NCJ Number
132899
Date Published
1991
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This paper examines what should be done on the international level, both within and outside international organizations, to deal with terrorist acts.
Abstract
There is no binding definition of terrorism in international law, even though several attempts have been made since 1937. The United Nations (UN) resolution on terrorism condemns the phenomenon and stresses the prevention of international terrorism in relation to underlying causes, such as misery, frustration, grievances, and despair. The objective of violence used by terrorists is to realize their own aims. Terrorists use indiscriminate violence, spread terror among civilians, and exercise direct or indirect pressure on those who may further terrorist aims. The development of an international policy against terrorism is approached by looking at the different stages of response to terrorism: prevention, reaction, repression, and reparation of consequences. The UN Ad Hoc Committee on International Terrorism adopted resolutions in 1987 and 1990 that include new elements demonstrating the progress being made to develop an international policy against terrorist acts. Additionally, in 1989, a nongovernmental meeting of U.S. and Soviet experts urged cooperation between the superpowers in the fight against international terrorism. Various international conventions and other rules of both customary and conventional international law indicate that many acts constituting terrorism are prohibited or are considered national or international crimes. The protection of victims of terrorism is an important issue that should be pursued in the future. Interdisciplinary research programs on violence are needed as well as international education and information exchange efforts dealing with terrorism.