HagaMUN – 6,7 and 8 March 2020

 European CouncilThe issue of returning IS soldiers to their countries of origin.6th, 7th and 8th of March 2020Gymnasium Haganum, The HagueForum: European CouncilIssue:The issue of returning IS soldiers to their countries of originStudent Officer:Sam de JongPosition:President of European CouncilDisclaimer: this report is written from a biased perspective. I have tried to write it as supportive as possible, posing ways to reintegrate these soldiers within our societies. However, it is hard to be tolerant towards such deeds. IN NO WAY IS THIS REPORT AN OFFENSE TOWARDS ISLAM OR ANY RELIGION OR NATIONALITY. It needs to be clear that terrorism and Islam are not by definition related. Not all terrorism is done from an Islamic view, nor are all Islamic people terrorists. Please do not let those few radicalised people change the way you see others. It is too easy to just judge by religion or nationality. May this report hurt anyone personally or influences their stance towards certain groups, the Presidency apologizes beforehand. IntroductionNearly 6000 Europeans left their home countries to fight for ISIS, one of the largest terrorist organisations of the world. Since the beginning of the war on terror, the term posed by George W. Bush as a response to 9/11, people lived on the edges of their seats. “The United States of America will use all our resources to conquer this enemy. We will rally the world. We will be patient. We’ll be focused, and we will be steadfast in our determination. This battle will take time and resolve, but make no mistake about it, we will win.” Governments have implemented more and more laws against terrorism, raising an enormous terrorism-scare. Not only has this influenced the view people have of certain governments, these measures also put fear in people towards other religions. Definition of Key TermsIslamIslam is a rather young monotheist religion, originated by Mohammed, an Arabic trader. The Islam is based on the Five Pillars: Shahada (Declaration of Faith, short prayer in which you declare that Allah is your God and you consider yourself Muslim), Salat (prayer 5 times a day towards the city of Mecca), Zakat (donation to the poor), Sawm (fasting during the Ramadan), Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca once in your lifetime). Quran is the holy book of the Islam, in which the sacred word of Allah (God) is written down, exactly the way He spoke through Mohammed. Sharia is the Islamic legal system, known especially for its harsh punishments. Within the Islam there are many groups, of which the Sunnis (90% of Muslims world-wide) and the Shiites are the largest. ISIS means Islamic State. It is an organisation that has the goal of creating a caliphate (Islamic Nation) in Syria and Iraq. They take action and use fear to undermine freedom of the non-religious. Many terrorist attacks are claimed by IS or one of their fellow terrorist organisations. Returning SoldierSomeone who has fought in other countries and now wants to return to their home country. They have usually fought for another country, which might make it complicated to take them back in a country. TerrorismAs posed by the Oxford Dictionary: the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.War On Terror This international military cooperation was launched by the USA in a response to the events of 9/11. The ‘War’ is the name of a fight against terrorism towards civilians, specifically of non-Islamic civilians. Background InformationWith the events of 9/11, the beginning of the war on terror was set. The American government started, but the fear of terrorist quickly spread across the globe. Big events had to be protected, extra money was invested in national and international defence. What is IS?The Islamic State was originally a splinter state of off the Al-Qaeda organization, founded by Osama Bin Laden. Al-Qaeda was founded in 1988 in Pakistan and has since then spread across a large part of Middle Eastern countries. Osama bin Laden provided money and weapons, but also soldiers for the Mujahideen during the war in Afghanistan. Abdullah Azzam, Bin Laden’s mentor, helped him to set up a financial ground for an Islamic organization. Whereas Azzam wanted to focus on Afghanistan, Bin Laden wanted to take the holy wars to a global level. After Azzam’s assassination, Bin Laden was left the leader of the organization. Quickly, Al-Qaeda got bigger, killing hundreds of people in terrorist-attacks and thousands of people in war. The 9/11 attack in 2001 was the tipping point for Al-Qaeda, since it led the USA to start the War on Terror. Jihadist parties all over the world continue to fight Western countries and people of non-Islamic faith. These groups, like the Taliban (Afghanistan), AL-Qaeda (Pakistan) and ISIS (Iraq) continue to endanger Western society and safety. ISIS specifically, aims to create an Islamic State, a so-called caliphate, across Syria. Their first leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdad took his own life when a group of US soldiers raided his house in Syria in October 2019. Who are these soldiers?Muslims from Western countries, mostly males between the ages of 18-30, recruited to fight in wars like Syria and Iran. They are usually faithful people that are doing very well in their home countries, following education or starting a career/family. However, the recruiters promise a live guided by religion, a good job in the new country and more. The young, influenceable men then decide to give up everything they have worked for to move halfway across the globe and they then end up fighting in the massive wars of Islamic State. What makes it so hard to handle the situation?But what can governments do to prevent the negative consequences of the IS soldiers returning to the European countries. Many of the proposed solutions go in against the human rights of these soldiers. However, since these people have committed serious crimes, some member states might believe that it is morally acceptable to take away some of the soldiers’ human rights. What is the crime?Even going to live on IS ground is illegal in the European Union. Fighting alongside the Islamic State is officially a crime. However, some of these people are not yet convicted. This makes it hard to decide who needs to get which punishment. In conclusion, making strict policies Can we even have them back?Since the policies that countries implement to fight terrorism have gotten as strict as they are now, it is not even within some nations laws to accept anyone who has even a thin relation to any terrorist organisation within the borders. Allowing these ex-soldiers within the countries border, also having to provide them with their basic needs, goes against the wishes of many governments. Also, having radicalised people in your society, especially those that previously have expressed these ideas, makes the other inhabitants feel unsafe. Major Countries and Organizations InvolvedAl-QaedaOne of the first terrorist organisations. It grew out to be the leader of many terrorist attacks in the world. With the death of their previous leader, Osama bin Laden, the influence of the group has largely decreased. However, they are still a large threat especially to Western security.ISISIslamic State of Iraq and Syria is the common name of IS. As described in the list of key terms, the organisation attempts to create a large caliphate by forcing people to follow the Islamic religion. Through violence, war and terrorist attacks, this group puts fear in the non-religious and by that forces them to follow the same religion. The group is also recruiting younger Muslims to fight in their wars and to offer their life for the Islam. TalibanThis terrorist organisation was established in 1994 in Afghanistan. They have supported Osama bin Laden, ex-leader of Al-Qaeda, during wars in Afghanistan and other fights against Western countries. After the death of bin Laden, Taliban remained a prominently present terrorist organisation, focussing on the reformation of Western society by the use of violence and fear.Country or Organization 2Continue listing the relevant countries and organizations.Timeline of EventsDateDescription of event1988Al Qaeda was established by Osama Bin Laden and quickly spread across Islamic people in the Middle East. More and more attacks kill non-Islamic people in Western countries and Al Qaeda claims most of the attacks throughout the 90s and 00s. October, 1994Mohammed Omar established a new terrorist organization in Afghanistan, the Taliban. The group cooperates with Al Qaeda.1999ISIS is established by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Iraq and Syria.September 11, 20019/11. 2 hijacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City, a third plane crashed into the Pentagon and a fourth plane was hijacked but got the power back and managed not to crash into any buildings. 3000 people were killed, 6000 were injured. September 20, 2001Bush announces the War on Terror in his speech December 13, 2003Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is captured by US-forces December 30, 2006Saddam Hussein gets executed in Baghdad for his crimes of war and crimes against humanity.April, 2010Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is killed by a US-Iraqi cooperation army, after which Abu Omar al-Baghdadi takes control over ISIS.May 2, 2011US special forces kill Osama Bin Laden during a raid in Pakistan.June 29, 2014Declaration of the Islamic State, drawing thousands of Muslims to their new Caliphate. December 28, 2014Afghanistan’s war officially ends, yet over 10 thousand US soldiers remain in Afghanistan.November 13, 2015Terrorist attack Paris, 8 suicide-bombers and a gunman, killing 130 people and injuring over 400.January 28, 2019The US and Taliban collaborate to make US troops leave Afghanistan.Relevant UN Treaties and EventsInternational Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, 9 December 1999 (54/109)In which the Security Council criminalizes the financing of terrorist organisations and actions from people within member states, and requests co-operation to punish and prevent financing of these acts. Resolution 1373, 28 September 2001, (S/RES/1373)In which the Security Council asks for anti-terrorism measures, following the events of the 9/11 attack on New York City.Resolution 1624, 14 September 2004 (S/RES/1624)In which the Security Council requests member states to undertake all possible action to prevent terrorism and calls upon the creation of an anti-terrorism committee. Possible SolutionsA few policies can be implemented to protect the inhabitants of member states. For example, the resolution we come up with can make sure that the IS soldiers never come back. The UK is one of the countries that created new laws to prevent the fighters from returning, by not giving them their citizenship. However, on an international law spectrum, countries are not allowed to deny their citizens citizenship.Another solution could be put the terrorist behind bars. This will allow governments to keep control over the returning soldiers. However, keeping all these ex-soldiers in jail costs a lot of money. Also, it poses the risk of other inmates getting ‘infected’ by the radical ideas of these former IS soldiers.A third option is to put these soldiers to work. Governments can let the returners perform labour for the sake of the state. For certain projects, many workers are required. These jobs can be filled by the disciplined soldiers. This way, they can still use their physical and mental strength, while still creating something that adds to the society. It might help them to get back to the regular life within society.Lastly, we can attempt to ‘deredicalise’ these soldiers in other ways. We should ask ourselves what goal we see with these soldiers. Do we want to get rid of them, either by putting them in jail or by simply not allowing them in the country? This is, however, morally reprehensible. Another goal we can have is to work on re-integration of the ex-soldiers. We will then have to invest in educational programmes. However, they still have their freedom of religion and have previously shown that they can radicalise in their ideas. How do we handle those soldiers that had to fight in the war, but didn’t even want to? Do we give them more freedom? Does the European Union believe that people can change? BibliographyCNN, editor. "ISIS Fast Facts." CNN World, 5 Dec. 2019, .2014/08/08/world/isis-fast-facts/index.html. Accessed 1 Feb. 2020. Dworkin, Anthony. "Beyond good and evil: Why Europe should bring ISIS foreign fighters home." European Council on Foreign Relations, 25 Oct. 2019, . Accessed Jan 25. , editor. "Al Qaeda." HISTORY, 4 Dec. 2018, ics/21st-century/al-qaeda. Accessed 1 Feb. 2020. , editor. "Islam." HISTORY, 5 Jan. 2018, ics/religion/islam#section_6. Accessed 1 Feb. 2020. United Nations. sc/ctc/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2020. , editor. "A Timeline of the U.S.-Led War on Terror." HISTORY, 1 Feb. 2019, ics/21st-century/war-on-terror-timeline. Accessed 1 Feb. 2020. Appendix or AppendicesFor a timeline of events surrounding the War on Terror, refer to : The Fifth Estate made a 40-minute documentary on ISIS deradicalisation in Canada: To understand the principles of Islam, read the full article by here: 54/109: S/RES/1373: S/RES/1624: For any further points of information, please email your president by sending an email to s.amdejong@ or your deputy-president through kt4132@gymnasium-sorghvliet.nl. We are looking forward to the conference in March. Good luck with your research.Sincerely,Sam de JongPresident European Council, HagaMUN 2020 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download