Because terrorism is proving to be an intellectual enterprise, only research can guarantee the success of the UN strategy on terrorism

On January 15, 2016 the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, launched the Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism.

The new UN strategy — and other regional and national Plans of Action it might inspire — is pivotal to defeating violent groups driven by poisonous ideologies now on the rampage.

Militant groups using radical ideologies and tactics to win power and change the world have assaulted the United Nations Charter; they now pose a real threat to international peace and security and the dominant liberal order.

But there is an equally urgent need for empirical and policy-relevant research to provide evidence to drive action to counter violent extremism.

The UN Action Plan is a culmination of an intense global dialogue on violent extremism and a flurry of conferences that took place in 2015.

The White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism held on February 19, 2015 in Washington set the stage for no less than 10 major conferences in nearly every region across the world.

Kenya hosted the “Regional conference on countering violent extremism in Africa” in Nairobi from June 25-28 2015.

Moreover, the Secretary-General’s new strategy is a logical response to the reality of a fast and furiously expanding global terrorism.

Tellingly, and as if to underline the urgent need for a comprehensive strategy to defeat terrorism, the unveiling of the Secretary-General’s strategy was preceded by a terrorist shooting in a mall in Jakarta, Indonesia, the day before that killed seven people, including five gunmen, and wounded 19 others.

During the day of the launch, the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab attacked Kenyan soldiers in an African Union base in the western Somalia town of El-Adde near the Ethiopian border, killing some troops.

APPROPRIATE INITIATIVE
The new UN strategy is expected to halt the exponential expansion of terrorist groups and their activities which have eroded global security.

The US lists 58 major “foreign terrorist organisations” even after delisting 12 others by the end of 2015.

The rise of the various al Qaeda-inspired groups globally and the founding of Islamic State in Syria and Iraq with its growing number of affiliates attests to the growing appeal of radical ideologies.

In Africa, the rise of Boko Haram in Nigeria and Al-Shabaab in Somalia in the 21st century herald the rise of “home grown” extremist groups.

The need for a global action plan arises from the reality that violent extremism knows no boundaries — terrorists have attacked the wealthy and the poor alike.

Since declaring its caliphate in June 2014, Isis has executed or inspired over 60 terrorist attacks in 20 countries, killing at least 1,150 people and injuring more than 1,700 others.

2015 was particularly a year of unprecedented bloodshed that also proved violent extremism as an “equal opportunity” scourge affecting rich and poor nations alike.

In Europe, the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris on January 7, 2015 was followed by even deadlier suicide bombings and mass shootings on November 13, 2015 where 130 died and 368 others were wounded.

Isis fighters shot down a Russian Airbus A321 over Egypt’s Sinai desert on October 31, 2015, killing all 224 passengers.

And even Mighty America was not spared. The Isis-inspired shooting in San Bernardino, California, on December 2, 2015 left 14 dead and 22 others injured.

RIGHTS PROTECTOR
In Africa, Boko Haran suicide bombers and gunmen killed thousands of people, mainly civilians, in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad.

Al-Shabaab gunmen massacred 148 people, mainly students, at the Garissa University College.

And in Tunisia and Mali, attacks by Isis-inspired groups claimed thousands of lives.

Ironically, the vast majority of victims of violent groups worldwide are Muslims.

The UN strategy’s accent on “a development approach to prevention” highlights the tragic impact of terrorism on economics and livelihoods of communities and groups such as youth, refugees and women.

The UN Action Plan is designed — and has to — reverse the gains made by the extremists, who are hell-bent on using fear to win power, destroy the extant liberal order and to remark the world along their extremist visions.

Not surprisingly, the UN document is a strategy for defending the values that underpin the liberal order, including “good governance; the rule of law; political participation; quality education and decent jobs; full respect for human rights.”

Laudably, the UN strategy highlights prevention as the cornerstone of an effective response to violent extremism.

This gives a pride of place to preventive steps that target the underlying conditions and grievances that drive the youth and other individuals to radicalise and join violent extremist groups.

NO COLLATERAL DAMAGE
The danger lurks in treating the UN Plan of Action as a one-shoe-fits-all strategy.

National Plans of Action should reflect the unique circumstances and realities of different nations.

Moreover, responses and actions by both the UN and other national frameworks of countering violent extremism should be evidence-driven and based on empirical research to avoid unintended consequences of the war on terror.

A comprehensive research agenda is needed to provide evidence to drive the UN Plan of Action and the National Plans of Action of its member states to counter violent extremism.

Defining the role of research in countering violent extremism was the purpose of a workshop convened in Nairobi by the Africa Policy Institute in partnership with the UN, University of Nairobi’s Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies and the National Counter Terrorism Centre on January 15, 2016.

Because international terrorism is proving to be an intellectual enterprise, only research can guarantee the success of the UN strategy.

Prof Kagwanja is chief executive, Africa Policy Institute [email protected]