You are here

Join forces to eradicate terrorism

Jun 11,2019 - Last updated at Jun 11,2019

The proposal of India’s leader Narendra Modi to convene an international conference on terrorism drew mixed reactions from the international community.

The mere idea of holding a conference on terrorism now opens a can of worms at a time when the international community has yet to agree on one definition of terrorism. The United Nations has been toying with the idea of articulating a definition of terrorism that most countries, if not all, could agree on.

As a definition of terrorism remains elusive, it would not make much sense to convene a conference against terrorism. With some countries still calling terrorists freedom fighters, while others calling military actions by countries against them a form of state terrorism, the world remains deeply split on what really constitutes terrorism, much less on ways and means to combat it and defeat it.

Under the circumstances, the most that like-minded nations can do is agree on their own definition of terrorism and agree on ways to eradicate it.

Jordan has in place the Aqaba Meetings, which are joined and supported by a number of countries with similar views and objectives on the issue of terrorism. His Majesty King Abdullah launched the meetings in 2015 to bolster security and military cooperation, coordination and exchange of expertise among regional and international partners to counter terrorism and its threat to global peace and security within a holistic approach.

Instead of wasting time on an open-ended international conference on terrorism with no prospect for a broad agreement on how to go about dealing with it, it would make more sense to follow the footsteps of the Aqaba Meetings and join them.

The prudent thing to do is to synchronise India’s ideas with those of Jordan, with a view at joining efforts for the ultimate purpose of dealing a death blow to all acts of terrorism.

up
65 users have voted.


Newsletter

Get top stories and blog posts emailed to you each day.

PDF