Private sector role seen in war against terror

[webfact]

Private sector role seen in war against terror
Jamie Davies,
Wiraj Sripong
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- REPRESENTATIVES from Southeast Asia, the West and the United Nations have expressed their intention to address the challenges of violent extremists by engaging with the private sector.

The participation of the private sector could be a way to increase social and business opportunities for vulnerable groups such as young men and children, the conference was told.

"The private sector has the means to deal with media and, thus, can enable [us] to reach out to vulnerable groups and to increase their opportunities in the society," said Jeremy Douglas, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) Regional Representative for Asia-Pacific.

The 10 Asean nations are now more exposed to the growing threat of terrorism, the meeting concluded. This phenomenon transcends national borders and requires countries of origin, transit and destination countries to be well prepared to face the challenge, Douglas said.

"There is the necessity for [Asean] governments to coordinate in the implementation of a legal regime [against terrorism]," said Oscar Valenzuela, Philippines' chair of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Counter-Terrorism Working Group.

"Terrorism is resilient and adaptive. We need to be equally resilient and adaptive," said Paul Robilliard, Australian Ambassador to Thailand. He added that the ability of terrorist groups to attract people to join them is a threat to international society.

In an attempt to address the problem, representatives from Asean and Western countries agreed that the region should increase implementation of holistic plans at the regional level. They also said public-private and civil society cooperation should be improved to help mitigate terrorism.

According to UNDP, approximately 1,000 terrorists from Southeast Asia are fighting for the Islamic State (IS). The UN estimates the global number of foreign terrorist fighters in the Middle East to be around 25,000, an increase of 70 per cent in the last year alone with fighters coming from 100 countries. According to Surachart Bamrungsuk, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, there is no record of Thai nationals joining the IS.

The talk was part of regional conference on "Effective Responses to the Foreign Terrorist Fighters' Situation in Southeast Asia", held at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok from yesterday until tomorrow. Representatives from Asean countries, European Union, the US, Australia, New Zealand and the UNODP were present.

The phenomenon of foreign terrorists poses a severe threat to the security of their home countries. Governments across the world are working closely together to increase border security, preventing those who could become radicalised from travelling to join IS and increasing intelligence sharing and law enforcement due to the rise in home- grown terrorism, the conference heard.

The return of foreign terrorists to their country of origin presents a significant risk due to the military-style training many will have received, growing criminal financial networks and increasing recruiting power. To combat the rise in the number of foreign terrorist fighters, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2178 in which there is increased cooperation between member states in relation to border security and intelligence sharing. The aim is to restrict travel to Syria, Iraq and other designated areas and emphasise the importance of a community approach in preventing radicalisation and countering violent extremism.

The UNODC conference highlighted the need for a multifaceted approach between countries as vital to stopping the spread of extremism and preventing the radicalisation of foreign fighters.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Private-sector-role-seen-in-war-against-terror-30262974.html


-- The Nation 2015-06-24

[djlest]

social terrorism is a problem? or is this another excuse to try and control the internet?