Topic: 2024-Balancing Human Rights
Country: Oman
Delegate Name: Ishaan Muchumarri
On September 9th, 2011, the actions of 19 al-Qaeda members on 4 commercial flights saw the world shift from the peace brought on by the end of the Cold War to an entirely new global conflict. Nations across the globe pivoted towards a fight against terror, with trillions being spent on new preventive measures to ensure no attack could ever again threaten the world. Broad definitions of terrorism can lead to suppression of free speech, exemplified by laws like the USA Patriot Act. Counterterrorism actions, rooted in legitimate concerns, are urged by the UN Security Council, but their resolutions sometimes overshadow counterterrorism treaties, potentially impacting humanitarian groups. Across the globe, terrorism continues to persist, particularly in the Middle East with countries like Yemen and Afghanistan experiencing horrible humanitarian crises and a loss of basic rights as a result of continued attacks. As such, a global shift to better address terrorism is needed.
The Sultanate of Oman has historically implemented a strong policy of anti-terrorism. With its western neighbor experiencing some of the highest levels of terrorism seen in the world, fear of spillover in Oman has led the government to pursue strong anti-terrorism policies. Muscat has established drawn-out plans in the case of attacks against civilians and other soft targets but acknowledges that its counterterrorism capabilities require significant improvement. As such, Oman has looked to the United States as a role model in countering potential terrorism. The Omani military receives training and equipment from the United States to combat terrorism within the country and also equips the Sultan’s Special Forces and the Royal Oman Police (ROP) Special Task Force with strategies to combat threats that may arise. In regards to preventing threats from arising within its borders, Oman observed the disastrous results of allowing extremism to fester in its neighbor and has taken measures to ensure that any threat within its border is silenced and put to trial. Concerning terrorism on the global front, Oman has collaborated with many nations to sanction individuals and organizations that have been tied to terrorism and supports the sharing of intelligence to counter terror.
As it stands now, Muscat seeks an expansion of global counterterrorism efforts. The protection of human rights is of the utmost importance to the continuation of the human population, and ensuring that those are not threatened by foreign parties is the best way to ensure the protection of the global populace. The Sultanate emphasizes the need to incorporate emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and data analytics, in assessing the impact of counterterrorism actions. Oman recommends the establishment of an international counterterrorism intelligence agency for a more accurate and adaptable assessment of counterterrorism risks across the world, as well as to increase the ability for anti-terrorism measures to be conducted rather than rely on a single nation or a small coalition of nations to conduct them independently. The Security Council should be considered one of the primary agencies for countering global terrorist groups, and the globe should be able to provide unified intelligence to this council.
