terrorism and the principles of Collective Security.

http://www.i-p-o.org/koechler-terrorism-collective-security.htm#(V)

(V) The indispensable role of the United Nations in combating international terrorism

Unlike individual states acting through unilateral measures that are implemented according to narrow national interests, the United Nations Organization can play a genuine role in combating international terrorism and must assume this responsibility in terms of its overall responsibility for collective security. It is incumbent upon the United Nations, not individual member states, to determine the "rules of the game" for consistent and efficient multilateral action against terrorism. If one considers the far-reaching implications for global security and stability, this is indeed a challenging task.

Should the organization fail in that mission, it will be gradually sidelined and marginalized and may finally be declared obsolete. The predicament that befell the League of Nations in the period prior to World War II has been repeatedly referred to in this regard.[25]

...

The doctrine of collective security, as set out in Chapter VII of the UN Charter, will have to be reasserted in regard to its basic principle of multilateral action and, at the same time, reevaluated and adapted to the new circumstances referred to above:

In all matters of international terrorism, non-state actors have to be clearly identified in distinction from nation-state actors.

Eventual collective enforcement measures (including the use of armed force) against non-state actors must not be considered, per se, as an infringement upon national sovereignty.

In that regard, collective enforcement action in matters of terrorism must not be confused with "humanitarian intervention" which, in most cases, is not compatible with international law.[27]

As far as the actual implementation of resolutions on terrorism is concerned, the Security Council as supreme executive organ of the United Nations must in no way cede terrain to its most powerful member states, i.e. the permanent members. The execution of anti-terrorist measures decided by the Security Council must be under the direct control of the Council – and not of individual states as "sub-contractors" or self-declared "sheriffs" of international security.

In order to avoid arbitrariness and international anarchy, unified legal standards in terms of general international as well as criminal law must be applied in dealing with the phenomenon of terrorism.

In the future, all matters of personal criminal responsibility related to acts of international terrorism should be dealt with in the framework of universal jurisdiction and, whenever possible, in subordination to a permanent institution of international criminal justice such as the ICC (which operates on the basis of complementarity with national jurisdiction). Instead of "military commissions" established on the basis of domestic jurisdiction (such as the Guantanamo "courts"),[28] only institutions that are truly independent – i.e. operate on the basis of a genuine separation of powers – should prosecute international terrorist acts. In view of its complementary jurisdiction with national courts, the International Criminal Court, although legally not being a United Nations organ, should be accepted as arbiter by the member states of the United Nations in all matters related to the prosecution of crimes of international terrorism. The Security Council should constructively cooperate with this institution, not block it in favour of the parochial interests of one or more permanent members.[29] Similarly, the judiciaries of individual member states should coordinate their prosecutorial activities with the ICC on the basis of complementarity.

Finally, as precondition for a morally credible and politically consistent anti-terrorist policy (one that integrates police, intelligence and military measures into a comprehensive political-legal framework), the United Nations Organization must reinvigorate its almost abandoned efforts towards the establishment of a just global order according to the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1974 on the establishment of a "New International Economic Order."[30] Unless the member states, particularly those of the industrialized world, address the issue of poverty, the social injustice and economic imbalance between the developing countries and the rest of the world, the grievances and frustrations of large sectors of the world's population will never end and will continue to fuel highly destructive political emotions that, in turn, may lead to desperate acts of violence. Although it is true that understanding the causes of terrorist violence is not equivalent to condoning such acts of violence, which are intrinsically immoral and inherently illegal, a credible counter-terrorist strategy cannot satisfy itself with moral condemnation and punitive measures alone. A reactive approach has to be complemented by a proactive strategy. Turning a blind eye to the social and economic causes of terrorism has been one of the main reasons why the international community has been utterly incapable of containing the global spread of terrorism so far.

In essence, a policy oriented towards global justice, not global revenge, is the main weapon in the joint struggle against international terrorism. The new forms of transnational violence that are commonly described as "terrorism" are putting the modern state system of collective security to its most severe test since the establishment of the United Nations after the end of World War II.[31] In order to be able to pass this test, that system must be embedded in a comprehensive network of social as well as economic security.

The best form of preemption is not a strategy for a "global war on terror" implemented through a series of "preventive wars" (such as the ones waged against Afghanistan and Iraq), which by definition can never be won,[32] but a comprehensive strategy of global economic co-operation based on the principles of fairness and equal opportunities for all, combined with sustained efforts towards civilizational dialogue,[33] and political partnership among all regions of the globe on the basis of the goals enunciated in the Preamble to the United Nations Charter.