Terrorism

• Although there is no current agreement regarding a universal legal definition of the term, there has been some debate about the possible existence of an, at least partial, customary definition of terrorism. Alongwith terror and intimidation, there are many factors often considered crucial to delineating when actions taken by a group or an individual constitute terrorism or not. These factors include but are not limited to violence, harm, and threats; randomness or indiscriminate violence; political motivation; the targeting of civilians, non-combatants and so-called innocents; and deliberate attempts to publicize the acts of terror.
• The difficulty in defining “terrorism” is in agreeing on a basis for determining when the use of violence (directed at whom, by whom, for what ends) is legitimate; therefore, the modern definition of terrorism is inherently controversial. The use of violence for the achievement of political ends is common to state and non-state groups.
• The majority of definitions in use has been written by agencies directly associated with government, and is systematically biased to exclude governments from the definition.Critics accuse the United States of terrorism for backing not only the Israeli occupation, but other repressive regimes willing to terrorize their own citizens to maintain power. Palestinian militants call Israel terrorist, Kurdish militants call Turkey terrorist and the nation-states call the militants who oppose their regimes “terrorists”. Like “beauty”, “terrorism” is in the eye of the beholder. One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist. Hence, the difficulty in defining Terrorism.
• The UN General Assembly Resolution 49/60 titled “Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism,”contains a provision describing terrorism as: “Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial,ethnic, religious or any other nature that may be invoked to justify them.”

Classification of terrorism:

• Terrorism in India, according to the Home Ministry, poses a significant threat to the state. Terrorism in
  India are of basically two types i.e. sponsored by external agencies and domestic (internal). External
  terrorism emerge from neighboring countries and Internal terrorism emulates from religious or communal violence and Naxalites–Maoist insurgency.
• Terror activities involve either Indian or foreign citizens. In fact, most of the domestic terrorism today has linkages with foreign agencies. Transnational Jihadis Terrorism, sponsored by external agencies and other countries to achieve their geo-strategic objectives, currently poses the major threat to the country

United Nations’ Counter-Terrorism Strategy 

• About: The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, adopted unanimously in 2006, marks the first comprehensive global framework aimed at enhancing both national and international efforts to combat terrorism while upholding human rights and the rule of law. 
• Four Pillars of the Strategy:
  • Addressing conditions conducive to terrorism – focusing on eliminating socio-political and economic factors that foster extremism. 
  • Preventing and combating terrorism – through intelligence sharing, law enforcement cooperation, and denial of safe havens. 
  • Building state capacity and strengthening UN coordination – promoting cooperation among global and regional organizations. 
  • Ensuring respect for human rights and the rule of law – reinforcing that counterterrorism efforts must align with fundamental freedoms. 
• The Strategy urges all UN Member States to:
  • Refrain from associating terrorism with any religion, nationality, or ethnicity. 
  • Deny financial, logistical, or operational support to terrorist networks. 
  • Strengthen domestic legal frameworks and border controls to prevent cross-border terrorism. 
• Institutional Framework: 
  • To facilitate implementation, the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) coordinates efforts among over two dozen UN entities, including INTERPOL, UNDP, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 
  • The CTITF supports capacity-building, technical assistance, and policy coherence for member states.