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The 7,272nd meeting of the Security Council is called to order. The provisional agenda for this meeting is threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts, foreign terrorist fighters.
President Obama chairs a UN Security Council summit on foreign terrorist fighters, where Resolution 2178 is adopted unanimously and leaders call for political solutions beyond military force.
Key Takeaways
- Resolution 2178 was unanimously adopted, making foreign terrorist fighter countermeasures legally binding for member states.
- The foreign fighter threat is seen as a growing, transnational phenomenon fueled by the Syrian and Iraqi conflicts.
- Military action alone is insufficient; political inclusion, governance, human rights and counter-messaging are emphasized as essential.
- Counterterrorism must respect international human rights and humanitarian law to avoid fueling radicalization.
What the video covers
- The UN Security Council convenes its 7,272nd meeting on threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts and foreign terrorist fighters.
- Draft Resolution S/2014/688, submitted by 101 member states, is put to a vote and adopted unanimously as Resolution 2178.
- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warns that terrorist groups such as ISIL and al-Nusra thrive in conditions of insecurity, injustice and failed leadership, and that they target minorities.
- The UN estimates over 13,000 foreign terrorist fighters from more than 80 member states have joined ISIL and al-Nusra, framing the phenomenon as a consequence of the Syrian conflict.
- Ban Ki-moon argues that lasting counterterrorism depends on inclusive politics, human rights, education, jobs and rule of law, saying 'good governance kills terrorism' more than missiles do.
- Ban Ki-moon stresses that all counterterrorism measures must comply with international human rights and humanitarian law, consistent with the UN Charter.
- President Obama notes this is only the sixth time the Security Council has met at this level and says the rise in foreign fighter flows to and from conflict zones is what makes the threat new.
- Obama cites estimates of more than 15,000 foreign fighters from over 80 nations traveling to Syria and expresses solidarity with France following the murder of Herve Gourdel in Algeria.
- Obama describes the resolution as legally binding and highlights measures such as information sharing on foreign fighters' travel and activities.
- Obama calls for counter-narratives in which former fighters expose how groups like ISIL betray Islam, and for a political solution in Syria allowing all Syrians to live in security and dignity.
Chapters
- 00:00Opening the Security Council meeting and agenda
- 01:24Adoption of Resolution 2178 on foreign terrorist fighters
- 03:20Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's remarks on terrorism and root causes
- 06:08President Obama's opening statement on the foreign fighter threat
- 08:30Intelligence estimates, international cooperation and the resolution's content
- 11:03Counter-narratives, political solutions and closing remarks
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
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The agenda's adopted. I wish to warmly welcome the distinguished heads of state and government, Secretary General, ministers and other distinguished representatives present in the Security Council's chamber.
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Your presence today underscores the importance of the subject matter under discussion. Before each of you is a list of speakers who have requested to participate in accordance with Rules 37 and 39 of the Council's Provisional Rules of Procedure, as well
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as previous practice of the Council in this regard. We propose that they be invited to participate in this meeting, and there being no objection, it is so decided.
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The Security Council will now begin its consideration of item two of the agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2014/688, the text of the draft resolution submitted by 101 member states.
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Now the full list of co-sponsors of the resolution will be reflected in the official record of this meeting.
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I wish to draw attention of the council members to document S/2014/648, a letter dated September 3rd, 2014, from the Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the UN, addressed to the Secretary General, transmitting a concept paper on the item
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under consideration. It's my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it.
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I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now. Will those in favor of the draft resolution, contained in document S/2014/688, please raise their hands?
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The result of the voting is as follows: the draft resolution received 15 votes in favor.
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The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as Resolution 2178, dated 2014. I now give the floor to the Secretary General, His Excellency, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon.
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Secretary-General Ki-Moon: Thank you, Mr. President, and I congratulate on your presidency of this Security Council this month, distinguished heads of state and government, honorable ministers, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.
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President Obama, thank you for your leadership in convening this Security Council Summit. This is the second time that you have presided over this Council on a matter with grave implications for international peace and security.
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The world is witnessing a dramatic evolution in the nature of the terrorist threat. The last year, terrorist attacks have killed, maimed, and displaced many thousands of civilians, the vast majority of them Muslims from Afghanistan to Somalia to Nigeria, from Iraq, to Libya, to Mali.
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These attacks have been carried out by violent extremists who thrive in conditions of insecurity and injustice, fragility, and failed leadership.
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These groups ruthlessly hijack religion to control territory and vital economic resources. They target and slaughter minorities.
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They are the enemies of faith. As Muslim leaders around the world have said, groups like ISIL or Taj have nothing to do with Islam, and they certainly do not represent a state.
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They should more fittingly be called the Un-Islamic Non-State. Yet these groups have become a magnet for foreign terrorist fighters who are easy prey to simplistic appeals and sovereign songs.
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The United Nations' Al-Qaeda Taliban Monitoring Team estimates that more than 13,000 foreign terrorist fighters, from over 80 member states, have joined ISIL and the al-Nusra Front.
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This growing phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters is a consequence, not a cause, of the conflict in Syria.
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A long period of upheaval and, until recently, unresponsive leadership in Iraq, coupled with outrageous human rights abuses in Syria, have created a hothouse of horrors.
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There can be no genuine protection of civilians if the extremist groups are permitted to act with impunity and the Syrian government continues its assault on its own people.
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For more than a year, I have sounded the alarm about the vicious and unjustifiable actions of these groups, and the danger they pose to Iraq, Syria, the wider region, and international peace and security.
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We need a creative and comprehensive political strategy in Syria and beyond, to stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters.
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Terrorists must be defeated, but we must do so in a way that avoids the deliberate acts of provocation, that may set for us victimization for the radicalization and more civilian deaths.
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Eliminating terrorism requires international solidarity, and multifaceted approach. Among the many tools we must use, we must also tackle the underlying conditions that provide violent extremist groups the opportunity to take root.
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Immediate security issues must be addressed. Of the longer term, the biggest threat to terrorists is not the power of missiles, it is the politics of inclusion.
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It's peaceful societies and respect for human rights. It's education, jobs, and real opportunity. It's leaders who listen to their people and uphold the rule of law.
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Missiles may kill terrorists, but good governors kill terrorism. Free and independent societies, free from suffering, oppression, and occupation -- this is what will kill terrorism.
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Mr. President, distinguished heads of state and government, I welcome the Council Resolution just adopted, and its call for strengthening implementation of the UN global counterterrorism strategy.
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Through the UN Counterterrorism Implementation Task Force, we are stepping up efforts in support of member states, and regions seriously affected by terrorism.
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Through the UN Counterterrorism Center, we are working with the member states to enhance understanding of the foreign terrorist fighter phenomenon and to develop and implement policies to combat their force.
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Through our collective efforts, we must ensure that all counterterrorism actions and policies are consistent with international human rights and humanitarian laws.
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As a custodian of the Charter of the United Nations, I want to emphasize that all measures must be fully in line with the goals and values and principles of the United Nations.
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I once again welcome the new unity of purpose in the Council on this issue, under the leadership of President Obama.
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I hope that this spirit will carry over to other pressing issues, particularly finally bringing peace to the people of Syria.
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Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, His Excellency, the Secretary-General, for his statement. I'll now make a statement in my capacity as President of the United States.
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Mr. Secretary-General, heads of state and government distinguished representatives, thank you for being here today.
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In the nearly 70 years of the United Nations, this is only the sixth time that the Security Council has met at a level like this.
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We convene such sessions to address the most urgent threats to peace and security. And I called this meeting because we must come together -- as nations and an international community -- to confront the real and growing threat of foreign terrorist fighters.
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As I said earlier today, the tactic of terrorism is not new. So many nations represented here today, including my own, have seen our citizens killed by terrorists who target innocents.
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And today, the people of the world have been horrified by another brutal murder, of Herve Gourdel, by terrorists in Algeria.
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President Hollande, we stand with you and the French people not only as you grieve this terrible loss, but as you show resolve against terror and in defense of liberty.
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What brings us together today, what is new is the unprecedented flow of fighters in recent years to and from conflict zones, including Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa, Yemen, Libya, and most recently, Syria and Iraq.
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Our intelligence agencies estimate that more than 15,000 foreign fighters from more than 80 nations have traveled to Syria in recent years.
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Many have joined terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda's affiliate, the Nusrah Front, and ISIL, which now threatens people across Syria and Iraq.
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And I want to acknowledge and thank Prime Minister Abadi of Iraq for being here today.
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In the Middle East and elsewhere, these terrorists exacerbate conflicts; they pose an immediate threat to people in these regions; and as we've already seen in several cases, they may try to return to their home countries to carry out deadly attacks.
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In the face of this threat, many of our nations -- working together and through the United Nations -- have increased our cooperation.
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Around the world, foreign terrorist fighters have been arrested, plots have been disrupted and lives have been saved.
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Earlier this year at West Point, I called for a new Partnership to help nations build their capacity to meet the evolving threat of terrorism, including foreign terrorist fighters.
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And preventing these individuals from reaching Syria and then slipping back across our borders is a critical element of our strategy to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL.
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The historic resolution that we just adopted enshrines our commitment to meet this challenge. It is legally binding.
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It establishes new obligations that nations must meet. Specifically, nations are required to "prevent and suppress the recruiting, organizing, transporting or equipping" of foreign terrorist fighters, as well as the financing of their travel or activities.
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Nations must "prevent the movement of terrorists or terrorist groups" through their territory, and ensure that their domestic laws allow for the prosecution of those who attempt to do so.
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The resolution we passed today calls on nations to help build the capacity of states on the front lines of this fight -- including with the best practices that many of our nations approved yesterday, and which the United States will work to advance through our
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Counterterrorism Partnerships Fund. This resolution will strengthen cooperation between nations, including sharing more information about the travel and activities of foreign terrorist fighters.
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And it makes clear that respecting human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law is not optional -- it is an essential part of successful counterterrorism efforts.
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Indeed, history teaches us that the failure to uphold these rights and freedoms can actually fuel violent extremism.
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Finally, this resolution recognizes that there is no military solution to the problem of misguided individuals seeking to join terrorist organizations, and it, therefore, calls on nations to work together to counter the violent extremism that can radicalize, recruit, and mobilize individuals to engage in terrorism.
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Potential recruits must hear the words of former terrorist fighters who have seen the truth -- that groups like ISIL betray Islam by killing innocent men, women and children, the majority of whom are Muslim.
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Often it is local communities -- family, friends, neighbors, and faith leaders -- that are best able to identify and help disillusioned individuals before they succumb to extremist ideologies and engage in violence.
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That's why the United States government is committed to working with communities in America and around the world to build partnerships of trust, respect and cooperation.
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Likewise, even as we are unrelenting against terrorists who threaten our people, we must redouble our work to address the conditions -- the repression, the lack of opportunity, too often the hopelessness that can make some individuals more susceptible to appeals
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to extremism and violence. And this includes continuing to pursue a political solution in Syria that allows all Syrians to live in security, dignity, and peace.
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This is the work that we must do as nations. These are the partnerships we must forge as an international community.
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And these are the standards that we now must meet. Yet even as we're guided by the commitments that we make here today, let me close by stating the obvious.
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Resolutions alone will not be enough. Promises on paper cannot keep us safe. Lofty rhetoric and good intentions will not stop a single terrorist attack.
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The words spoken here today must be matched and translated into action, into deeds -- concrete action, within nations and between them, not just in the days ahead, but for years to come.
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For if there was ever a challenge in our interconnected world that cannot be met by any one nation alone, it is this: terrorists crossing borders and threatening to unleash unspeakable violence.
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These terrorists believe our countries will be unable to stop them. The safety of our citizens demand that we do.
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And I'm here today to say that all of you who are committed to this urgent work will find a strong and steady partner in the United States of America.
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I now would like to resume my function as President of the Council. And I will now give the floor to the other members of the Security Council.
Topics:UN Security Councilforeign terrorist fightersResolution 2178ISILcounterterrorismSyriaBarack ObamaBan Ki-mooninternational securityradicalization
