40th Agenda 

40th Session Issues

Program of Action to Eliminate Terrorism

DEFINITION

Terrorism is a term that is quite easy to use, but extremely difficult to define. The United Nations has been debating the issue of terrorism for decades, but has never been able to compile a definition that gained international acceptance. Since there is no agreed upon definition of terrorism, there is no international crime of terrorism. Rather, there are treaty provisions for specific acts such as hijacking, hostage taking, and unlawful acts against protected persons. As these examples illustrate, individual definitions of terrorism exist in abundance:

• "Terrorist acts are severe bouts of violence directed at noncombatants by the contending sides of a political struggle."
• "The use, or threat of use of anxiety-inducing extra-normal violence for political purposes by any individual or group."
• "Violence, in order to be terrorism, must be political."
• "Terrorism is the recourse of a minority or even of a single dissident frustrated by the inability to make society shift in a desired direction by what that society regards as "legitimate" means."
• "One man's terrorist is everyone's terrorist. All terrorist acts are crimes and many also would be violations of the rules of war, if a state of war existed."
• "Terrorism is seen as the resort to violence for political ends by unauthorized, non-governmental actors in breach of accepted codes of behavior."

Most definitions of terrorism have several common denominators:

1. Terrorism is politically motivated;

2. The victim(s) are innocent bystanders and generally civilians;.

3. The terrorist act is designed to modify or influence the actions of a target audience, generally a government, by inflicting psychological pressure.

Currently, as well as being imprecise and ambiguous, the term "terrorism" is emotionally charged, giving rise to such cliches as "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." In order to facilitate a united step toward eliminating terrorism, it is necessary to create an internationally acceptable definition.

HISTORY

Terrorism was recorded as early as 70 A.D. when the Sicarii, a highly organized religious sect active in the Zealot struggle in Palestine, provoked the Jewish revolt against Rome. Terrorism appears again in the eleventh century A.D. when the Assassins, a Shiite sect, began a campaign to "purify" Islam that lasted almost two centuries and spread from Persia to Syria.

The word terrorism first appeared during the time of the French Revolution as a synonym for a reign of terror. It was also in France during the Napoleonic wars that the precursor to the car bomb, the cart bomb, was first used.

Many types of terrorism have appeared throughout history. Terrorism has emerged from political protest and revolts, social uprisings and religious protest movements. Originally, the term "terrorist" was used to describe violence in the name of the revolutionary state of the Restoration; by the end of the nineteenth century it became associated with antistate violence under the impact of the Russian terrorists of the 1880's and the anarchists of the 1890's.

The next phase in the evolution of terrorism was in the 1960's when several key religious and political changes occurred. Guerrilla warfare became more urbanized and urban terrorism flourished. Islamic fundamentalism, which stemmed from the reaction against Westernization, provided a strong base for Shiite terrorism. The social upheavels of the time caused large numbers of young people in developed nations to take up the cause of inequality between developed and lesser developed nations, inspiring radicals to begin underground groups.

In the 1970's, air travel had become safe and accessible providing rapid transit for terrorists between target states and countries that provided safe haven. The growth of mass communication, especially television, became a propaganda tool. Modern day terrorists have become innovative, using modern day technology to aid them, and networking with terrorist organizations all over the world. Terrorism has moved to the international stage and become a serious global problem.

RELIGION AND TERRORISM

Islamic fundamentalism is currently the most documented religious force that inspires and supports terrorist activities. Among the Islamic groups the Shiite sect stands out as a subscriber of terrorist tactics.

Shiite radicalism began in Najaf, a Shiite shrine city in Iraq. In the late fifties and throughout the sixties, the ulamas, or clerics, who controlled Najaf became deeply fearful that their Islamic values and religious autonomy were being threatened by Westernizing influences. Their response was to construct a theory of an Islamic state that could offer a satisfactory alternative to nationalism and communism. These writings received an endorsement from Ayatollah Khomeini who arrived in Najaf in 1965 after being expelled from Iran for his criticism of the Shah's foreign and domestic policies.

With the success of the Islamic revolution in Iran, the Ayatollah Khomeini was vaulted from exile to power in Iran. Since then the networks created in Najaf have been used as a way of exporting that revolution, especially to Iraq and Lebanon. What are often referred to as Shiite terrorist organizations see themselves as men of religion in a group of disciples. Some of these radical groups are quite small, but three have grown to an impressive size and have very prominent leaders:

• The Hizb al-Da'wa al-Islamiyya (The Party of the Islamic Call),
• the Munazzamat al-Amal al-Islami (The "Islamic Action Organization"),
• the Hizballah (The Party of God).

Many of the countries in which Islam is the dominant religion are in the midst of great social upheaval. Islam is seen as a stable, conservative social force with strong leverage over the faithful. The current activism in the Muslim world is seen by many as a reaction to the intervention and intrusion of Western ideas associated with modernization, ideas that are perceived as a threat to the traditions and values of Islam.

ECONOMICS OF TERRORISM

It is commonly believed that terrorists are acting out of totally altruistic reasons; that they are willing to die to further the cause and expect nothing in return. While this may be the case in some religiously motivated actions, all terrorist acts are not religiously motivated and there is another view that should also be examined; that many terrorists are acting out of self interest.

Two main components merit consideration:

1. Terrorism can be profitable for terrorists.

2. Terrorism allows individuals and governments to achieve political and economic gains that would be difficult to attain through normal diplomatic channels.

The first point is difficult to substantiate as most terrorist organizations will not admit to, much less reveal the profitability of their attacks. Some limited information is available, such as the average ransom in Italy:

Rich = .5-1.0 million,
Very Rich = 1.0-2.0 million,
Super Rich = 2.0-4.0 million.

Bank robberies and extortion can be very profitable. The PLO receives 5% of the income of every Palestinian as a donation; in Libya and Algeria this amount is deducted from their wages before they are paid.  The newest and most profitable money producer for terrorists is drugs, and narco-terrorism is spreading world wide. (see map) In Columbia the two main terrorist groups, M19 and the Armed Revolutionary Forces of Columbia (FARC) were small organizations for over ten years, and no more than an annoyance to the local government of Bogota. However, both organizations saw the potential in providing protection to drug barons. In the space of two years FARC was generating income of around $3.38 million per month while the number of members rose from about 150 to 2,000. FARC and M19 have both gained strong political influence.

The second point, that terrorism allows individuals and governments to more easily achieve political and economic gains, has been documented repeatedly. In Columbia the government has made an agreement with the M19 and FARC that in exchange for peace the government would consider political and land reforms. For most terrorists, a single violent event will vault them through all the bureaucratic red tape any government possesses, and leave them dealing with the top level.

Another more subtle financial aspect of terrorism involves state sponsored terrorism. Countries that back terrorist organizations in exchange for favors are able to eliminate desired targets or contribute to the destabilization of another government without going to war, and with little fear of reprisal.

GOVERNMENTS WHICH ENCOURAGE TERRORISM

Most nations in today's world have condemned the use of terrorism. Even Palestine, who once openly encouraged the use of terrorism in its fight against Israel, has recently renounced it in an attempt to gain international diplomatic access. Unfortunately, the official policy of a nation is not always the practiced policy. The United States, which has had a long standing policy of refusing to deal with terrorists, has supported several alleged terrorist groups: the Contras in Nicaragua and the Mujahedeen in Iran and Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which has officially denounced terrorism, provides arms to many alleged terrorist organizations as well as safe passage through Eastern bloc states for terrorists moving into Western Europe.

The phenomenon of international terrorism comes from groups sent by various sponsors to attack third-party interest on foreign soil, and many nations today can be considered practitioners of state sponsored terrorism. (For a more complete listing of international players, see box.)

The State of Terrorism

CUBA

Cuba trains terrorists, as well as guerrillas and insurgents, for fighting in El Salvador and Honduras. Cuba is a supply channel for various groups, offering arms, money, training and safe haven, often with Soviet backing. It has also been suggested that Cuba uses terrorism to provoke violence and repression in order to weaken government legitimacy and attract new converts to the armed struggle.

IRAN

Iran is the world's leading supporter of terrorism, which it uses to spread Islamic fundamentalism and weaken Western influence.  Iran has invested quite heavily in Lebanon and supports the Shiite Hizballah faction there.

LIBYA

Libya openly supports terrorist attacks on Western and Israeli targets as a way to further Colonel Qadaffi's plan of creating a new pan-Arabic order with himself as the leader. Libya provides training, money and arms for Middle East and European terrorist organizations and has support systems through its embassies.

NICARAGUA

Nicaragua is a known safe haven for members of Palestinian organizations, the Montoneros, the Tupamaros, ETA (Freedom for the Basque Homeland), and the Red Brigades. Nicaragua also provides training facilities, especially for Latin American terrorist groups.

NORTH KOREA

North Korea maintains links with Japanese terrorist groups and provides training, funds and weapons to other terrorists as well. In 1983 several of its agents set off a bomb in Burma that killed South Korean government officials on a visit to that country.

SOUTH YEMEN

South Yemen is deeply anti-Western and has supplied training, arms and haven for Palestinian groups for the past twenty years.

SOVIET UNION

The Soviet Union provides arms, intelligence, training and, inmost cases, safe passage through Eastern bloc states for terrorists moving into Western Europe.

SYRIA

Syria supports some of the most radical terrorist groups, such as Abu Nidal, and encourages terrorist actions against Western targets, Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the moderate Gulf States to thwart the Middle East peace process and further the secular goals of President Assad. Syria is a major source of arms for terrorists, and maintains training camps in Lebanon.

PREVENTING AND ELIMINATING TERRORISM

Dealing with terrorism is extremely complex, particularly when one considers that some forms of punishment may only serve to intensify terrorist attacks by creating martyrs or increasing public sympathy and support for the terrorist group. The most attractive solution is prevention or deterrence.

Nations that are highly susceptible to terrorist attacks spend considerable time and money on a process that is called "hardening the target". This refers to the greater security measures taken with high risk locations and personnel. Airports, government buildings, embassies, power stations and communications facilities use sophisticated security procedures to make it more difficult for terrorists to carry out their attacks.

Bilateral cooperation between nations has also been effective in dealing with many terrorist activities. In 1973 the United States and Cuba signed an agreement called The Cuban-American Memorandum of Understanding on Hijacking of Aircraft and Vessels and Other Offenses. This agreement is probably the most stringent of its kind in existence between two states and shows how effective a bilateral agreement can be, even between two unfriendly nations. Cuba also has anti-hijacking agreements with Venezuela, Mexico and Columbia. The Soviet Union has similar agreements with Afghanistan, Finland, and Iran. The network between nations with a desire to end terrorism needs to be stronger than the terrorist networks themselves, and the key is cooperation between states.

Several multilateral organizations are currently working toward the reduction of terrorism. A major reason for these agreements is the recognized need to mesh extradition procedures. Unfortunately, each of these organizations has experienced the same problem; they all refuse to define terrorism and therefore view political crimes differently. What one nation sees as a terrorist action another may not, and may therefore take exception to releasing an individual to another state for prosecution. Another obstacle to extradition is that the government that has the terrorist in custody sometimes finds itself threatened by that terrorist's organization. A recent example of this involves West Germany and the United States.

Mohammad Ali Hamadei, a Lebanese Shiite Moslem accused of participating in the hijacking of the United States TWA flight 847 and the subsequent murder of a United States navy diver on that flight, was arrested at a Frankfurt airport when he was discovered to be carrying three bottles of liquid plastic explosive. The United States immediately requested his extradition.

West Germany had every intention of complying until the Hizbollah, the terrorist organization Hamadei belonged to, kidnapped Rudolf Cordes, a West German manager of the Hoechst firm. West Germany arrested Hamadei's brother in retaliation. The Hizbollah then kidnapped Siemen's engineer Alfred Schmidt, an important member of the business community. West Germany bowed under the pressure and not only paid a large ransom for Schmidt's return, but agreed not to extradite Hamadei to the United States and promised he would face only a moderate prison term.

Improved intelligence gathering techniques and the sharing of information on a bilateral basis or through the Interpol and TREVI networks (a group made up of European Community members and other interested nations (to study terrorism, radicalism, and violence internationally) have had some effect in the fight against terrorism. The optimum situation would be for target nations to have some warning of an impending strike against them, giving them time to defuse the attack or enlist the aid of other states. International terrorists who intended to shoot down civilian airliners in Rome and Nairobi were arrested before they could stage their attacks due to intelligence provided by concerned nations.

State sponsored terrorism requires a slightly different strategy, and the use of force is the most widely discussed alternative. This carries its own dangers, as the ties between nations and terrorists' strikes are not always clear. Public identification and the embarrassment that usually accompanies it is sometimes effective. Syria has reduced its support for terrorist activity in Western Europe partly because of negative reactions to disclosures about its involvement with terrorist attacks in Great Britain and elsewhere. Sanctions such as economic and political boycotts, denial of landing rights or diplomatic representation, and the withdrawal of technical assistance can also be used.

The idea of cooperation in the fight against terrorism should also extend to the media. Terrorists have long used the media as a propaganda tool. The publicized successes of one terrorist organization often spur on a different terrorist group. Scotland Yard has had an agreement with the British press for over ten years that no news of a kidnapping will be published until the case is solved. Britain's rate of kidnapping for ransom, eight cases in eleven years, is very small compared with rates for West Germany, Italy, or Spain.

UNITED NATIONS INVOLVEMENT

One of the first resolutions dealing with terrorism was unanimously passed by the League of Nations on 10 December 1934. The resolution declared "...it is the duty of every State neither to encourage nor tolerate on its territory any terrorist activity with a political purpose." It went on to say "...every State must do all in its power to prevent and repress acts of this nature and must for this purpose lend its assistance to governments which request it." A committee was appointed to investigate terrorism, and the result of its work was the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Terrorism. The convention never went into effect, but it did establish two precedents. First, that nations under the Charter were obliged to prevent or punish acts of terrorism, and second, an International Criminal Court was set up and given jurisdiction to hear alleged cases of terrorism as defined by the Convention.

It was not until the 1950's that efforts against terrorism continued, this time under the auspices of the United Nations. In 1957 General Assembly Resolution 1186 dealt with aggression and terrorism and condemned the "...sending by or on behalf of a State of armed bands, groups, irregulars or mercenaries, which carry out acts of armed force against another State..." In 1972, Resolution 3034, concerning measures to prevent international terrorism, led to the creation of three committees.

These committees were to:

1. Define terrorism;

2. Examine the causes of terrorism;

3. Propose measures to prevent terrorism.

A split occurred. One group, led by the United States, was interested in preventing and punishing terrorism. Another group, led by Arab and African states, was interested in the underlying causes of the violence. The committees did not agree on a definition of terrorism, but their work did lead to three decisions.

1. The United States Draft Convention for the Punishment of Certain Acts of International Terrorism was rejected.

2. The General Assembly voted to grant "permanent observer status" to a delegation representing the Palestinian people.

3. The General Assembly approved the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, Including Diplomatic Agents.

The United Nations has dealt with the problem of terrorism in a mostly piecemeal basis. Most resolutions are aimed at resolving individual terrorist activities, but do not deal with terrorism as a whole. Resolution 3166 was adopted in 1973 to request the drafting of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, Including Diplomatic Agents. A 1977 Resolution (32/8) reaffirmed the General Assembly's condemnation of acts of aerial hijacking or other interference with civil air travel, whether committed by individuals or States. In November 1979, after the occupation of the United States embassy in Tehran, Iran and the taking of American hostages, the General Assembly passed Resolution 34/145, the Convention against the Taking of Hostages. In 1983 and 1984, under Resolutions 38/130 and 39/159 the Assembly urged all States to "...fulfill their obligation under international law to refrain from organizing, instigating, assisting or participating in ...terrorist acts against another state, or acquiescing in organized activities within their territory directed towards the commission of such acts, and to cease any such activity already in progress."

A breakthrough was achieved on 9 December 1985 when the General Assembly unanimously and "unequivocally" condemned as "criminal" all acts and methods of terrorism "wherever and by whomever committed..." Resolution 40/61 went even further, asking nations to eliminate the terrorist problem by...stabilizing their governments via domestic legislation promoting harmony, and to pay close attention to situations involving colonialism, alien occupation, racism and situations involving mass and flagrant violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms", stating that these situations give rise to international terrorism and endanger international peace and security.

Overall, the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council have been immobilized by political differences concerning terrorism and struggles for national liberation. Any progress in eliminating terrorism will only come after a clear definition is created, and after that definition is accepted internationally.

SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH

The research available on terrorism is exhaustive and can be over whelming. Concentrate on United Nations Debates and Resolutions which can be found in almost every Annual Review of United Nations Affairs since 1946, as well as aspects of a working definition. A grasp of the history a major terrorist organizations in the Middle East, Africa, South America and Europe will prove quite helpful.

SOURCES

1. Kidder, Rushworth M., "Countering the Threat of Terrorism",
2. Christian Science Monitor, May 21, 1986, pp. 15-17.
3. Kurtz, Anat, et al, Contemporary Trends in World Terrorism. New York: Praeger, pp.19.
4. Thackrah, John R., Encyclopedia of Terrorism and Political Violence. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1987.
5. Schlageck, Donna M., International Terrorism: An Introduction to the Concepts and Actors. Lexington, Massachusetts: Lexington Books.
6. Weinberg, Leonard and Davis, Paul, Introduction to Political Terrorism, NewYork; McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1989.
7. "A West German Boost to Kidnapping Trade," Insight, November 2, 1987.
8. "Narcotics: Terror's New Ally," U.S. News and World Report, May 4, 1987.
9. "The West Reels in A Big Fish at Last," U.S. News and World Report, January 26, 1987.