India to host UNSC meet on counterterrorism-The Hindu-04-08-2022

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Context: In a first, India will host diplomats and officials from all 15 countries of the United Nations Security Council, including China, Russia and the U.S., for a special meeting on terrorism, in Delhi and Mumbai in October.

PRELIM

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and approving any changes to the UN Charter. Its powers include establishing peacekeeping operations, enacting international sanctions, and authorizing military action.
The Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members, and each Member has one vote. Under the Charter of the United Nations, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions.
The Security Council takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression. It calls upon the parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and recommends methods of adjustment or terms of the settlement. In some cases, the Security Council can resort to imposing sanctions or even authorize the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security.
With the increasing threat posed by the misuse of new and emerging technologies, the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) has decided to hold a special meeting on this theme, with the support of its Executive Directorate (CTED), in India on 29 October 2022.
The special meeting will specifically focus on three significant areas where emerging technologies are experiencing rapid development, growing used by Member States (including for security and counter-terrorism purposes), and the increasing threat of abuse for terrorism purposes, namely (a) the Internet and social media, (b) terrorism financing, and (c) unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

Terrorism in India can be broadly categorised in three distinct parts:

-Cross-border terrorism in J&K.
-Terrorism in the hinterland.
-Extreme violence and terrorism as an integral part of the ongoing insurgencies.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSE OF TERRORISM?

-Perceptions of deprivation and inequality, especially amongst culturally defined groups. This can lead to civil violence, of which terrorism may be a part. Terrorism represents social control from below, as attacks are directed upon targets symbolising central government or a superior community.
-A lack of political legitimacy and continuity, as well as a lack of integration for the political fringes, encourages ideological terrorism. The potential is exacerbated by ethnic diversity.
-Terrorism in one country can spill over into neighbouring areas. Mass media can influence the patterns of terrorism by enhancing agenda setting, increasing lethality and expanding the transnational character.
-A skewed gender balance and a high proportion of unmarried males increase the association with intra-societal violence and instability. Political and criminally motivated violence is largely the work of young unmarried men.
-Windows of opportunity when terrorist violence can serve to influence opinion and resources. In the case of peace agreements, radical members of coalition groups resume and escalate hostilities to undermine confidence and prevent compromise, thus regaining the initiative and avoiding marginalisation.
-Hegemony in the international system by one or two actors will cause a high level of transnational anti-systematic terrorism as a war by proxy develops. Therefore, terrorism can represent a backlash against globalisation and modernisation.

MEASURE AGAINST COUNTER-TERRORISM:

-Criminalization and repression of civil society must be urgently addressed as a misuse of law and an abuse of the rule of law by States.
-Civil society must be engaged in developing all Security Council resolutions on counterterrorism and PCVE, advising on the possible adverse impact of proposed measures.
-The UN Security Council should expressly clarify that humanitarian protection and assistance must never be conceptualized as support to terrorism.
- Civil society must creatively raise awareness on the crisis it faces resulting from the current global security frameworks.