Counter Terrorism Policy of the Un

Terrorism is an act of violence, usually done in the public sphere, which is used to incite fear in a population in order to coerce change in public opinion or a government’s position on an issue. In many parts of the world, groups wage war with their countries, either to separate from the government or to overthrow it entirely. Sometimes these people are treated unfairly by their government, and their struggles are justified. Other times, these groups use violence against both military and civilian targets, terrorizing innocent bystanders to get what they want—these groups are terrorists. Often, though, it is difficult to tell the difference.

Today, several major countries—notably the United States and United Kingdom—are involved in the “war on terrorism,” a campaign to end global terrorist organizations. Other countries, such as Indonesia, Russia and the Philippines, are struggling to put down terrorist groups within their borders. Terrorism is increasingly an international problem: large terrorist groups can stage attacks in several countries, or several groups can serve act as allies in a world-wide terrorist network. To fight global terrorism, the international community must address many complicated problems, such as state-sponsored terrorism and cooperation between states.

Today, the UN is working to stop terrorism, and to ensure that member states act fairly when doing so. But many counties are afraid that these efforts will pose problems for national sovereignty—the right of a nation to control what happens within its borders. Also, the UN must find out how it can get more money for the war on terrorism and encourage countries to share their information on terrorists worldwide.

PAST INTERNATIONAL ACTION

UN Action before September 11, 2001

In 1994, countries created the Declaration of Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism. First, the document encouraged countries to share information about global terrorist groups, giving every nation