism 7/3/02 Page 6 resolution addressing measures to protect against acts of nuclear terrorism. It is developing a program to coordinate assistance to member states in an effort to improve security of nuclear facilities and of nuclear and radioactive materials.
Anthony H. Cordesman. (2002, June 18) The Role of the United Nations in Fighting Terrorism. Retrieved April 4, 2013, from
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