Although I believe we are heading in the right direction, much progress still needs to be made at the national, regional, and international levels. Individual countries have made big strides, but success is measured in relative terms and major disparities persist.
While some countries can spend billions of dollars on countering terrorism, others struggle to put in place even the basic measures needed to protect their borders and bring terrorists to justice. When a large proportion of a country's population lives in poverty, it is no surprise that they put scarce resources into development rather than counter-terrorism. We understand that, and often suggest approaches that have the dual benefit of protecting the country's economic and developmental interests while enhancing its security.
Frankly, preventing terrorist attacks is a challenge for everyone, even for countries that are richly endowed with resources and skilled personnel. For most nations, realistically, the implementation of the long list of measures envisaged by the Security Council resolutions and the Global Strategy is going to be patchy at best.
The task is daunting: securing borders, tightening financial controls, strengthening the role of the police, improving criminal justice systems, and providing mutual legal assistance to other countries trying to convict terrorists in their courts. This is a step-by-step process that might begin with Governments ratifying the relevant conventions and adopting stronger terrorism-related laws. However, they cannot stop there.
The devil is often in the details when dealing with an issue as complex as this one. Take, for example, airport security. In many airports, security is tighter than ever, often to the annoyance of travelers who feel they are subjected to overly intrusive measures. As we introduce the latest ones and train staff on their use, we must always be aware that Al-Qaeda and other groups are probably working on new methods of evasion.
All this relies on information and technology, both often in short supply in parts of the world where it can take weeks to repair a broken X-ray machine. Countless men and women are on the beat every day all over the world, determined to prevent terrorists and other criminals from carrying out their plans. Think of border guards patrolling long and remote frontiers in inhospitable terrain, police officers following leads that span multiple countries, prosecutors combing through endless piles of evidence.
Knowing that proper training, better equipment, and access to more information would help them immeasurably, we work towards bringing these tools to them. When a country's defences are breached and a terrorist attack succeeds, we are immediately reminded of the real cost of this scourge, notably human pain, loss, and suffering. The images of the latest bombed vehicle or building flickering on our television screens may fade in our memories, but the pain of survivors, families of victims, and affected communities does not go away so easily.
These people must not be forgotten, and we in the United Nations should continue to advocate for their interests and dignity. Their stories speak loudly for humanity and justice, and are an important part of countering terrorist propaganda. NATO faces a range of threats arising from instability in the region to the south of the Alliance. The Hub collects and analyses information, assesses potential threats and engages with partner countries and organisations.
Recognising the many different roles that men and women may play in terrorist groups, NATO is also seeking to integrate a gender perspective in all its counter-terrorism efforts, including training and education for Allies and partners, as well as policy and programme development. Beyond the everyday consultations within the Alliance, experts from a range of backgrounds are invited to brief Allies on specific areas of counter-terrorism.
The Alliance strives to ensure that it has adequate capabilities to prevent, protect against and respond to terrorist threats. Much of this work is conducted through the Defence Against Terrorism Programme of Work, which aims to protect troops, civilians and critical infrastructure against attacks perpetrated by terrorists, such as attacks with improvised explosive devices IEDs and unmanned aircraft systems UAS.
NATO policies and practical frameworks in areas such as C-UAS, biometrics, battlefield evidence and technical exploitation also drive capability development in areas relevant to counter-terrorism. Its primary focus was on technological solutions to mitigate the effects of terrorist attacks, but the programme has since widened its scope to support comprehensive capability development.
It now includes exercises, trials, development of prototypes and concepts, doctrine, equipment and interoperability demonstrations. Most projects under the programme focus on finding solutions that can be fielded in the short term and that respond to the military needs of the Alliance. The programme uses new or adapted technologies or methods to detect, disrupt and defeat asymmetric threats, covering a wide range of areas, including C-UAS, biometrics, technical exploitation and C-IED.
The spread and potential use of weapons of mass destruction WMD and their delivery systems together with the possibility that terrorists will acquire them, are acknowledged as priority threats to the Alliance.
Therefore, NATO places a high priority on preventing the proliferation of WMD to state and non-state actors and defending against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear CBRN threats and hazards that may pose a threat to the safety and security of Allied populations. Terrorists have sought to use and manipulate various technologies in their operations, including easily available off-the-shelf technology. Drones, in particular, have been identified as a threat.
Therefore, in February , defence ministers agreed a practical framework to counter unmanned aircraft systems UAS. A new programme of work to help coordinate approaches and identify additional steps to address this threat is currently in the approval process. NATO is also addressing the use of information obtained on missions and operations. In , Allies agreed a new biometric data policy, consistent with applicable national and international law and subject to national requirements and restrictions.
The policy is particularly relevant to force protection and the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters. It aims to facilitate the sharing of information obtained on NATO missions and operations for law enforcement purposes. While the primary purpose of deployed military is to fulfil their operational objectives, troops often collect information or material on the battlefield, some of which may also be useful to support legal proceedings, including the prosecution of returning foreign terrorist fighters.
In this regard, the new policy also supports Allies in fulfilling their obligations under United Nations Security Council Resolution in holding foreign fighters accountable. At the same time, a Practical Framework for Technical Exploitation was agreed. Technical exploitation collects material that has been in the possession of terrorists and other adversaries, such as weapons, computers and cell phones, and uses scientific tools and analysis to support the identification of actors, their capabilities and intentions.
It enables NATO forces to derive important information and intelligence from material and materiel collected on the battlefield to support military objectives, protect our forces or support law enforcement outcomes as battlefield evidence.
As a member of the Coalition, NATO has been playing a key role in the fight against international terrorism, including through its long-standing operational engagement in Afghanistan, through intelligence-sharing and through its work with partners with a view to projecting stability in the Euro-Atlantic area and beyond. NATO also takes part in counter-terrorism in the high seas. Currently, Sea Guardian operates in the Mediterranean Sea.
Active Endeavour was terminated in October Many other operations have had relevance to international counter-terrorism efforts. For example, the International Security Assistance Force ISAF - the NATO-led operation in Afghanistan, which began in and came to an end in - helped the government to expand its authority and implement security to prevent the country from once again becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. In April , the Allies decided to start the withdrawal of RSM forces by 1 May and the mission was terminated in early September This field can relate directly to counter-terrorism, building resilience and ensuring appropriate planning and preparation for response to and recovery from terrorist acts.
National authorities are primarily responsible for protecting their population and critical infrastructure against the consequences of terrorist attacks, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear CBRN incidents and natural disasters. NATO can assist countries by developing non-binding advice and minimum standards and act as a forum to exchange best practices and lessons learned to improve preparedness and national resilience.
NATO guidance can also advise national authorities on warning the general public and alerting emergency responders. NATO can call on an extensive network of civil experts, from government and industry, to help respond to requests for assistance.
As the global counter-terrorism effort requires a holistic approach, Allies have resolved to strengthen outreach to and cooperation with partner countries and international actors. Terrorists go through a radicalisation process before turning to violence. Teachers and youth workers try to recognise this and report their suspicions to the police and criminal justice authorities, if necessary. In this way, it is possible to stop radicalisation in time and prevent it from leading to terrorism.
Terrorist offences are crimes carried out with the intent to cause terror. Terrorist intent is a circumstance that makes the punishment more severe. So the sentence for an offence carried out with terrorist intent will be harsher than for the basic offence alone.
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