International Agreements in Counter-Terrorism

The purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the international instruments that have been put in place over the years to deal with terrorism. Terrorism is a global phenomenon with far reaching consequences, thus necessitating cross-state participation and cooperation. The conventions will be discussed about the specific type of terrorism that they are meant to address. In this regard, the major provisions and aims of five international conventions will be discussed in the ensuing paper.

Instruments Regarding Civil Aviation

The first convention that will be discussed in this regard is one which deals with terrorism and aviation. Airplanes are a favorite target for many terrorists, not only because of the publicity that such attacks attract but also because of the vulnerability of air passengers, which makes such attacks easier to achieve. Furthermore, the attacks of September 11, 2001, also changed the dynamics of aviation attacks by introducing the airplane itself as a tool of attack. In addition to this, global trends have ensured that civil aviation terrorism remains an attractive choice. Buy this excellently written paper or order a fresh one from acemyhomework.com

Some of these trends include the increased reliance on air travel, the impact of civil aviation on world economies and the surge in the number of passengers that use this mode of travel. For this reasons, various conventions were developed to respond to increased terrorist attacks on this channel (Saul, 2014).

The first convention that was developed to this end was the 1963 Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft. This convention was developed to deter any acts that would jeopardize in-flight safety (United Nations, n.d.). It provided for the measures that could be taken by the aircraft commander to secure the safety of those on board where they had reasonable grounds to suspect that a person had committed or was about to commit an unlawful action. What’s the more, this Convention also recognized the state in which the aircraft was registered as the one that had jurisdiction over the offender and the requisite authority to try the offences affecting the good order, safety, and discipline on board aircrafts (Saul, 2014).

The second convention that dealt with the same subject matter is the 1970 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft. The development of this convention was necessitated by the rise in aircraft hijackings, which had become very common in the 1960s (United Nations, n.d.). Unlike the previously discussed convention which relied on the national law for the description of offences, this instrument specifically described offences, for instance, by making it unlawful for a person on board an aircraft in flight to unlawfully and by force, or threat or another form of intimidation seize or exercise control over that aircraft. Furthermore, this convention required the parties to it to make such hijackings punishable by severe penalties

(United Nations, n.d.). One of its most defining provisions was that which required the party states to take jurisdiction over an offender if the state from which they belonged did not commence extradition proceedings (Saul, 2014). In this way, the convention ensured that an offender would either be tried or he would be extradited for his/her offences.

Instruments Regarding Maritime Navigation

In this next part, there shall be a consideration of the international instruments which aim to cover terrorist activities that are undertaken on maritime crafts. The discussion surrounding maritime terrorism is mostly instructed by recent events and especially the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (Saul, 2014). Some of these events include instances where oil reserves which are located at sea have been blown up, or ships which bear no flag have been found to be transporting weapons of mass destruction (Saul, 2014). From these examples, it is evident that the sea also poses an important channel through which terrorists attack and carry out activities in support of their illegal acts.

One of the conventions that were developed to address this issue is the 1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (United Nations, 2008). This convention provides for offences against maritime safety. They include where a person, through threats or other forms of intimidation take over the control or navigation of a ship. Also, where they perform an act of violence against someone on board a ship, which may jeopardize the safe navigation of the ship or where they place a destructive substance on board the ship (United Nations, 2008).

Another international instrument that was developed for this purpose is the 2005 Protocol to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (United Nations, n.d.). One of the offences that were created under this protocol was the use of a ship as the device of furthering terrorist acts. Secondly, the protocol also made it a crime to transport various materials on board a ship, knowing that they would be used to cause or to threaten to cause violence, death or serious injury. In addition to the above, the protocol also made it a crime to transport people aboard a ship who had committed an act of terrorism. Therefore, it is readily apparent that this protocol expanded the offences that had been prescribed under the convention, thus making their identification and subsequent punishment easier.

Instruments Regarding Nuclear Terrorism

As in the previous cases, the discussions surrounding these instruments were fueled by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Moreover, they were also made necessary by the subsequent anthrax attacks which followed this previous attack. The potential of terrorists to acquire biological, chemical and radiological weapons to cause violence to citizens has increased since their sources of such weapons have also been steadily rising (Saul, 2014). Some governments are known to be supportive of terrorist groups and through which such groups may gain access to these weapons of mass destructions (Saul, 2014). This being the case, the international community, therefore, felt that there was a need to secure the safety of citizens against such threats.

One of the conventions that came into force by these deliberations was the 2005 International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. This convention encapsulates a wide range of possible acts that may be considered terrorist and even possible targets of terrorist attacks. The convention also makes it a crime to attempt to commit or to participate in the commission of such terrorist acts as an accomplice (United Nations, 2008).

Offenders are meant to either be extradited or prosecuted. Furthermore, the party states are encouraged to participate in the exchange of information, to assist one another to carry out investigations on offenders and to facilitate extradition proceedings against offenders (United

Nations, 2008). Another important focus of the convention is in ensuring that that there are preand post-attack measures that are put in place to deal with biochemical attacks. For example, one of the post-attack measures would be to ensure that nuclear materials are safe for further use (United Nations, 2008).

Conclusion

In summary, the paper has clearly shown that international conventions dealing with terrorist acts and how to deter them are vital for the times in which we are in. From the discussion above, it has emerged that the ways and channels through which terrorist activities may be perpetrated are as numerous as there modes of travel and types of weapons. After 9/11, the world was not only awakened to the possibilities of terrorist attacks, but also to the new and dynamic ways in which these attacks were being carried out. Therefore, as it has been amply illustrated above, the international community also broadened and diversified the measures in place to combat terrorism. It is also evident that some challenges hinder the international fight against terrorism. For example, many of the conventions did not precisely provide for what may be considered as an offence. Furthermore, it is also worth noting that international efforts to combat terrorism call upon different sovereign states to lay aside their sovereignty and individual goals to work together towards a common goal. Therefore, securing the cooperation of the various states may pose a significant challenge to the achievement of the goals of these international instruments.