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Council Debates Role of Youth in Countering Violent Extremism - part 1
7432nd Security Council meeting on maintenance of international peace and security
Young People Represent ‘Promise Not Peril’, Secretary-General Says, Noting Development of Action Plan
While terrorist groups were increasingly recruiting young, disenfranchised people into their ranks, there was broad agreement among the more than 60 speakers in the Security Council today that youth must instead be at the heart of efforts to counter violent extremism and promote peace.
“Young people drive change, but they are not in the driver’s seat,” said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as he opened the first ever formal debate on the topic. The meeting was presided by Crown Prince Al Hussein Bin Abdullah II of Jordan — the youngest person ever to lead a Council session.
Young people around the world bore the brunt of violent extremism, the Secretary-General said, but they lacked a seat at the negotiating table when issues of international peace and security were discussed.
Stressing that youth represented “promise, not peril”, he went on to call for their greater role in combating the violent extremism that was devastating communities around the world. Education was critical, he said, as was engagement at the global level. He noted the launch by the United Nations of “Guiding Principles on Young People’s Participation in Peacebuilding” and said a comprehensive plan of action to prevent violent extremism was being developed.
“Swift measures should be taken to stop feeding the fires of terrorism with the blood of our youth, who are the primary target of recruitment, both voluntary and forced, by armies and extremist terrorist groups,” said Prince Abdullah. Poverty, ignorance and weak family ties created fertile ground for the “dismal ideas”. Youth, he added, could have the strongest positive impact on the present and future, but when they faced a dead end, their ambition turned into frustration used by violent groups to fuel their own agendas.
Briefing the Council, Peter Neumann, Director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization and Professor at King’s College London, agreed that young people who travelled abroad to fight with terrorist groups shared a sense of exclusion. Extremist ideologies preyed upon those feelings, he said, urging more inclusive societies to prevent that precondition for radicalization.
Scott Atran, Director of Research in Anthropology at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris, also in opening remarks, said that the international community must work to transform the global “youth bulge” into a “youth boom” by unleashing young people’s energy and idealism. Instead of merely offering negative messages countering extremism, youth should be given a positive vision that appealed to their dreams, as well as assistance to create their own local initiatives to realize them.
During the day-long debate, attention was drawn to the “pull” factors enticing young people into violent extremism — including the search for fellowship and identity and desires for financial gain, protection and solidarity — and the “push” factors, which included poverty, marginalization and unemployment. Violent terrorist groups benefiting from those elements included the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram, among others, speakers noted.
In that light, several delegates stressed that development approaches must be aimed at reducing the factors that created environments conducive to radicalization and recruitment by extremists. The representative of Nigeria said that to combat Boko Haram, her country had adopted a “soft approach” involving peace, security and development; it engaged multiple stakeholders including parents and community leaders.
“There is indeed no security possible without the necessary development conditions,” agreed the representative of the European Union delegation, calling for initiatives aimed at identifying drivers for youth extremism, empowering women, promoting community policing, strengthening local actors and improving media and education capacities to counter radicalizing ideologies.
Speakers echoed the view of the Secretary-General that youth themselves should be at the heart of such efforts, including as messengers and role models for their peers. Several stressed the need to empower youth and youth-oriented organizations in order to respond to violence and delegitimize extremist messages.
Still others issued a warning that incitement to violent extremism must not be linked to a particular religion or culture as it occurred all over the world. In that context, the representative of Chad reminded the Council that no religion anywhere encouraged its believers to commit violent acts on its behalf.
A discussion also emerged on the use of the Internet and, in particular, social media by radical groups seeking to recruit young people. In that respect, some States, including the Russian Federation, stressed that incitement to terrorist action should be banned, with the Internet controlled for that purpose.
On the other hand, several speakers emphasized the importance of the Internet to create a “counter-narrative”. Indeed, said the representative of the Republic of Korea, simply shutting down websites and suspending Facebook accounts would not bring about the desired results. Effective, persuasive messages must be developed and disseminated to convince young people that the ideologies promoted by extremist propagandists were false and empty promises.
Also speaking today were representatives of France, United States, Spain, Angola, Malaysia, Venezuela, United Kingdom, Chile, New Zealand, China, Lithuania, Egypt, Sweden, Italy, Brazil, India, Japan, Colombia, Syria, Hungary, Belgium, Australia, Thailand, Germany, Luxembourg, Maldives, Switzerland, Qatar, Costa Rica, Morocco, Kenya, Lebanon, Pakistan, Iran, Austria, Montenegro, Turkey, Georgia, Netherlands, Croatia, Malta, Kazakhstan, Canada, Albania, Indonesia, Poland, Portugal, United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Benin.
In addition, a representative of the African Union and the Permanent Observer from the Holy See participated. The High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations also spoke.
Representatives of the Russian Federation and Ukraine took the floor for a second time.
The meeting began at 10:03 a.m. and ended at 6:10 p.m.
