Topic: Preventing Recruitment of Foreign Fighters by International Terrorist Groups
Country: South Korea
Delegate Name: Liam O’Sullivan
School: Fishers High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All South Korea position papers GLIMUN 2014 committees
The Republic of Korea has had a series of domestic and foreign terrorist attacks since its inception in 1948, many of those being a direct or indirect symptom of our division from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. However, it has not seen quite the same number of civilians leaving the nation to join the ranks of ISIS and other terrorist organizations around the world, so while this issue might seem much less personal than it is the members of western nations like the United States, it is a constant reminder of the need for security in the world. That is not to say that terrorism has not affected our political dealings with our neighbors. There have been several times where it has seemed as if North Korea was involved in sponsoring terrorist attacks around Asia over the past half-century. This has only caused further division between us two countries and it saddens us greatly that they would use such underhanded tactics.
The Republic of Korea’s seeming detachment from recent events in the Middle East does not mean that we do not see the urgency in addressing the issue. With the civilians of our NATO allies becoming insurgents in foreign countries, there is an immediate cause for concern, as we have our allies’ best interests at heart, and seeing people from the United States and United Kingdom being murdered and becoming murderers is just as unnerving for our citizens as it is for many other nations. South Korea has already committed resources to fighting ISIS and other affiliated organizations, so preventing them from growing their numbers is a tactic that we are interested in and we will be willing to advise on possible courses of action.
The clear strategy is the one that Canada has already begun using, revoking citizenship of citizens going overseas to fight for terrorists. This could work to great effect, but to do so, there must be more far-reaching consequences. However, it must be kept in mind that not all countries with civilians becoming terrorists have the necessary resources to pursue them even on a legal level. Respect to sovereignty and resources must be given, as those are the very things that breed terrorist groups like ISIS. Additionally, a United Nations taskforce specifically aimed at bringing these terrorists to justice in an efficient and ruthless matter. This taskforce would be able to dispatch peacekeeping forces, broker military agreements, and leverage support for such affairs in nations afflicted with this new spring of terrorism. Not forgetting the tactic of revocation of citizenship; in addition, warrants for arrest and media campaigns villainizing these traitors could both notify prospective terrorists to the gravity of their decision and change the effect the media is having on these people being motivated to fight their own country. This is a multi-faceted threat that the global community is facing, and a multi-faceted approach is the only one that will work.
