NCJ Number
192110
Journal
Studies in Conflict & Terrorism Volume: 24 Issue: 6 Dated: November/December 2001 Pages: 467-473
Date Published
2001
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article presents a summary of speaker presentations and discussions at an Ancillary Meeting on the topic of “Terrorist Victimization: Prevention, Control, and Recovery” that was held at the United Nations Center in Vienna, Austria on April 12, 2000.
Abstract
An Ancillary Meeting on the topic of “Terrorist Victimization: Prevention, Control, and Recovery” was held at the United Nations Center in Vienna, Austria on April 12, 2000 in conjunction with the Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders. In the presentations by speakers from Europe, North America, North Africa, the Middle East, and South Africa and in the ensuing discussions, a wide variety of issues, concerns, and prevention strategies were covered in a global framework, and also applied to situations in specific countries and continents. The papers and the sessions focused on a number of themes, including an assessment of the main contemporary trends in terrorism, the politicalization of terrorism, the effects terrorism has on primary and secondary victims, the linkage of terrorism with organized crime, and the measures governments, international organizations, and justice agencies can take to curtail and eradicate terrorism, including international cooperative efforts. Throughout the meeting, the speakers emphasized that cooperative efforts at the international, national, and regional levels were very important in containing and reducing the threats posed by terrorists. These cooperative efforts should include exchanges of information on the identity and activities of known terrorists and terrorist organizations and training activities to prepare governments, troops, support personnel, negotiators, medical teams, counselors, and other service providers to respond to terrorism incidents. Collaborative action-research was another important point made in the discussions. Both basic and applied research are vital to understanding the motivations and characteristics of individual terrorists and terrorist groups. Laws must also be enacted to specifically set penalties for incidents of terrorism and provide for extradition of offenders and swift apprehension, prosecution, and sentencing of those guilty of offenses. References