ECOSOC-Social & Cultural Impact of Terrorist Attacks on Civilian Life

“Although much of the world’s attention was focused on Iraq, Sudan and Darfur the plight of civilians in armed conflict remains a considerable and grave problem in many other parts of the world”, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Kenzo Oshima told the Security Council. He said the past year had witnessed some of the more horrendous acts of violence carried out against civilians.

The terrorist attacks that have occurred in the last few years around the world has raised the international awareness of the danger of terrorism and the complex repercussions on the financial, social and psychological aspects of human life. While well functioning, stable economies are better equipped to absorb the shocks international terrorism brings the developing economies are often thrown by the smallest tremor.
Economies are forced to tackle a wide plethora of problems including casualties, destroyed buildings and a myriad of economic costs. The cumulative costs of 9/11 was a small percentage of US gross domestic product (GDP), which exceeded $10 trillion. The United States was able to quickly recover from that attack and quickly took on the controversial “War on Terror.” Economists question whether a developing country would be able to take such swift and admittedly bold measures.

Terrorist attacks have shifted their concentration from the Government’s of various countries to the civilian life of those countries. This has caused social and cultural damage that supercedes the political damage these attacks have caused in the past. The economic repercussions as well as the social changes witnessed as a result of terrorism must be keenly noted. The United Nations “urges us to put the individuals in need of protection at the centre of our efforts. It is the millions of voiceless that require our attention and commitment”
In his address Past Sec Gen Kofi Annan noted
the “five D’s” for the UN to fight terrorism:
dissuading the disaffected from choosing the tactic
denying terrorists the means to carry out attacks,
deterring state support,
developing state preventive capacity and
defending human rights in the struggle against the scourge.

The ECOSOC will focus on global terrorism as well as internal insurgencies which are detrimental to the quality of civilian life. Biological and chemical warfare are threats looming large and cannot be ignored by the United Nations committee. While keeping in mind the sociological changes faced by civilians in war ravaged countries the committee must take into consideration the question of terrorism versus revolutionaries and debate the cause, effect and prolonged repercussions of the attacks as well as the motive.

“A true weapon of mass destruction can be distinguished by its potential effect on the fate of humanity, rather than its immediate impact”