The Madrid Agenda Michael Stohl

The Madrid Agenda

• Michael Stohl

• University of California, Santa Barbara

• ANU Terrorism Workshop

• March 31-April 1, 2005

Club de Madrid

• International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism and Security

• March 8-11, 2005

• 200 experts in 16 working groups across four areas

• The expert groups met in cyber space from November through March
• Prepared papers and summary findings and recommendations March 8-9

Program

• Plenary: Expert Working Group Conclusions

• Public Panels and Political Speeches

• Closing Plenary: Kofi Annan: A Global Strategy for fighting Terrorism

• The Announcement of the Madrid Agenda 11 March 2005

Working Group Groupings

• Root Causes

• Confronting Terrorism

• Democratic Responses

• Civil Society

Root Causes Louise Richardson, Harvard

• 1. Psychological-Jerrold Post formerly CIA

• 2. Political-Martha Crenshaw, Wesleyan

• 3. Economic-Ted Robert Gurr, Maryland

• 4. Religious- Mark Juergensmeyer, UCSB

• 5. Cultural- Jessica Stern, Harvard

Root Causes implications

• First, terrorism is a complex phenomenon and requires a multifaceted response.

• Second, in responding to terrorism, democracies must never abandon the democratic principles they are designed to uphold. And

• Third, governments must ensure that their short counter terrorist actions do not undermine their long term goal of undermining the terrorism threat.

Summary of Root Causes Working Groups

• Remarkable congruence across the groups

• Regrettably, all agreed that there were no overarching explanations

• All agree that terrorism must be understood in the unique cultural, historical, political context

• All agree that democracies must confront and counter terrorism within the rule of law with no curtailment of civil liberties

Root Causes Recommendations Confronting terrorists

• Inhibit joining

• Provoke dissension

• Encourage moderates

• Find accommodative opportunities

• Promote backlash

• Reduce support within the population

• Facilitate exit

Countering Terrorism Raymond Kendall, formerly Interpol

• 6. Police- Jurgen Storbeck, formerly Europol

• 7. Intelligence- Brian Jenkins, Rand

• 8. Military-Lawrence Freedman, Kings College

• 9. Finance-Loretta Napoleoni

• 10. Legal- Hans Corell, formerly United Nations

Police

• Rule of law

• Cooperation across domestic and international jurisdictions, timely sharing of intelligence

• Particularly important to build cooperation across the democratic nations

Intelligence

• Develop better mechanisms for sharing intelligence

• Rule of law

• Democracies must ensure adequate controls

Military

• Terrorism should always be confronted within the legal institutional systems first

• Military option should be a last resort

Financial

• A special center should be established under chapter 7 authority within the United Nations

Legal

• Calling for a war against terrorism plays into the hands of the perpetrators

• Legal instruments should be employed

Democratic Responses Philip Bobbitt, Texas

• 11. Human Rights- Asma Jahangir, Pakistan

• 12. Promoting Democracy and Accountable Government, Ghia Nodia, Georgia

• 13. International Institutions

Democratic Responses: Conclusions

• Democratic quality

• Local Ownership

• Harness security cooperation to the democratic agenda

• Encourage freedom of information

• Eliminate impunity

• Promote civil society

• Promote Transparency

Civil Society, Mary Kaldor LSE and Miguel Darcy, Civicus

• 14. Citizens as Actors, Abdullayeva Arzu, Helsinki Citizen’s Assembly

• 15. Civil Society and political Violence Kayode Fayemi, Centre for Democracy and Development, London

• 16. Civil Society Strategies, Mient Jan Faber, Secretary General of the Interchurch Peace Council

Civil Society: Recommendations

• Recognize the role of soft power

• Strengthening civil society against extremists and violent ideologies, as well as mobilising citizens in favour of democracy, are an essential part of the long-term response to terrorism

Civil Society Groups Findings

• although terrorism is a global phenomenon, root causes are usually found at the local level;

• terrorism is born both in conflict zones and under authoritarian regimes, proving that both non state terrorism and a terrorism that is paramilitary exist.

• third finding is that democratic order, although it is necessary to establish stability, cannot be implemented with force.

• Madrid is an example of an appropriate answer to terrorism, and an example that should be followed.

Kofi Annan A Comprehensive Strategy

• first, to dissuade disaffected groups from choosing terrorism as a tactic to achieve their goals;

• second, to deny terrorists the means to carry out their attacks;

• third, to deter states from supporting terrorists;

• fourth, to develop state capacity to prevent terrorism;

• and fifth, to defend human rights in the struggle against terrorism

The Madrid Agenda

• The Madrid Principles

• The Madrid Recommendations

• A Comprehensive Response
• International Cooperation
• Citizens and Democracy

The Madrid Principles

• Terrorism is a crime against all humanity. It endangers the lives of innocent people. It creates a climate of hate and fear, it fuels global divisions along ethnic and religious lines. Terrorism constitutes one of the most serious violations of peace, international law and the values of human dignity.

• Terrorism is an attack on democracy and human rights. No cause justifies the targeting of civilians and non-combatants through intimidation and deadly acts of violence.

The Madrid Recommendations

• the adoption of the definition proposed by the United Nations High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change in December 2004.

• the ratification and implementation of all terrorism-related conventions by those states which have not yet done so.

• the speedy conclusion of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.

• the exploration of the possibility of creating high commissioners for victims both at the international and the national level

International Cooperation

• the establishment of regular, informal forums for law enforcement and intelligence officials, which may grow from bilateral consultations into a formalised structure for multilateral co-operation.

• the strengthening of regional organisations, so that measures to combat terrorism are tailored to local needs and benefit from local knowledge and networks.

• the effective co-ordination of these mechanisms at the global level.

International Cooperation

• the establishment of an international mechanism – including states, non-governmental organisations and the private sector – to help link states that are in need of resources with those that can provide assistance.

• the creation of a trust fund for the purpose of assisting governments that lack the financial resources to implement their obligations, as proposed by the United Nations High-Level Panel.

The Future

• The Club of Madrid will continue to lobby for the Madrid Agenda

• Plan to convene another meeting to commemorate 9-11 in New York in 2006

For further information

• http://english.safe-democracy.org/index.html

Root Causes - Psychological

• No overarching explanation

• Explanations at the level of individual psychology are insufficient.

• The concepts of abnormality or psychopathology are not useful

• Important to distinguish leaders from followers

• Terrorist life cycle is important

Root Causes - Political

• Terrorism is rooted in political discontent

Root Causes discussions

• Economic

Root Causes discussions

• Religious

Root Causes discussions

• No single religion or religious tradition may be seen as a root cause of terrorism, but it is important to recognize the role of religion in providing identity, dignity and meaning and thus its potential in providing recruitment opportunities

• Recognition of the importance of prisons as breeding grounds