It is also axiomatic that forced displacement is a consequence of armed conflict. Nevertheless, the threat of terrorism has escalated in the past decade and a half, a phenomena which correlates with the upsurge in the number of armed conflicts today.Īrmed conflict is the breeding ground for all manner of serious criminality including terrorism for example, when combatants indiscriminately target civilians they are committing serious international crimes such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and/or terrorist acts. Indeed, the United Nations has condemned terrorism in the strongest terms possible and considers it to be a serious threat to international peace and security. The efficacy of such a strategy for advancing constructive change has not been supported through empirical studies. The essential dynamic of terrorism is, of course, to advance a political cause through paralyzing fear and anxiety dispersed widely throughout a population. It is patently obvious that what terrorism and refugees share in common is the pall of protracted armed conflict and instability. These also happen to be the location of the major source countries for the world’s refugees.

Of the 108 countries in which such attacks took place – more than half of the countries in the world – most of the terrorist attacks (87%) and deaths (97%) are concentrated geographically in the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Terrorism appears to be rampant and far reaching, with more than 13,400 terrorist attacks worldwide that resulted in more than 34,000 deaths in 2016 alone. Even in peaceful societies, the politics of fear is leading to dangerous polarization and demagoguery. From the global refugee crisis to the spread of terrorism, our collective failure to resolve conflict is giving birth to new threats and emergencies. The sharp uptick in war over recent years is outstripping our ability to cope with the consequences. The world is entering its most dangerous chapter in decades. Reflecting on this point, it has been observed that, Both stem, unmistakably, from the same source, our “collective failure to resolve conflict” in the world today. Two of the most pressing global concerns today are, undoubtedly, the escalating incidence of terrorism and the growing refugee crises.

Simeon (York University) and Dr Sarah Singer (RLI), who will be co-chairing the upcoming Refugee Law Initiative Workshop on ‘Terrorism and Asylum’, to be held Friday 8 December 2017 in London.

Solutions to human armed conflict