Tackling the World's Multiple Challenges Simultaneously: The Role of the United Nations.

AuthorConinsx, Michele

Terrorism is a plague from which no continent or country is immune. To address this global threat to peace and security, international cooperation is crucial. The United Nations is uniquely placed to assist Member States to effectively prevent terrorist acts within their borders and across regions. The multifaceted approach proposed by the United Nations also offers means for countries to address various but interconnected issues simultaneously.

One of the tools available to address a host of global challenges is the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Ambitious and crucial in their own right as a means to tackle serious development-related challenges, a number of these Goals can also directly or indirectly help efforts to counter terrorism by addressing conditions conducive to its spread. Some of these conditions have been identified as lack of socioeconomic opportunities; marginalization and discrimination; poor governance; violations of human rights and the rule of law; prolonged and unresolved conflict; and radicalization in prisons.

Whereas the 2030 Agenda is crucial for meeting the numerous development-related challenges facing our world, the responsibility to address threats to international peace and security, including terrorism, lies with the United Nations Security Council. Since 2001, the Council's dedicated Counter-Terrorism Committee oversees the implementation of resolutions relevant to preventing and addressing terrorism by all Member States. The Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) carries out the policy decisions of the Committee, conducts expert assessments of Member States and facilitates counter-terrorism technical assistance to countries. Between 2004 and 2014, three major resolutions have been guiding the work of CTED; in the last three and a half years, over 20 additional Security Council resolutions have been adopted, not only affecting the work of CTED but having a bearing on larger international efforts.

The considerable growth in the number and scope of resolutions adopted by the Security Council in this area is linked to global events. As the global terrorism landscape has evolved significantly in recent years, the Council has responded by taking decisive action.

A serious development over the last few years was the emergence of ISIL (Daesh) and its subsequent territorial decline. Yet the terrorist organization's retreat from the...

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