Reducing the Recruitment Capabilitiess of Terrorist Groups

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Colombia
Delegate Name: Gwyneth Henry

The Republic of Colombia recognizes that recruitment of people into terrorist groups is a large issue that makes both citizens and other countries feel unsafe. Around the world, terrorists take advantage of impoverished areas, social exclusions, and weak institutions. These groups attract vulnerable people into their organizations, especially young adults and teanagers. Colombia has dealt with the problem of terrorist recruitment, and has faced conflict with these armed groups for decades. The main group that seems to be targeted for recruitment is young people in marginalized communities. These conflicts have shown that preventing this requires more than just military action, but addressing the root causes of the groups. Colombia supports cooperations and strategies to reduce capabilities of these organizations.
Colombia has spent decades confronting terrorist groups, and with this prioritizing counter recruitment policies has been a large task. The country has made extensive Disarmement, Demobilizing, and Reintegration (DDR) programs, helping tens of thousands of former members of groups return to civilian life away from crime. The 2016 Peace Agreement helped rural communities develop and gain a state presence, to help protect vulnerable communities from armed groups and lower the appeal of recruitment. Colombia has consistently backed the UN’s initiatives that strengthen these prevention strategies and help counter recruitment. Preventing recruitment requires both security measures as well as social changes.
The recruitment of new members by terrorist groups has continuously affected Colombia’s national security and social stability. Groups like ELN and the now inactive FARC target isolated areas with limited education, economic opportunities, and state services. Children and teens are the most vulnerable to the recruitment efforts, especially in areas with problems like poverty and drug trafficking. These recruitment efforts prolong violence and undermine the efforts of making peace in Colombia and have lasting effects on entire communities. As Colombia rebuilds security in these areas, reducing recruitment is essential for sustaining peace and protecting the nation’s future.
Colombia believes that recruitment efforts can be addressed and stopped in multiple ways. By expanding programs that help improve access to schools, health care, and jobs in high risk areas will help children and young adults steer away from the path of violence and stay on track to have a different life. Colombia also encourages cooperation with tech companies to track armed groups online and limit their abilities to use social media to influence and recruit people and spread propaganda. Supporting education and improving the system will help promote things like digital literacy, and will promote programs to help the youth resist these groups.
Colombia believes that reducing terrorist recruitment is vital for countries to have national peace and security. Having experienced the consequences of recruitment efforts, Colombia understands that recruitment can be prevented through addressing the social and economic issues that these armed groups exploit. By strengthening vulnerable communities we can stop recruitment efforts and weaken terrorist groups. Colombia is ready to work with other members of the UN to build solutions that protect vulnerable populations and prevent recruitment efforts.

Works cited
“FARC | History & Peace Deal.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Feb. 2024, www.britannica.com/topic/FARC.
“The Evolution of Inclusion: Three Decades of Policies and Programmes to Manage Exits from Armed Groups in Colombia.” United Nations University, 2021, unu.edu/cpr/project/evolution-inclusion-three-decades-policies-and-programmes-manage-exits-armed-groups . Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
“Peace in Colombia.” Justice for Colombia, justiceforcolombia.org/about-colombia/peace-in-colombia/ .
InSight Crime. “National Liberation Army (ELN).” InSight Crime, 18 June 2024, insightcrime.org/colombia-organized-crime-news/eln-profile/.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Peru
Delegate Name: Minhao Chen

Disarmament and International Security Committee
Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Republic of Peru
Minhao Chen
Forest Hills Northern

Terrorism, the unlawful use of violence to achieve a political or social objective, is a globally increasing threat to safety and security. Spanning from the establishment of Al-Qaeda to the mass recruitment efforts of ISIS to the contemporary threat of JNIM, terrorism has often been somewhat overshadowed, which has allowed it to continuously grow. The most notable issue with terrorist organizations is their recruiting capabilities: they tend to select vulnerable individuals, often those who lack education, are impoverished, or are socially marginalized, and provide ideological narratives and propaganda to grow their numbers. Furthermore, social media has been an increasingly useful medium for terrorist organizations to recruit more members. Currently, the United Nations has worked with local leaders to provide alternate, positive stories to communities in order to combat the propaganda used by terrorist groups. While these measures are a step in the right direction, they do not fully address the underlying issues of poverty, limited educational opportunities, social marginalization, and the exploitation of online platforms to propagate narratives and recruit members that enable terrorist groups to recruit with unprecedented ease.

Peru has experienced significant terrorism in its history, most notably from the terrorist organizations Shining Path and Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) during the late 20th century. These groups targeted rural areas and took advantage of social and economic disparities to cause mass harm which includes over 70 thousand deaths and projected an image to the international stage showing national instability and vulnerabilities in security. Furthermore, the impact created by the aforementioned terrorist groups did not involve any online efforts, which goes to show how dangerous contemporary terrorist groups that can use online recruitment can be. To address the lack of transparency and information in terrorism, the Peruvian congress has developed a national program titled “Terrorism Never Again,” which aims to inform the general public, especially vulnerable individuals, of the history, consequences, and dangers of terrorism.

The methods used by the Shining Path and the MRTA parallel those used by contemporary terrorist organizations, and as such Peru believes viewing the issue retrospectively and addressing root causes is a strategy that can inform international counter-terrorism efforts. Although the aforementioned terrorist organizations in Peru have been addressed and no longer pose a major issue, future organizations may rise and use the same methods to recruit members into their group. Peru advocates for international cooperation, knowledge-sharing, and awareness campaigns modeled after “Terrorism Never Again” to address the root causes directly. Given that the internet acts as a bridge connecting terrorism efforts globally, Peru stresses the importance of coordinated international strategies to counter propaganda and recruitment capabilities.

Resources:
https://www.congreso.gob.pe/participacion/tnm/

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: China
Delegate Name: Ananya Arulmurugan

Disarmament and International Security Committee
Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
People’s Republic of China
Ananya Arulmurugan

Terrorism is a serious issue that has influenced global security, politics, and international cooperation in history, with it especially becoming prevalent over the past two decades. Major attacks all over the world have caused mass civilian deaths, coups against governments, and international conflicts. Even beyond that, terrorism remains a massive issue that pervades all aspects of life, including economies, populations, and society. One thing that enables many terrorists to continue their actions is their continuous recruitment capabilities. This is why reducing those recruitment capabilities is a vital part of counter-terrorism efforts. This is because it targets the way these violent groups and organizations gain new members and expand their operations. Preventing that recruitment not only weakens terrorist groups, but it also protects vulnerable communities like the youth, who are often susceptible to joining terrorist organizations. The United Nations has taken actions to address this, such as the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in 2006. This emphasizes addressing the conditions that cause terrorism, including poverty, political exclusion, and the lack of education. Furthermore, various Security Council resolutions have called for member states to criminalize recruitment. Terrorist organizations have also adapted to become more persistent, resorting to digital platforms to spread their messages. Impeding this recruitment is an essential part of protecting international peace.
The People’s Republic of China recognizes the importance of this issue and has taken steps to address this. Within China, there have been cases of domestic terrorism, specifically in the Xianjing region. There, radicals have attempted to exploit locals to build increased support for violence and destruction. As a result of this, there have been many instances of attacks on civilians, government institutions, and public spaces. China views the solutions to these attacks as not only a legal matter, but something that stems from poverty, lack of education, and social isolation. Legally, China has implemented counter terrorism legislation like the Counter Terrorism Law of 2015, which criminalized the spread of extremist ideas and increased monitoring of extremist groups. Programs in sensitive regions like Xianjing include vocational education and community-based security measures, all aimed at preventing radicalization before it affects people. Internationally, China supports all the United Nations’ attempts to stop terrorist recruitment by backing resolutions that aim to combat it. China also participates in initiatives such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which enhances intelligence coordination and includes training programs to counter recruitment. Throughout all of this, the People’s Republic of China strongly upholds the principles of individual sovereignty, as the way each country deals with terrorism must be up to them.
While addressing these issues in the United Nations, the People’s Republic of China believes that it is imperative to continue to contextualize the actions of extremist groups by the surrounding conditions that cause them. Terrorism cannot be solved without countering the social, economic, and political reasons that lie beneath it. Reducing poverty, increasing education, and providing employment opportunities are all valuable ways to address the root causes of terrorism. Member states of the United Nations should criminalize terrorist recruitment, prevent terrorists from moving, and increase information sharing regarding terrorism. Furthermore, Increased coordination among nations can combat online radicalization and harm terrorist networks. Examples of counter-terrorism initiatives can be found in the Chinese region of Xianjing, where the People’s Republic of China has effectively combined legal repercussions with humanitarian programs, which can promote long-term stability in terrorism susceptible regions. It is also of utmost importance to China that individual sovereignty and no interference policies are respected throughout this entire process, as each individual member state is most adept at addressing the issues that lie within its own country. By combining these strategies with collaborative efforts across the international stage, the People’s Republic of China believes that the United Nations can limit the recruitment capabilities of terrorist groups and promote international security and peace.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Germany
Delegate Name: Colin Pattison

Disarmament & International Security Committee
Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Federal Republic of Germany
Colin Pattison
Forest Hills Eastern High School
Germany, post–World War II, faced significant far-left terrorism. A major terrorist group during the period following World War II was the Rote Armee Fraktion (RAF), which committed many bombings, kidnappings, and assassinations. These acts led to the 1977 “Deutscher Herbst” (German Autumn), a particularly dark time for Germany in terms of terrorism. After Germany reunified, the terrorism it faced earlier led to broader terrorism concerns outside of Germany as well. Germany began taking steps to stop terrorism, such as establishing the Gemeinsames Terrorismusabwehrzentrum (GTAZ) in 2004, a center aimed at stopping Islamist terrorism. Following 9/11, Germany also updated legislation to be more anti-terrorism. Then in 2007, Germany created joint internet centers to track terrorist propaganda and recruitment networks. Overall, Germany has experienced the terrifying nature of terrorist organizations and is dedicated to doing what it takes to limit terrorists’ power and their recruitment capabilities.
In the present day, Germany dedicates itself to limiting terrorist groups and their recruitment abilities. Just in 2025, Germany banned Muslim Interaktiv, an organization believed to promote an Islamist extremist ideology. Germany has also increased surveillance (through the BfV) on the political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) for its potentially dangerous right-wing extremist views, in hopes of preventing its recruitment capabilities. In addition, Germany funds programs run by NGOs to prevent radicalization; these programs offer support centers for individuals or families concerned about radicalization. Germany also recognizes that social media platforms like TikTok and Snapchat can be used for extremist and terrorist recruitment, so it works to monitor and crack down on these platforms to prevent recruitment. Ultimately, Germany today is committed to combating terrorism and its recruitment ability, focusing heavily on the roughly 50,250 people considered to be right-wing extremists.
For the future, Germany hopes to continue limiting terrorism and radicalization by stopping recruitment. By building on initiatives like EXIT-Deutschland, Germany can keep pushing toward this goal while also expanding other existing programs and plans. Germany hopes to maintain a “holistic approach,” combining education and social programs to decrease radicalization and recruitment. Groups like Muslim Interaktiv will remain a major focus, with Germany aiming to ban and eventually dissolve such organizations. By continuing and building on these programs and others (such as BfV surveillance), Germany hopes to weaken terrorist organizations and decrease their recruitment capabilities.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Delegate Name: Anish Kulkarni

Committee: Disarmament & International Security Committee
Topic: Reducing The Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
Delegate: Anish Kulkarni, City High Middle School

Across the globe, terrorism has increasingly taken advantage of fragile states, vulnerable communities, and gaps in governance; terrorist recruitment is emerging as one of the most dangerous components of the threat. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is among the countries where it sees firsthand the recruitment capabilities of terrorist groups. Prolonged conflict, limited public services, and widespread economic hardship have created conditions that terrorist organizations exploit to draw in new members. Groups such as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), CODECO, and Mai-Mai factions operate within Congolese territory and actively target young civilians for recruitment through coercion, manipulation, a promise of income, or protection. As these recruitment patterns undermine the DRC’s national security, communities, and state authority, the Democratic Republic of the Congo views preventing terrorist recruitment capabilities as essential to restoring stability, strengthening governance, and safeguarding its population.
The DRC aligns its counter-recruitment strategy with the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and relevant Security Council resolutions, guiding national efforts to limit recruitment, radicalization, and terrorist mobility. To reduce the number of active fighters, the DRC has expanded Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) programs that provide vocational training, reintegration support, and counseling to former combatants, including children who were forcibly recruited. Working with partners such as UNICEF, MONUSCO, and local organizations, the DRC continues to rehabilitate formerly recruited minors and strengthen legal protections against child recruitment.
The DRC also continues joint security operations with regional partners, including Uganda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), to weaken armed groups’ operational capacity and restrict their ability to recruit in the eastern provinces. These national actions reflect the DRC’s commitment to reducing recruitment not only through security measures but also through socioeconomic recovery.
In addition to these initiatives taken, the DRC is increasingly adapting national policies to address modern recruitment methods, particularly through the rise of online radicalization. While internet penetration is uneven across the country, terrorist groups increasingly use messaging apps and online spaces to spread propaganda. In response, the government is strengthening cooperation with UNODC and MONUSCO to build basic capacity for monitoring online extremist activity and improving digital literacy in vulnerable communities. These initiatives are helping the DRC develop foundational tools to understand how terrorist groups use digital platforms. At the same time, the DRC has strengthened oversight in areas such terrorist groups use to make money for recruitment. The Ministry of Mines and ARECOMS have increased inspections of artisanal mining sites in Ituri, North Kivu, and Maniema, to disrupt the illegal mineral economies that armed groups rely on for funding. Reducing these financial flows is essential for weakening their recruitment incentives.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo emphasizes that long-term prevention of recruitment cannot be achieved through security measures alone, the DRC believes that preventing terrorist recruitment requires sustained investment in human development and stronger state institutions. The DRC urges the international community to invest in education and school infrastructure, and create youth programs in provinces heavily affected by insecurity. The DRC also supports international assistance for programs that provide job training, agricultural support, and small-business grants for young people who might otherwise be vulnerable to terrorist recruitment across the globe. Finally, the DRC supports enhanced efforts to stop extremist propaganda online by increasing digital monitoring tools, strengthening public awareness campaigns, and improving the government’s ability to detect harmful messaging.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo remains committed to working with international partners to address the vulnerabilities that armed groups exploit and to build lasting stability by reducing terrorist recruitment.

Bibliography:
MONUSCO. DDR/RR-CVR Programme Overview. United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2022, https://monusco.unmissions.org/en/ddrrr. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
MONUSCO. Report on the Recruitment and Use of Children in Armed Groups in the DRC (2014–2017). United Nations, 2019, https://monusco.unmissions.org/en/report-recruitment-and-use-children-armed-groups-drc-2014-2017. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
United Nations. “DRC: Thousands of Children Face Escalating Violence and Exploitation Amid Intensifying Conflict.” Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary‑General for Children and Armed Conflict, 21 Nov. 2024, https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/2024/11/drc-thousands-of-children-face-escalating-violence-and-exploitation-amid-intensifying-conflict/. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
Reuters. “Islamic State‑linked Rebels Kill 89 Civilians in East Congo Attacks, UN Force Says.” Reuters, 21 Nov. 2025, https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/islamic-state-linked-rebels-kill-89-civilians-east-congo-attacks-un-force-says-2025-11-21. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
U.S. Department of the Treasury. “Treasury Sanctions Entities Linked to Violence and Illegal Mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” Press Release, 12 Aug. 2025, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0221. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
Human Rights Watch. DR Congo: Armed Groups Kill Civilians, Recruit Children. HRW, 2023, https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/05/10/dr-congo-armed-groups-kill-civilians-recruit-children. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
International Crisis Group. A Dangerous Congo: The Rise of the ADF. ICG Africa Report No. 290, 2020, https://www.crisisgroup.org. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
ICG

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Portugal
Delegate Name: John Weaver

In the dawn of the 21st century the threat of terrorism has become a very real threat to many countries across the European community. Jihadist cells like Al-Qaeda and ISIS cause untold amounts of damage and pain through targeted attacks on civil infrastructure and organized crime. These and other crimes committed by these organisations are aimed at destabilizing civil and governmental organizations as well as creating a sense of insecurity and fear in their targeted communities. But while we are reacting to these threats on a reactionary level, Portugal fears there is not enough action being taken to stop these organizations from recruiting new members.
Terrorists generally recruit from disadvantaged communities that have been alienated from society. And because of the advent of social media, it has become increasingly easy for children to be pushed towards extremist groups and be converted to jihadism. Social media, being as effective as it is at spreading information can and has also been used to push propaganda and agendas.
Because of the vastness of the world web and by extension the problem co-operation on this issue is a must. A singular set of guidelines needs to be consistent across multiple countries. The BIK related policies that Portugal has adopted have limited the harmful, extremist messages that have been targeted at a young impressionable demographic. Besides the efforts to limit propaganda online Portugal also recognizes the importance of social inclusion in reducing recruitment capabilities. Operational programme 8 of Portugal 2020, the operation for social inclusion in Portugal, is designed to combat poverty and other situations that would lead to social exclusion and therefore an increased vulnerability to terrorist recruitment.
In the end, as much as Portugal works to limit extremism in the EU, Portugal recognizes that there are limitations in its and other countries’ abilities to combat these growing threats. Portugal urges that more countries join the 19 different organizations that help combat terrorism. This is a problem that goes beyond borders and puts the safety of our people into our hands to defend.
Resources:
National-policies.eacea.ec.europa.eu/youthwiki/chapters/portugal/43-strategy-for-the-social-inclusion-of-young-people
Portuguese legislation on the implementation of the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT)
Ramos, Eduardo. “Statement delivered by Eduardo Ramos.” Counter-Terrorism Committee, 4 Nov. 2021, New York. Address.
Realinstitutoelcano.org/en/analyses/jihadism-in-portugal-grasping-a-nebulous-reality-ari/

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Finland
Delegate Name: Brady Sievert

Disarmament & International Security Committee
Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Republic of Finland
Brady Sievert
Lakeland Union High School

Terrorism is fueled by the grievances of the downtrodden who look to violence as their only resort to solve their situation. Humanity has its vices: avarice, perfidy, and especially desire for revenge. But Finland believes that our species is not inherently evil. We put extensive amounts of work into the rehabilitation of our populace that has participated in crime, rather than the futility of increased punishment. From this perspective, we come to the issue of global terror seeking solutions on how to prevent extremist ideas before they have the ability to grow and spread. While actions to hold those accountable as perpetrators of attacks is necessary to spreading the message that terrorism is unacceptable, we must also take preventative measures to ensure that tragedy does not befall onto those who are innocent and uninvolved with political strifes that affect the world.
To take action against the recruitment of individuals to extremist organizations, The Republic of Finland suggests the application of protection of the liberties of those in regions under the threat of terror groups. What inspires ideas of committing politically rooted violence, is the feeling of prejudice and being slighted or oppressed. To combat these sentiments being seeded, the UN should take part in ensuring that justice and equality are in practice in torn regions. Injustice must be fought at every level in order to quell the possibilities of violence caused by radicalization worldwide. We should make it our obligation to provide to those who are living with unmet living conditions, resources to improve their quality of life and guarantee their survival.
Social media is the easiest way for extremist groups to radicalize the next generations of the world population. Attractive and loud propaganda can quickly be spread, providing blame to those who feel wronged, giving explanation for hardships in life. Vulnerable groups of individuals are able to be targeted via social media through tailored radicalization from online algorithms. People who feel alone and alienated from senses of community, or those who feel like their community is at risk are significantly more likely to turn to extremist groups than those with higher standards of life. Online communities can often act as substitutes for those who feel isolated and this can be easily taken advantage of by organizations with intentions that can contribute to political violence. The Republic of Finland urges the UN to take efforts into increasing the amount of oversight of online communities that relate to the troubles faced in areas particularly of conflict
Centers of education should be the frontline against combating the crusade of dangerous ideas that aim to radicalize today’s youth. Schools establish healthy communities and provide youth with abilities like critical thinking and interaction with others. With skills like these, new members of society are able to successfully navigate the world and negotiate through their problems. An educated public is more able to successfully govern themselves and maintain a thriving society that is less prone to violence. Implementing strong ideas of human rights and morals is imperative to creating a populace that looks for solutions to the problems of everyday life rather than enacting perceived justice against whom they deem responsible. The Republic of Finland encourages the UN to invest in the educational capability of nations which lack the means to do so -because it is the most important to a peaceful future.

Pseudo-Bibliography

https://www.osce.org/odihr/countering-terrorism#:~:text=ODIHR%20provides%20support%20to%20participating,effectively%20prevent%20and%20combat%20terrorism.

https://www.interpol.int/en/Crimes/Terrorism/Analysing-social-media

https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cjil/vol16/iss1/11/

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Switzerland
Delegate Name: Kenna Charbauski

Disarmament & International Security Committee
Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Switzerland
Kenna Charbauski
Forest Hills Northern High School

Terrorism is a growing global threat. While on the surface it may seem hate-driven and irrational, the root problem is multifaceted. Terrorism groups offer security to those experiencing instability though enticing offers of community or safety. It also increasingly is difficult to enforce legislation on recruitment in the digital age, where the internet allows for extremist groups to reach large audiences. These issues require multilateral cooperation to address, but must not infringe on human rights in the process. Switzerland recommends implementing a plan that takes a bottom-up approach, increasing support to communities and education for youth, and regulating existing groups.

Switzerland has long been a host of crisis negotiations, maintaining a policy of neutrality on many global issues. The nation is uniquely poised to facilitate multilateral diplomacy and organize United Nations (UN) initiatives. In 2017, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism was held in Geneva and Berne to discuss preventing radicalization and adopting improved legislation. Strong commitment to international law means Switzerland has been party to all 18 UN counterterrorism conventions. Most recently updated in 2024, Switzerland’s national Counterterrorism Strategy addresses many issues, including but not limited to prevention of terrorism, prosecution of terrorists, and protection for those in danger. Switzerland urges other nations to adopt similar plans. No acts of terrorism will be permitted within Swiss borders, Hamas operations have been banned, and the nation is taking steps to ban Hezbollah as well. This reduces the ability of groups to recruit within Swiss borders. Similarly, Switzerland supports controlling online terrorist propaganda. The global internet continues to be a breeding ground for extremist ideas and needs stronger regulation through unilaterally accepted cyber counterterrorism initiatives. Still, a fine line needs to be balanced in these regulations that will not decrease freedom of expression or individual privacy rights. Even in the face of danger, Switzerland continues to protect humanitarian rights. Many communities that are prone to terrorism experience instability, poverty, and a lack of education on extremist narratives. Switzerland has taken steps to reduce golbal economic inequality and marginalization of minority groups by uplifiting positve local leadership and empowing communities. Switzerland also supports UN initiatives, including STRIVE Juvenile, which protects children from recruitment and is the center of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund. This active engagement in unstable zones is necessary to fight the issue at hand.

There are many more nuanced details of Switzerland’s counterterrorism strategy that the delegation looks forward to covering in committee. These plans included building trust among communities through the sending of aid, improved educational resources, and support of humanitarian efforts. Switzerland encourages nations to compromise in building a general peace that will reduce the prevalence of radicalized groups. Nations will also need to collaborate when monitoring the internet to protect those at risk of recruitment. Switzerland recommends this be addressed by individual states following international guidelines which may include internet use age limits and censorship of certain propaganda. Finally, it is imperative that nations support each other in combating current terrorist attacks or blackmail. Switzerland is determined to ensure safety for individuals and nations alike, and is optomistic that a better future lies ahead.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Algeria
Delegate Name: Charlotte Dykstra

Committee: Disarmament and International Security
Topic: Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
Delegate: Charlotte Dykstra, FH Northern HS

The People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria approaches the issue of terrorist recruitment with the historical memory of one of the deadliest extremist insurgencies in modern North Africa. From 1991 to 2002, Algeria endured a brutal civil conflict, often called the Black Decade, in which extremist groups exploited political instability, economic marginalization, and social vulnerability to recruit tens of thousands of fighters. This national trauma deeply informs Algeria’s commitment to preventing terrorist recruitment and addressing the root conditions that allow violent extremism to thrive. As a frontline state in counterterrorism, Algeria views this committee’s work as central to international peace and security.
Terrorist recruitment continues to affect Algeria today. Although the country has significantly reduced domestic terrorism, lingering cells in the Sahel, lenient borders, trafficking networks, and regional instability threaten to strengthen recruitment pipelines. Vulnerable populations, especially unemployed youth in border regions, remain targets for extremist rhetoric and propaganda. Algeria has consistently warned that socioeconomic deprivation and human rights violations create environments vulnerable to terrorist manipulation.
Algeria’s policies toward countering recruitment combine security measures with socioeconomic development. The country rejects purely militarized approaches, insisting that the fight against terrorism is inseparable from the fight against poverty, exclusion, and despair, as former President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has stated. Algeria prioritizes community-based prevention, de-radicalization programs, strong public education systems, and efforts to empower youth economically and politically. The justification for these policies is rooted in Algeria’s own recovery: extremism declined only when the government combined security operations with reconciliation, investment, and social reintegration.
Statistics illustrate Algeria’s success and ongoing challenges. Since 2000, terrorist incidents within Algeria have dropped by more than 90%, yet over 80% of extremist recruitment attempts reported by Algerian intelligence now occur online or through transnational networks in the Sahel. Youth unemployment, while improved, remains around 26%, making young people particularly vulnerable to recruitment by groups offering income or social belonging.
Algeria has taken strong national actions to reduce recruitment, including creating the National Commission for the Prevention and Deradicalization of Violent Extremism, investing in rural development, strengthening cybersecurity units to monitor online radicalization, and collaborating with religious leaders to counter extremist narratives.
Internationally, Algeria is a signatory to the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, the African Union’s 2014 Nouakchott Process on regional security, and multiple conventions on counterterrorism and transnational crime. Algeria has supported UN resolutions emphasizing education, community resilience, and international cooperation while opposing proposals that undermine national sovereignty or impose external military operations without regional consent.
Algeria believes this committee should prioritize mitigating structural drivers of recruitment, regulating extremist propaganda on social media, supporting school systems in high-risk regions, and funding reintegration programs for children formerly associated with armed groups. Algeria hopes this resolution advances international cooperation, enhances information-sharing on online radicalization, and recognizes the importance of development in preventing extremism.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Slovenia
Delegate Name: Sam Lewis

General Assembly – DISEC
Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Slovenia
Sam Lewis
Terrorism​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ is a global problem that has inflicted damage on many countries. One of the means that Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and other terrorist groups employ to recruit is the spread of radical ideologies through the use of social media and the promise of money or power. Recruitment is the main reason why terrorist groups become dominant and are hardly disbanded. To fight terrorism the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism was created as part of the organization’s long-term initiatives.
Slovenia is against terrorism and violence. Slovenia has developed national policies that are aimed at stopping the radicalization process. Slovenia is one of the members of the Western Balkans Counter Terrorism Initiative (WBCTi), which is composed of more than 50 organizations and donors. Slovenia collaborates with Europol, Interpol, and the EU Radicalisation Awareness Network as well. The police and the intelligence services in Slovenia cooperate to identify early signs of threats. Besides this, Slovenia has also set up a national network of experts in the field of radicalization that comprises NGOs and universities. Slovenia is a member of the Global Coalition against Daesh and is committed to the international cooperation.
The UN Office of Counter-Terrorism is the leading agency which coordinates efforts and facilitates cooperation among states in different strategies and operational actions to counter the attribution of terrorist recruitment; The United Nations has passed more than 80 resolutions against terrorism; The UN also urges the elimination of terrorist sources of finance as a measure to curb terror activities, enhances border security and promotes intelligence-sharing; and United Nations’ initiatives to engage youth in schools and local communities serve as a deterrent to their involvement with extremist organizations.
Slovenia holds the view that stopping extremist propaganda online and preventing the financing of terrorism can bring about the lowering of recruitment. Slovenia conveys that in order to effectively remove terrorist content, the UN General Assembly should promote the collaboration among governments and social media companies. Besides this, Slovenia thinks of more educational initiatives as a means of giving the youth support on how to stay away from radicalization. Slovenia also favors the increase in funding for the community organizations that help the vulnerable groups. In Slovenia’s opinion, there is no other option but prevention and collaboration to stop ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌recruitment.
Works Cited
“Counter-Terrorism Efforts.” Government of Slovenia, 2024

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Japan
Delegate Name: Shephard Bower

Disarmament and International Security Committee
Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Japan
Shephard Bower
Forest Hills Eastern

The recruitment of new members by terrorist groups poses a severe threat to global security, as it allows these organizations to expand their influence, carry out attacks on a larger scale, and pose a threat to communities on the international stage. Extremist terrorist groups have increased in global prevalence since the start of the 21st century, and with this prevalence, their efforts to recruit members have increased. These groups often target vulnerable populations, including those facing poverty, lack of education, or human rights violations. Extremists often end up targeting younger generations, as they are more susceptible to these factors and through the groups’ use of social media. As the issue is recent, the UN has not done much to combat it, but the UN has attempted to mitigate it by passing multiple resolutions, including the UN resolution 2178. Addressing this problem requires a more thorough approach that tackles the root causes of vulnerability, counters extremist messages, and engages local communities to build resistance against this recruitment.

Japan has had a minor history of terrorist attacks, the majority coming in the late 20th century. The most prominent of these attacks was the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack, where the sarin nerve toxin was released into the Tokyo subway line, killing 12 and injuring thousands. Most of these attacks, including the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack, had been committed by the Aum Shinrikyo religious cult, which recruited its members by targeting vulnerable, young adults. Japan eventually stopped this group through coordinated police raids and mass arrests of members of the cult. Since the late 20th century, Japan has shifted its counter terrorist efforts to a more international level. For example, in 2006, Japan launched the Grant Aid for Cooperation on Counter-Terrorism and Security Enhancement, which was aimed at supporting other countries in their counter-terrorist efforts by supplying them with more advanced technology. Japan has also ratified and implemented all of the 13 international counter-terrorism conventions and protocols from the UN. Finally, Japan supports anti-terrorist recruiting efforts online primarily through its investment in the ASEAN-Japan Cybersecurity Capacity Building Centre (AJCCBC) and other projects focused on preventing radicalization online.

To limit terrorist recruiting, Japan proposes an infrastructure-based solution. First, Japan advocates for improved education through UN-backed education programs in vulnerable regions to improve literacy, critical thinking, and economic opportunities, thereby reducing the likelihood that children and young adults will be coerced into extremist groups. Additionally, Japan suggests enhancing international monitoring of Online Extremism through a potential UN cyber monitoring program. Finally, Japan calls for the UN to find ways to involve local leaders of areas impacted by terrorist recruiting by teaching them proactive ways to counter extremist viewpoints and recruiting methods.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Brazil
Delegate Name: Wendell Cornell

Disarmament and International Security Committee
Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Brazil
Wendell C. Cornell
It is essential for the prosperity of the world to reduce the recruitment capabilities of terrorist groups through social and fiscal measures. Modern terrorism got its name in the french revolution [1], but real “modern” terrorism began in recent decades as it increased in both severity and recruitment. Many of these organizations rely on poverty, lack of education, and online recruitment to keep evolving and maintaining relevance [2]. It is because of this that strategies that rely more on giving resources to groups that terrorists recruit is a more feasible goal than eradicating terrorist groups entirely.
Brazil has dealt with terrorism the way of social and fiscal measures instead of direct military ways. Brazil has a strong legal framework when it comes to dealing with terrorist recruitment, for example, the monitoring of transactions [3]. We also invest in social programs to help reduce the vulnerabilities in groups that terrorists often target [4], and cooperate internationally in “regional CT fora, including the OAS Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism” [5].
The United Nations also supports this ideology, through the Global Programme on Countering Violent Extremism (GPVE) that provides financial aid to depolarize people in active terrorist areas. It does this by expanding the capacity of at risk countries to avoid terrorist recruitment. It trained around 6360 individuals to promote anti-terrorist messages in 148 countries [6].
Brazil takes the position of wanting to reduce the recruitment of terrorist organizations. Brazil wants to do this not through military means; seeking out and completely dissipating these organizations. As this will only result in more violence and poverty, continuing the cycle. We believe that the only way to reduce terrorism capabilities, and terrorism in general, is to break the cycle at the beginning. This will mean providing education and resources to those who are at risk of being recruited. We also support the use of fiscal measures such as the tracking and stopping of money laundering.

[1] UNODC. Introduction to International Terrorism. 2018.
[2] Yayla, Ahmet. 396 HANDBOOK of TERRORISM PREVENTION and PREPAREDNESS Prevention of Recruitment to Terrorism.
[3] “Brazil’s Measures to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.”
Www.fatf-Gafi.org,www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/Mutualevaluations/Brazil-mer-203html.
[4] “Education and Anti-Poverty Programs Are Key to Preventing Terrorism, BRICS Group Concludes.” Português (Brasil), 10 July 2025, brics.br/en/news/education-and-anti-poverty-programs-are-key-to-preventing-terrorism-brics-group-concludes.
[5] “Country Reports on Terrorism 2023: Brazil.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, 2023, www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-terrorism-2023/brazil.
[6] “Global Programme on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) | Office of Counter-Terrorism.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/counterterrorism/preventing-violent-extremism. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Israel
Delegate Name: Craig Harmer

In today’s day and age Terrorism has become a problem for all countries including Israel. Israel uses multiple security measures and AI systems to monitor acts and forms of terrorism across its territories and believes that through multiple security measures and different systems the people of Israel can stay protected. Israel sees terrorism as a massive threat across the world that needs to be dealt with and Israel has taken many steps and measures to protect its people. Israel only believes in a solution that will protect its citizens and people from such groups and will assure the protection of its borders. As stated before we believe in Security first over all.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Thailand
Delegate Name: Brendan Murphy

DISEC
Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Thailand
Brendan Murphy

Terrorism is one of the most important issues facing the world right now. It can threaten national security, international stability, and the lives of countless peoples all over the globe. One of the best ways to limit terrorism is to prevent recruitment by these terrorism groups, and the best way to do that is to fix many of the societal problems that lead people to the extremist ideas of these groups. Poor economic and social equality, poor education, and a lack of social mobility are just a few of the problems that terrorist groups take advantage of to recruit members. Social media is also a key way these groups recruit, by pushing their ideas in chat rooms and forums.
Thailand has made many reforms in an effort to prevent terrorism nationally and internationally. They’re part of several committees and conventions in the UN attempting to solve the issue, such as the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism in 2005. Thailand has also been adamant about the implementation of the ASEAN Plan of Action to Prevent and Counter the Rise of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism, which has had the goal of limiting the radicalization of suppressed groups by the terrorist groups. Thailand has both short term and long term plans to prevent terrorism and radicalization from spreading. Thailand has also implemented several different policies nationally to prevent terrorist activities, such as the The Terrorism and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Financing Act, which made several reforms including the strengthening of the Anti-Money Laundering Office and implementing sanctions according to the UNSC Resolution 1267.
Thailand recognizes that terrorism poses a serious threat to international peace and security, and believes that it is a multi-faceted issue that needs to be addressed at both a nationwide level and a social one. They will continue international cooperation, social and economic development, and policies to counter online radicalization. These policies don’t focus on getting rid of the terrorists that are already there, but instead on fixing the underlying issues that drive people to join these groups in the first place, especially in the country’s southern provinces.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Bangladesh
Delegate Name: Henry Walser

Disarmament and International Security Committee
Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
The People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Henry Walser
Forest Hills Northern

Terrorist groups throughout the world recruit people through many ways, including social media, prisons, and schools allowing for more organized bigger attacks around the world. Online recruitment specifically has been becoming more and more of a problem. After 9/11, online forums have been used heavily for recruitment, and online radicalization. This increase in recruitment, which thrives in low-income communities, has weakened economies, increased attacks, and created more uncertainty in day-to-day life. But this isn’t just a regional problem. Recruitment occurs across borders and therefore needs to be stopped by the collective efforts of all countries involved. The U.S. Department of State designates 81 entities as FTOs (foreign terrorist organizations) spread throughout the world. Meaning radicalization must be stopped across the world, not just in one region or even continent. The UN has done things in the past to limit the power of terrorist organizations, such as creating the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (2006). This is a unified framework that improves education and prevents radicalization to limit the influence of terrorist groups.This being said, Bangladesh has a large amount of rural poverty and dense cities, an ideal place for recruitment. Because of this Bangladesh believed that more needs to be done. Recruitment is the core of all terrorist organizations; if recruitment is limited, so are attacks.
Bangladesh has had experience with terrorism in the past, with groups such as Ansar al-Islam. An illegal terrorist group within Bangladesh that were responsible for many attacks between 2013-15. These groups often target teens online who come from poor areas. Using online forums or encrypted apps. In light of these challenges, Bangladesh has a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism. In 2009, the Bangladesh government passed the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) Allowing Bangladesh to criminalize terrorist financing as well as restrict and monitor online radicalization. They also established a Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit. This helped limit radicalization through community policing, educational programs, religious leader engagement, and by monitoring online spaces. Internationally, Bangladesh also has influence as it is a part of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF). They co-chaired GCTF’s ‘Countering Violent Extremism’ working group from 2016–2020 helping to limit youth radicalization. Additionally they work with the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT). Bangladesh works to continue helping in the fight against terrorism as it works with neighboring countries such as India and Nepal. As well as contribute on a more international scale to limit radacalization.
As online recruitment strategies evolve online more must be done to limit terrorist groups and their influence. Around the world, the current regulation on extremist messaging simply isn’t enough as new recruitment channels appear faster than they are taken down. This, in combination with the lack of digital literacy education in low-income communities, further allows terrorist groups to abuse the internet. Bangladesh suggests an expansion of the pre-existing UNOCT. This expansion would bring youth education programs focused on digital literacy and spreading awareness on these issues before they are influenced by online radicalization they may be exposed to. This expansion would also create a UN-run database to track online extremism and online recruitment tactics. This would be funded through standard UN assessed contributions and supplemented by voluntary NGOs. Immediate action must be taken in order to stop these terrorist groups, and Bangladesh believes destroying their online presence will stop them in their tracks. Bangladesh also hopes to eradicate these groups within the next decade as their flow of new recruits is cut off.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Bahrain
Delegate Name: Neel Grover

Terrorism is a quickly changing and growing threat that defies national borders, destabilizing governments and the communities within. The Kingdom of Bahrain views the disruption of recruitment capabilities as the most vital form of the counter-terrorism, recognizing that fixing the threat requires a comprehensive strategy that addresses security, financial, and social factors. Violent extremism can only be defeated by dealing with both the enabling factors, poor education and lack of opportunity; and the means of delivery, especially the misuse of digital media. Bahrain remains committed to working actively with the United Nations, the Global Counter Terrorism Forum, and its regional partners to dismantle terrorist networks.

Bahrain emphasizes that the most effective strategy for disrupting recruitment is to deny terrorist groups the ability to exploit legitimate grievances of communities. While terrorist narratives usually attempt to manipulate issues like economic hardship or community isolation, the main driver of extremism remains the deliberate distortion of religious and political ideologies. One fix is to create more opportunities. Bahrain leads national initiatives that prioritizes youth employment and entrepreneurship to ensure that young people are able to find a constructive purpose with themselves. Bahrain advocates for more investment in the development of projects in vulnerable states, especially international investment.

The education system serves as one of the most important ways to prevent indoctrination of young people. Bahrain affirms that schools must be invested in and used to prevent assimilation into radical and violent ideals. Curriculums must not only promote academic substance, but also strengthen a national identity. Bahrain’s Ma’an program is a successful model for combining civic and moral education into schools. The fight against terrorism is also a community effort, and empowering local and religious leaders to act as ideological grounders can help. Using trusted voices is also vital for getting rid of extremist ideology at a base level, especially of those from internationally backed groups.

Social media has also become a primary method of recruitment, allowing terrorist groups access to communities worldwide. This requires legislative action and international intelligence communication. The focus of legislative efforts should be on achieving a balance that protects digital freedom while regulating and removing media that supports terrorist recruitment. The speed of online radicalization requires an equal speed in response. Bahrain advocated for real-time intelligence sharing between security and law enforcement agencies, especially with the finding and dismantling of terrorist financing channels. Social media companies need to have the moral responsibility to regulate the content distributed on their platforms, detecting and automatically removing recruitment advertisements before they become widespread.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Chile
Delegate Name: Michael Fuger

Terrorism has been infrequent in Chile for the last decade or so, but the government implemented a new anti-terrorism law last year. This law makes it easier to prosecute members of terrorist groups, even if they have not yet committed the crimes they planned. The main terrorist activity in Chile has been composed of attacks on the logging industry in the rural south of the country by indigenous Mapuche activists.

Chile aims to deal with terrorism by implementing policies supported by the perpetrators, like land reparations reform and constitutional changes regarding indigenous rights and representation in government. Chile is also cooperating with regional neighbor Argentina to deal with Mapuche violence. We believe that solving the systemic issues being protested by the terrorists will stop the activism and violence caused by the terrorists.

Terrorism and the recruitment of its perpetrators is a serious problem affecting countries all over the world, and something must be done to promote peace. This may include policing protest and activism, prosecuting members of plots, or addressing terrorist presences on social media.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Philippines
Delegate Name: Rocco Morrow

The threat of terrorism is one that is persistent and ever-evolving. Terrorism causes great harm to everybody involved. Ireland holds a long-standing commitment to multilateral cooperation, human rights, and peacebuilding all while operating within the framework of the United Nations. By addressing the core issues of rights violations and socioeconomic hardship while also shining a spotlight on modern terrorism recruitment tools like social media, Ireland believes wholeheartedly that we can successfully combat terrorist recruitment operations.

Ireland strongly promotes the idea that repression is fueled by radicalization. Promoting socioeconomic equality and the protection of human rights is inextricably entangled with sustainable counterterrorism. In order to combat terrorist recruitment efforts, Ireland strongly emphasizes strengthening the authority of law and accountability systems, the expansion of UN-supported economic opportunities, and helping at-risk youth get involved with job training, community-based peace initiatives, and mentorship through supporting programs that provide those things.

Ireland also recognizes the impact that social media has on recruitment efforts. Social media platforms enable extremist groups to target impressionable youths anonymously, spread propaganda, and exploit grievances. There is a need for moderation that prevents the distribution of extremist content while still protecting the freedom of speech and expression. Ireland strongly suggests a partnership with big tech companies that fosters this kind of online regulation.
Ireland’s sole belief about this situation is that there is a need to focus on community and human rights when figuring out a solution for this issue. Ireland calls for the prioritization of education, human dignity, and technological accountability through collective global action in order to suppress these extremist ideologies from reaching people and radicalizing them.

Works Cited:
Poole, Gregory. “Home.” GLICA.Org, GLICA.org, 6 Nov. 2025,
glica.org/glimun/committees/reducing-recruitment-capabilities/.
“Minister Coveney Addresses UN Security Council on Challenges of Counter-Terrorism.” Gov.Ie,
www.gov.ie/en/department-of-foreign-affairs/press-releases/minister-coveney-addresses-un -security-council-on-challenges-of-counter-terrorism/.
Lewing. “Ireland’s Mandate on Social-Media to Curb Terrorist Content: The Terrorist Content Online Regulation and Its Bearing on Free Speech.” Edinburgh Europa Institute, 25 June 2025,
europa.sps.ed.ac.uk/2025/06/25/irelands-mandate-on-social-media-to-curb-terrorist-conten t-the-terrorist-content-online-regulation-and-its-bearing-on-free-speech/.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Philippines
Delegate Name: Evan Puzzuoli

The delegation of the Philippines acknowledges the critical issue of Terrorism. We believe that in order to directly end terrorism, we must end its recruitment. Terrorism poses a plethora of consequences, all of which pose a direct threat to human development and the overall good of humanity. If we choose not to act right now to end these groups recruitment capabilities, the frequency of terror attacks, the power of these organizations, and the continued radicalization of civilians will proliferate, which will result in countless deaths of our people. We have taken many steps to ensure the safety of our people. We believe that collaboration on this topic is vital for the assurance of safety of not just our people, but the people of the world. We look forward to discussing this pressing issue with the rest of the committee in hopes of finding a solution that will protect our friends, family, and children.

Many issues are pushing citizens to join terrorist organizations. Some of these issues are lack of education, economic reasons, manipulation by figures in power, and social media. Children are most at risk due to their age. Veterans are also targeted due to their education and military experience. People with mental illness are especially targeted. Religion is used as a major driver of recruitment, with clergy recruiting and organizations using religiously charged messages. A major issue is the largely unregulated social media presence of these groups. Terrorism groups’ influences are only spreading and need to be disrupted before they become too powerful. This is such a complex issue because terrorist organizations have multiple recruitment pathways and if one is shut down, they will invest into another one.

The Philippines is very upset about the child recruitment inside it boarders and is working on finding a solution. Today, extensive energy and power is being used on counter terrorism in the Philippines, especially the south. The Philippines has been a part of extensive counter terrorism training programs run by the United States. Some of the current methods the Philippines are using to end terrorism recruitment and attacks is finding and ending their funding as well as regulating travel. The Philippines instituted the Antiterrorism Act in 2020 with the help of the United States. The Philippines is a member of many anti-terroist groups such as The Defeat-ISIS Coalition and Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering.

The delegation of the Philippines is committed to the destroying the influence of terrorist organizations in all countries and are unwavering on ensuring the safety of the citizens of the world. We believe that now is the time to act, and we feel that we as a whole must unite and take action to ensure the safety and continued protection of human life. Now is the time to act; this may very well be one of our last chances before these groups take more innocent lives.

https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1111&context=ncitere portsresearch
https://www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-terrorism-2021/philippines https://glica.org/glimun/committees/reducing-recruitment-capabilities/

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Sierra Leone
Delegate Name: Chase Martin

Terrorism remains one of the most destabilizing forces affecting global peace and security. Violent extremist organizations exploit instability, weak institutions, and human rights violations to expand their influence and recruit vulnerable people. As online communication advances, terrorist organizations now also have leverage on social media and online platforms to spread propaganda and radicalize individuals far beyond their traditional echelons of reach. Sierra Leone, as a nation shaped by its experience with conflict and post-war reconstruction, knows the importance of preventing radicalization and building resilient and terrorist literate population. The delegation supports the United Nations Global Program on Preventing and Countering Terrorism (2022–2027) and emphasizes the need for holistic strategies grounded in human rights and sustainable development.

In conclusion, Sierra Leone firmly believes that addressing inequalities and strengthening governance are paramount to preventing terrorist recruitment. Communities facing poverty, lack of employment, and limited access to essential services are more susceptible to extremist messaging. As a result, Sierra Leone advocates increased investment in youth employment programs, vocational training, and local development initiatives.

Citations:
Safety and security – sierra Leone Travel Advice. GOV.UK. (n.d.). https://www.gov.uk/foreign travel-advice/sierra-leone/safety-and-security
Global Programme on preventing and Countering Terrorism 2022 – 2027. (n.d.). https://www.unodc.org/res/terrorism/aboutus/UNODC_TPB_New_Global_Programme_ab ridged_online.pdf
Treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) | United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. (n.d.). https://disarmament.unoda.org/en/our-work/weapons-mass-destruction/nuclear weapons/treaty-non-proliferation-nuclear-weapons
Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons | United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. (n.d.).
https://disarmament.unoda.org/en/our-work/weapons-mass-destruction/nuclear weapons/treaty-prohibition-nuclear-weapons

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: India
Delegate Name: Rayyan Abu Azine

On September 11, 2001, 19 hijackers committed the biggest terrorist attack ever orchestrated by the Jihadist group Al-Qaeda. Responsible for almost 3,000 deaths and thousands more injured, Al-Qaeda is one of many terrorist groups still active and poses a threat to international security, putting many at risk. Terrorist groups are, unfortunately, the result of poverty, lack of education, and violation of human rights. Terrorist groups target the most vulnerable for recruitment, including children. Many efforts have been made to reduce the number of terrorist groups internationally through hard and soft power approaches. In response to these terrorists, nearly every country has some form of counter terrorism. There have mainly been two ways to reduce the number of terrorist groups through hard and soft approaches. Hard approaches generally refer to a direct response, such as military use, heightened security measures and counterterrorism forces (border control, screening, intelligence sharing, and rapid response units). Soft approaches take on terrorism less head-on, such as public awareness (awareness campaigns, online content removal, community partnerships) or more direct soft approaches like international cooperation and agreements (bilateral or multilateral agreements, international programs, and collaborative efforts). To reduce recruitment, it is crucial to intercept and disrupt communications online, which is the main method of recruitment for terrorism. Then further prevent these efforts with awareness. If escalated, equal or greater action can take place with hard direct approaches through the use of counter terrorism forces. To prevent future recurrences, international and regional cooperation must be reached to maintain long-term stability and peace.
The Republic of India is alarmed by the frequency of Pakistani terrorist attacks and the insurgents operating within the Kashmir and Jammu region. Most notable terrorist attacks include: the Red Ford attack (2000), the Indian Parliament Attack (2001), the Kishwar massacres (2001), the Ahmedabad Bombings (2008), and many recent attacks, such as the Pahalgam Attack of 2025, where 26 tourists were killed in the Kashmir region. India responded in response to this attack by carrying out precision airstrikes on Pakistani terror camps. Tensions between the Republic of India and Pakistan have only increased, and escalations in recent years seem to show no indication of stopping. India has responded to terrorism through military response, diplomatic/economic pressure, border security/insurgent infiltration prevention, and Counterterror Cooperation.
The Republic of India reaffirms that to combat the recruitment of terrorist organisations, we must recognise that unity is of utmost importance in both security and prevention. We establish the need for collaborative community efforts, more advanced information sharing systems, promote long-term interventions, and hold terrorists accountable for their actions. The delegation of India looks forward to working alongside those who wish for an end to unnecessary bloodshed.

Sources:

“LEARN BETTER, TOGETHER INDEPENDENT META-SYNTHESIS UNDER THE GLOBAL COUNTERTERRORISM STRATEGY.” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), https://www.un.org/counterterrorism/sites/www.un.org.counterterrorism/files/meta-synthesis_united_nations_global_counter_terrorism_strategy.pdf?utm_source Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.

Bast, Sarah. Counterterrorism in an Era of More Limited Resources. https://www.csis.org/analysis/counterterrorism-era-more-limited-resources?utm_source. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.

“Five Things About Community-Based Terrorism Prevention Programs.” National Institute of Justice, https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/five-things-about-community-based-terrorism-prevention-programs?utm_source. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.

Rosenblatt, Nate. “Localism as Secrecy: Efficiency-Secrecy Tradeoffs in the Recruitment of ISIS Foreign Fighters.” arXiv.Org, 24 Nov. 2020, https://arxiv.org/abs/2011.12290?utm_source.
Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.

“Partnerships.” Security Council – Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/ctc/content/partnerships?utm_source.
Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.

Vyas, Karishma. “India and Pakistan Have Faced the Deadliest Terror Attacks on Their Capitals in a Decade.” ABC News, 15 Nov. 2025, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-16/india-pakistan-deadly-terror-attacks-in-delhi-islamabad/106013650.

Peshimam, Gibran, and Mubasher Bukhari. “India Strikes Alleged Headquarters of Militant Groups in Pakistan’s Heartland.” Reuters, 9 May 2025, https://www.reuters.com/world/india/reduced-rubble-india-strikes-alleged-headquarters-militant-groups-pakistans-2025-05-07/?utm_source.

“Global Solidarity with India A United Front Against Cross-Border Terrorism.” Federal Press Informations Bureau Government of India May 12, 2025 https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2025/may/doc2025512553601.pdf?utm_source
Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.

“Terrorism.” Federal Bureau of Investigation, 3 May 2016, https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/terrorism#:~:text=Five%20Eyes%20nations.-,Partnerships,Center%20and%20in%20fusion%20centers.
Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.

“NSHS.” Prevent and Disrupt Terrorist Attacks, https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/homeland/nshs/2007/sectionV.html#:~:text=The%20strategy%20involves:%20*%20Denying%20terrorists%20control,that%20publicly%20condemn%20the%20use%20of%20violence. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Iran
Delegate Name: Lydia Lawrenson

Terrorism and the conditions that cause and sustain it reflects the lack of economic and humanitarian stability within the global community. The Islamic Republic of Iran is deeply aware of these issues and recognizes the danger posed by weakened nations whose instability increases terrorist recruitment. The Islamic Republic of Iran experiences this challenge within its own borders, as Afghan and Pakistani refugees seeking asylum often become vulnerable targets for terrorist organizations. Iran emphasizes that terrorism is a shared international problem and placing blame on specific member states is an ineffective way to address an issue that threatens us all. With this understanding, Iran is prepared to help confront the various ways terrorist recruitment occurs, including through social media, the vulnerabilities faced by refugees, and the exploitation of personal networks.
Iran has taken significant steps to reduce terrorism domestically. Our legislation aligns with international standards, such as the Amendment to the Countering Financing of Terrorism Act, which follows the guidelines established by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). These measures tie directly into Iran’s commitments under the Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism. Key components of our amended CTF laws include the criminalization of terrorist financing, asset freezing, and strengthened due diligence procedures. Our willingness to adopt these reforms and cooperate in extradition cases when communication becomes unclear demonstrates Iran’s commitment to contributing to solving this global challenge.
It is also important to recognize the distinction between legitimate resistance movements and terrorist groups. Many nations have independent groups that express their beliefs separately from their government’s official stance, especially in situations involving foreign occupation or centralized external control. In Iran’s case, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which leads most of our national military operations, has played a crucial role in fighting terrorism. The IRGC has been central in defeating extremist organizations such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS, reflecting Iran’s dedication to dismantling active terrorist networks. As a nation, Iran continues to work toward reducing misinformation about these efforts and strengthening global cooperation in combating terrorism.
The Islamic Republic of Iran remains committed to working with the global community to reduce the root causes of terrorism and limit the conditions that allow extremist groups to grow. By strengthening international cooperation, supporting the standards set by organizations such as the Financial Action Task Force, and continuing to enforce our updated counter-terrorism and counter-financing laws, Iran aims to set a clear example of active responsibility. At the same time, the Iranian delegation will continue distinguishing legitimate resistance movements from terrorist groups, while emphasizing the crucial role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in defeating organizations like Al-Qaeda and ISIS. Iran believes that through shared effort, respect for international law, and a focus on humanitarian and economic stability, we can create a safer world and limit the influence of terrorist networks across all nations.

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-112shrg76693/html/CHRG-112shrg76693.htm

https://www.unhcr.org/ir/refugees-iran

https://www.un.org/en/ga/sixth/76/int_terrorism/iran_e.pdf#:~:text=In%20this%20context%2C%20the%20Islamic%20Revolutionary%20Guard,terrorism%20in%20all%20its%20forms%20and%20manifestations.
https://www.un.org/en/ga/sixth/72/pdfs/statements/int_terrorism/iran.pdf

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Pakistan
Delegate Name: Broderick McDonald

The country of Pakistan is in support of reducing the recruitment capabilities of terrorist groups. Having the second-largest population of Muslims in the world, other Islamic terrorist groups specifically target the country of Pakistan for recruitment efforts. The specific makeup of Pakistan’s Muslim population is “96.3 percent Muslim (85–90 percent Sunni, 10–15 percent Shi’a” (UNITED STATES COMMISSION on INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, 2022). We have to look at this statistic because of what it represents. People who are a part of the Sunni Muslim denomination are at much greater risk of committing terrorist crimes.
These terrorist groups recruit people by targeting financially insecure communities. Communities of people that are in poverty, have low literacy rates, or have a weak government in place. These terrorist groups also build narratives that appeal to young people, making it more enticing to join. Online radicalization is another way that these terrorist groups appeal to people. This is primarily through encrypted apps, social media, and even gaming platforms; all of this makes monitoring much more challenging for the governments of said countries.
Many groups also use emotional tactics, like promising safety, belonging, or purpose, to recruit women and children who are often overlooked in prevention strategies. These different strategies are why these terrorist groups are thriving, and Pakistan can not withstand much longer.
Pakistan has faced decades of terrorism and therefore has a very personal stake in reducing recruitment, since the country has lost thousands of civilians and soldiers and has spent billions fighting violent groups. Pakistan implemented the National Action Plan, which focuses on limiting hate speech, controlling extremist financing, regulating unregistered madrassas, and strengthening internal security. The government of Pakistan has also set up community-based de-radicalization and rehabilitation programs aimed at helping young people who were vulnerable to recruitment or who were previously involved with extremist networks. Helping the people who need it before they die is what matters here.
Pakistan strongly follows major UN counterterrorism resolutions and pushes for more cooperation between states, since recruitment networks often operate across borders. Pakistan’s military and intelligence operations, like Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad, significantly reduced the operational space for groups that relied heavily on local recruitment. Monitoring of digital platforms has expanded in Pakistan. This expansion has thrived especially in taking down extremist propaganda and reporting dangerous accounts to international partners.
Pakistan believes reducing recruitment requires tackling root causes like unemployment, lack of education, and instability, because terrorist groups take advantage of those frustrations. Pakistan also supports greater intelligence-sharing among countries, because recruiters can easily cross borders and often use foreign funding channels. Seeing more global work on regulating online extremist content while still respecting digital rights, since most recruitment starts online now, is another way of being able to reduce the recruitment capabilities of terrorist groups.
Pakistan supports creating youth-focused programs that give vulnerable communities alternatives, like job skills or education, so extremist narratives lose their influence. Pakistan hopes DISEC can help create early-warning systems to identify regions where recruitment risk is rising, especially in conflict zones overall. Pakistan wants comprehensive, practical prevention strategies instead of only military responses, because stopping recruitment early is the most sustainable way to reduce terrorism long-term.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/muslim-population-by-country

Sunni and Shi ’a Terrorism: Differences that Matter

https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/2022-08/2022%20Pakistan%20Country%20Update.pdf

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Lithuania
Delegate Name: Siddharth Gatla

Delegate: Siddharth Gatla
Committee: DISEC
Topic: Reducing The Recruitment Abilities Of Terrorist Groups
Country: Lithuania
School: Okemos High School

Reducing the recruiting abilities of terrorist groups have been of utmost importance in recent years. Extremist groups thrive and grow off of recruiting young, disadvantaged members to expand their radical ideas. Young people in particular are at risk, these people grow up in isolated, poor backgrounds which leaves them vulnerable to conversion to extremist ideas. Terrorist groups like Boko Haram in Nigeria, Levant in Syria, The Islamic state of Iraq in Iraq, and many more, use recruits as young as seven-years old. These children are often disadvantaged and meant to perform cruel and dangerous actions for these extremist groups. To eradicate terrorist groups and to help safeguard civilians within impoverished communities the reduction of their recruiting abilities is necessary. The UN has recognized this risk and has adopted plans and strategies to reduce recruitments. These plans included the establishment of UNOCT (an agency that coordinates counter-terrorism efforts and helps countries combat recruitment, financing, and propaganda), the establishment of the UN Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism (A plan that uses a holistic approach to terrorism, and supports prevention through developments of communities, advancements in education, engagement with civilians, and other measures), Travel and Financing restrictions, etc.

Lithuania recognizes the need to reduce recruitment of terrorist groups. There are no massive terrorist groups residing in Lithuania, and many recruitments happen online to foreign organizations. Online recruitments and propaganda from organizations abroad have influenced individuals to commit crimes. In 2020, A Neo-Nazi extremist attempted an attack with an IED after being radicalized online. Fortunately this crime was foiled quickly, but it was an example of what terrorist recruitment does to isolated individuals. Another issue Lithuania faces on the topic of recruitment is foreign propaganda and radicalization by Belarusian and Russian pipelines. Russian social networks and Pro-Russian websites spread disinformation in Lithuania, and they accuse Lithuania of “making up” history. To combat these recruitment attempts Lithuania implemented legal and organizational measures to criminalize terrorist-related offences, and an adoption of a nation programme that includes reducing and eliminating risk factors that increase likelihood of terrorist acts as one of its objectives. Lithuania also uses the State Security Department of Lithuania (VSD) and the police tactical unit (ARAS) to reduce recruitments. These agencies monitor threats, perform counter-terrorism work, and disrupt extremist activity before it becomes large-scale. Lithuania also has designated Russia as a terrorist state, which labels all Russian state-sanctioned media as propaganda.

Lithuania would like the UN to monitor extremist propaganda channels, regulate social media based racialization, and strengthen international cyber security-tracking. Since most radicalization happens on social media, regulating those channels would prevent recruitments from occurring. Lithuania would like the UN to pressure Russia and other countries to reduce recruitment networks. Lithuania has already labeled Russia as a terrorist state, so Lithuania would like to reduce all Pro-Russian networks and Russian propaganda as much as possible. Lithuania wants member states to be transparent with their information and they are totally against propaganda. Lithuania is open to every measure that reduces the recruiting abilities of terrorist groups.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Ethiopia
Delegate Name: Ben Stuart

DELEGATE: Benjamin Stuart
COUNTRY: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
COMMITTEE: Disarmament & International Security Committee
TOPIC: Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is firmly committed to the safety of its citizens and to the safety of the wider global community. In recent years radical groups such as the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), and Al-Shabaab have caused much strife. In 2022 Al-Shabaab orchestrated a terrorist attack in Ethiopia’s Somali region which led to the tragic loss of three civilians and one police officer.

Ethiopia believes that when combating terrorism safety of the public must be stressed above minute personal autonomy. The UN should recommend harsh penalties for those engaging in, aiding, or abetting terrorism. Ethiopia has in the past enacted a law that broadly deflates the recruitment capabilities of groups that aim to reduce the peace, prosperity, and safety of its civilians. Ethiopia has not been hesitant to wrest those attempting to incite terrorism away from the public sphere.

In the past Ethiopia has worked with the UN, specifically the security council to combat terrorism and terrororism recruitment. Now in the upcoming session of general council Ethiopia hopes to tighten down methods of terrorist recruitment such as over social media and isolated communities. Ethiopia also advocates an effort to cut off resources that allow terrorists to recruit such as funding and physical resources.

Ethiopia feels that safety and effectiveness should be stressed above all else. Privacy and personal autonomy are miniscule prices to pay to stop the growth of terrorism. As an international community we must work together to give terrorists no avenue to recruit and strenghten binds on these organizations.

Works Cited
CIA. “Ethiopia – the World Factbook.” Www.cia.gov, 2024, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/ethiopia/.
“Ethiopia.” Human Rights Watch, 9 Apr. 2019, www.hrw.org/africa/ethiopia.
“Ethiopia Travel Advisory.” Travel.state.gov, travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/ethiopia-travel-advisory.html.
Taye, Betelihem. STATEMENT by BETELIHEM TAYE, THIRD SECRETARY, LEGAL AFFAIRS of the FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC of ETHIOPIA at the 78 TH SESSION of the UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY under AGENDA ITEM 109 “MEASURES to ELIMINATE INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM” OCTOBER 2023 NEW YORK. Oct. 2023, www.un.org/en/ga/sixth/78/pdfs/statements/int_terrorism/04mtg_ethiopia.pdf.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Saudi Arabia
Delegate Name: John Northrop

Country: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Delegate: John Northrop
Topic:

Reducing the Recruitment Capability of Terrorist Groups

The delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recognizes the threat caused by terrorist groups as we have been fighting major groups such as AQAP & ISIS for over 3 decades. Saudi Arabia supports a comprehensive strategy to educate and maintain ideological moderation. The Kingdom has worked with the United States to combat terrorism in the Republic of Yemen and the Republic of Iraq. The Kingdom has been at war with the Houthi militia in Yemen since 2018 and has been largely successful with U.N. support and negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Saudi Arabia has banned thousands of websites to prevent recruitment and has programs in the education sector such as the al-wasatiyyah program which teaches tolerance and educates people why and how ISIS and other terrorist groups misuse religion.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has historically had to deal with extremists and terrorism but we hope that with cooperation with the United Nations we can reduce recruitment rates. One of the ways we have combated recruitment is our Care Rehabilitation Centers. The purpose of this facility is to rehabilitate former Jihadists back to Saudi culture. It has had a success rate of 99.2% since opening in 2007, with over 3 thousand Jihadists being reintegrated into society. We hope to expand the al-wasatiyyah program to other countries in the Arabian peninsula and the greater middle east and stabilize hot zones such as the Republic of Iraq and the Republic of Yemen.

References
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40061550
https://www.rcc.int/swp/news/198/why-saudi-arabias-deradicalization-program-is-successful
https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-09-883.pdf?

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Canada
Delegate Name: Mason Velie

GLIMUN-DISEC 2025
Committee: Disarmament and International Security Committee
Topic: Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Canada
School: Forest Hills Central High School

Terrorism has defined the 21st century, sparking wars and leaving death and destruction in its wake. Defined by Merriam-Webster as “the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims,” terrorism has been a point of contention in global politics for decades. Terrorism, although it has been an issue for all of modern history, became more common in the early 1970s, with notable examples from pre-2000 being The Munich massacre and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. However, it was 2001 and the attacks on the Twin Towers when terrorism truly became a major global concern. Following these attacks, which were perpetrated by Al-Qaeda, groups such as the Islamic State (ISIS), Hamas, and Hizballah began forming in the Middle East, reliant on child soldiers even despite UN instruments including the CRC. Along with exploiting children, modern terrorists also use the internet to recruit new members, pushing their content upon an ever-growing amount of people through social media, some of which may be receptive to their messages. Current measures in place to slow terrorist recruitment include the aforementioned Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibits child soldiers, and the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, which aims to slow the spread of terrorism.
In 2012, Canada released the “Building Resilience Against Terrorism” strategy, helping government branches to “prevent, detect, deny and respond to terrorist threats.” Additionally, following the Air India flight 182 bombing, Canada started “The Kanishka Project,” which “provided research on terrorism-related issues,” helping to provide valuable methods of counter-terrorism. Since the turn of the century, Canada has taken a strong anti-terrorist stance, one that is unlikely to change in the coming years.
Canada urges delegates to do anything in their power to prevent terrorist groups from recruiting new members, suggesting the possibility of increasing online content regulations relating to terrorist groups and increasing enforcement of child protection instruments, possibly by imposing new restrictions or by increasing punishments for defying existing restrictions. Preventing terrorist groups from using children as soldiers and spreading their ideas on social media effectively eliminates their recruitment capabilities, and, according to the Handbook of Terrorism Prevention and Preparedness, “The long-term survival of terrorist organizations relies on their ability to attract new members and maintain an ongoing terrorist recruitment cycle,” meaning ending terrorist recruitment may result in ending terrorist groups all together. Canada condemns these groups atrocities, and hopes that the committee can come together to prevent them from destroying communities in the future.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Iraq
Delegate Name: Sarath Badithala

Disarmament and International Security Committee
Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
The Republic of Iraq
Sarath Badithala
Forest Hills Eastern High School

The recruitment of citizens by terrorist groups has been an important problem that challenges global peace and security. Groups such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS have been using global problems such as instability and poverty to gain more followers. Iraq has dealt with this problem before with the rise of ISIS in 2014, which drew followers from both within and outside the country. Such instances caused the United Nations to adopt treaties such as the UNSC Resolution 2178 (2014) to reduce terrorist recruitment. However, terrorist recruitment is still an imminent threat to society; terrorists have been using social media to attract followers. This poses a threat to global security and is one problem that has to be addressed by the international committee.

Iraq views terrorist recruitment as an imminent threat that undermines global security. To address this problem, Iraq implemented solutions both internationally and domestically. Domestically, Iraq has strengthened border security and worked to dismantle terrorist networks. The Iraqi government has also worked with local civil service organizations to counter terrorism from within the country. Internationally, Iraq has supported initiatives of the United Nations, such as the Counter-Terrorism Committee. Iraq also collaborated with the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, sharing intelligence and participating in missions on the battlefield to eventually take down ISIS. While Iraq has made progress against terrorist recruitment, there is still work to do since terrorists are always finding new ways to attract followers, undermining global security.

Iraq urges the international community to start taking serious efforts to reduce terrorist recruitment. Iraq believes that collaboration between nations and the sharing of intelligence is truly necessary to stop the recruitment of people. Some solutions that can be implemented include increased education of the youth about terrorism, disrupting online propaganda, and increasing economic opportunities to decrease instability. When citizens can lead healthy and satisfactory lives, they do not need to join terrorist groups, which is exactly what Iraq suggests the international community do. Furthermore, Iraq advocates for a larger intelligence sharing framework to understand the moves of terrorists better and to take them out more quickly, compared to a nation’s efforts on its own.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Malaysia
Delegate Name: Calvin Hyun

Disarmament and International Security Committee
Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Federation of Malaysia
Calvin Hyun
Forest Hills Eastern High School

Terrorism has posed a threat to international peace and security for a long time. One of the major reasons for this threat is the way that terrorist groups recruit members. Historically, major terrorist groups such as ISIS and Abu Sayyaf have targeted Southeast Asia, using vulnerable communities and digital platforms to recruit new members. Malaysia, located in the heart of Southeast Asia has been greatly affected by terrorist groups that have been trying to recruit Malaysian citizens and use Malaysia as a transit point to the rest of the world. Because of this, Malaysia has aligned with international efforts to counter terrorism, while also establsihing local organizations such as SEARCCT (Southeast Asia Rgional Center for Counter Terrorism).

Malaysia’s stance on terrorism is that it has zero tolerance for terrorist recruitment and radicalization. The country has been severley affected, especially thorugh online propaganda, in which terrorists try to convince young Malaysians to join their ranks. To combat this, Malysian government is using full force and authority, combining law enforcement, intelligence and civil society efforts. Malaysian Authorities have disrupted ISIS recruitment networks, and prosectued individuals related to the radicalization of youth. Malaysia also does things beyond enforcement, it advocates for the relocation and rehabilitation of readicalized individuals so that they will not pose a threat to society. Through SEARCCT, Malaysia educates and provides training and research to other countries in Southeast Asia, so that terrorism can be ended in the entire region.

Looking forward, Malaysia believes that solutions to the recruitment capabilities of terrorist groups must be preventative and cooperative. Internationally, Malaysia advocates for a stronger border security, and intelligence about terrorists from other nations before they strike. Domestically, Malaysia is putting funding into youth empowerment programs to prevent the radicalization of youth by terrorist groups. Expanding programs such as SEARCCT to other countries is a potential solution to this problem, preventing terrorist groups from recruiting more citizens.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Russian Federation
Delegate Name: Evan Gagliardo

Topic: 2025 – Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Organizations.
Country: Russian Federation
Delegate Name: Evan Gagliardo

School: Forest Hills Central High School
Committee: DISEC

The United Nations recognizes that the number of countries experiencing at least one terrorist attack increased from 58 in 2023 to 66 in 2024, and deaths related to terrorism have also increased (Global Terrorism Index). The United Nations describes terorism as criminal acts, including those against civilians with the intent to cause death or serious injury or take hostages, to provoke a state of terror. (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.) Russia is increasingly concerned with the uptick in terrorism and is committed to stopping terrorists from recruiting new members and ending Terrorism. It has experienced its own attacks, including the Beslan school siege and recent attacks like the Crocus City Hall and Dagestan attacks. Russia has its own collection of terrorist groups, such as the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM), and also deals with conflicts with international terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Russia recognizes terrorism as a problem and a major threat, and is committed to working with its allies to stop terrorism when needed, while also heavily focusing on a state-centered approach to maintain sovereignty.
The United Nations has taken terrorism seriously and continues to do so by establishing multiple treaties that combat terrorism globally. This includes the International Conventions for the suppression of terrorist bombings. This key treaty aims to enhance international cooperation in preventing, prosecuting, and punishing those who carry out such attacks. (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime). Additionally, the UN Security Council issued Resolution 1373 (2001), which legally binds member states to take specific actions like criminalizing terrorism, securing borders, and cracking down on terrorist financing. These attempted resolutions have been met with mixed success due to member state disagreements (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime). Russia supports these resolutions because it believes that the resolutions effectively contribute to the goal of reducing terrorism by punishing terrorists, which it believes is the most effective method of terrorist reduction, and the resolutions effectively contribute to securing borders so the state can concentrate its efforts on reducing terrorism more effectively. The UN has also developed the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), which is a UN office that leads and coordinates global efforts to prevent and counter terrorism. Established in 2017, one of the key pillars of the office is to counter the recruitment capabilities of terrorist organizations through strengthening its member states’ ability to counter terrorist recruitment, preventing the online spread of terrorist ideals, and attempting to solve the root of the issue, which lies in economic and social issues. (United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism) Russia supports the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOTC) because it aligns with its stance on focusing on preventing terrorism through online spaces, and also aligns with Russia’s ideas on having a state-centered approach to the issue, due to the UNOTC strengthening its member states.
Russia has taken multiple significant actions in order to combat Terrorism and reduce Terrorist Organizations’ recruitment abilities, in international and national ways. One international way is by being a member of the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG), and it has implemented laws to freeze assets of individuals associated with terrorism. Russia has also worked with its ally Syria to combat the harmful terrorist organization ISIS, and launched a successful coordinated military intervention that was unfortunately necessary to stop the terrorists from harming Syria and its people.
Besides being a part of crucial UN treaties and international measures to prevent terrorism, Russia has also taken its own steps to solve the problem nationally. One of these steps is the passing of the Yaravoya law, the law includes the requirement for telecom companies and internet service providers to store user data (voice, messages, and other content) for extended periods and to provide this data, including encryption keys, to government authorities on demand. The law also tightened rules on religious and missionary activities in order to limit harmful propaganda being spread, and increased penalties for failing to report terrorist-related activities (Human Rights Watch). Other measures Russia has taken to ensure its citizens’ safety are enforcing encryption backdoors, which means the government legally requires technology companies to build a way for the government to access user data at any given time. The Russian government also monitors the internet for any terrorist propaganda and immediately removes it and punishes the terrorists in order to keep its citizens from being exposed to harmful materials. The final measure Russia takes to protect its citizens from terrorists is Russia’s foreign agent law, which was established in 2012 and has been expanded over time. The law requires individuals and organizations receiving foreign funding and engaging in political activities with Russia (such as, but not limited to, reporters) to follow requirements such as labelling their work as an international opinion, which guarantees the safety of Russian citizens and prevents terrorism from spreading. The undesirable organizations law, passed in 2015, allows the government to ban foreign organizations deemed a “threat” to Russia, and it imposes penalties, including lengthy prison sentences for repeat offenders, on Russians who associate with them or work for them, in order to prevent terrorists from entering the country (European Parliament). All of these measures guarantee Russian citizens’ safety and provide a safe homeland, which is working to be as terrorist free as possible, and are completely necessary in creating a safe environment for its citizens, as well as necessary for continuing national security, by limiting confusion to what is true or not, and ensuring sovereignty.
In the future, Russia would like to see a mainly state-centered approach to the issue of terrorism and its recruitment abilities, but is not opposed to working with its allies when necessary. In addition to this, Russia wants to focus on limiting terrorist funding through both domestic enforcement mechanisms and international cooperation. Russia is also in favor of stopping terrorism through a technological lens by limiting the access terrorists have to the online world to prevent them from spreading propaganda, and is in favor of monitoring digital spaces to continue to be actively informed about terrorism and better prosecute terrorists.

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE%2F2022%2F729297/EPRS_BRI(2022)729297_EN.pdf

https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/07/12/russia-big-brother-law-harms-security-rights#:~:text=Equally%20troubling%2C%20the%20new%20counterterrorism,security%20agencies%20without%20judicial%20oversight.

https://www.un.org/counterterrorism/

https://www.un.org/en/ga/sixth/75/int_terrorism/russia_e.pdf

https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GTI-2024-web-290224.pdf

https://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/Special/1997%20International%20Convention%20for%20the%20Suppression%20of%20Terrorist.pdf

UN Counterterrorism Framework: Key Programs and Tools

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Turkey
Delegate Name: Emily Chen

Country: Delegation of Türkiye
Committee: Disarmament and International Security Committee

Reducing the Growth of Terrorism

Terrorism is an ever-changing threat that targets the groundwork of societies and shatters the lives of thousands. To expand their group and agenda, terrorist groups often prey upon vulnerable people, having taken on strategies that exploit women, children, and those who are socio-economically vulnerable. Oftentimes, this leads to these victims, specifically children, being “forced into labour, subjected to violence, sent into armed combat, or coerced into carrying out suicide bombings” (Terrorism). One of the ways to combat these groups is to stop them from recruiting in the first place, addressing the underlying problems that leave the people vulnerable. But as the world of technology advances and social media has expanded its reach beyond geographical constraints, it has become increasingly more difficult to constrain the expansion of these groups. The UN has taken action to address this issue, one of which is the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, which was unanimously adopted on September 8 of 2006. The Strategy relies on the cooperation of nations and is built upon these four pillars: addressing conditions conducive to terrorism’s spread, preventing and combating terrorism itself, building state capacity to counter terrorism and strengthening the UN’s role, and ensuring respect for human rights and the rule of law as the foundation for fighting terrorism (United). This plan is reviewed every two years to reflect the problems the world is currently facing against terrorism. The UNODC also addresses this evolving problem with its Terrorism Prevention Branch, which “promotes international legal instruments, aids domestic implementation, and facilitates global cooperation” (United). The UNODC tackles the fundamental problems by reducing the vulnerabilities that make people more susceptible to recruitment. Even though current plans address the dangers of terrorism quite well, additional plans are needed to keep up with the challenges of how terrorism is carried out today.

Terrorism prevention and punishment within Türkiye is a very important matter to the government of Türkiye. In 2024, Türkiye passed a law 2024 which imprisoned anyone who has committed terrorist acts on behalf of a terrorist group, whether or not they are a member. Any legal persons (companies, associations, etc.), public or private, who are involved with financial crimes, including terrorist financing, will face administrative fines (Turkish). In Türkiye, any form of terrorism should be punished, regardless of the circumstance, since it actively endangers the stability of the government and the safety of its people. Along with financial punishment for corporations, Türkiye has also frozen the assets of terrorists and entities related to terrorism. From October 2021 to April 2024, Türkiye froze 972 terrorists’ and entities’ assets, and has worked with other member states to freeze a number of individuals’ assets. As for children, Türkiye has been working with UNICEF to bring justice to children involved in any crime. This new initiative, created on November 18, 2025, was made to strengthen child-friendly justice and will run until August 2028. It stresses the importance of prevention, protection, and rehabilitation for all children (UNICEF). To prevent the spread of terrorism and counter the recruitment of the young, Türkiye has the Public Awareness and Prevention Activities, or the PPA, to prevent the recruitment of new members, to ensure the surrender of terrorists, and to raise public awareness of terrorist activities. Conferences, both in person and online, were held to prevent recruitment in places such as universities and high schools. In the first quarter of 2024, 356,659 people were reached within the scope of Public Awareness Activities that the PPA does. All actions done by the PPA are made in the hopes of discouraging the young from terrorism and “develop an opposing discourse against terrorist organisations” (Turkish).

What needs to be done to prevent the growth of terrorism is to spread awareness of the issue. The target demographics for these terrorist groups, when it comes to expansion, are children, women, and the vulnerable. The Delegation of Türkiye calls upon member states to stress the importance of educating the impressionable, to steer them away from the path of invoking terror in our nations. This can be achieved with the funding of UN educational funds, such as Education Cannot Wait, also known as the ECW, for countries most susceptible to terrorist attacks and those under UNESCO. These funds would be used to put together conferences, such as the ones held in Türkiye, to educate students from elementary schools to universities. What is being discussed at these conferences is up to the individual member states as not to overstep their sovereignty. The Delegation of Türkiye also believes that the top priority for member states that do not already have laws to bring children to justice is to work with organizations such as UNICEF to work towards that goal.

Bibliography

Terrorism Prevention Branch. “GLOBAL PROGRAMME ON PREVENTING AND COUNTERING TERRORISM.” PROGRAMME DOCUMENT, report, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 2022, www.unodc.org/res/terrorism/aboutus/UNODC_TPB_New_Global_Programme_abridged_online.pdf.
Turkish National Police Counter Terrorism Department. Turkish Measures in Countering Terrorism. 2024, www.un.org/en/ga/sixth/79/int_terrorism/turkey_e.pdf.
“UNICEF, European Union and Ministry of Justice Launch New Project to Advance Child Friendly Justice in Türkiye.” UNICEF, 18 Nov. 2025, www.unicef.org/turkiye/en/press-releases/unicef-european-union-and-ministry-justice-launch-new-project-advance-child-friendly. Accessed 23 Nov. 2025.
United Nations. “Countering Terrorism | United Nations.” United Nations, www.un.org/en/global-issues/countering-terrorism#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20Office%20on,for%20a%20terrorism%2Dfree%20world.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Guyana
Delegate Name: Colin Theobald

The Co-operative Republic of Guyana
Representative : DISEC Delegate – Colin Theobald
Nation : The Co-operative Republic of Guyana
Committee : Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC)
Topic : Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups

The nation of Guyana recognizes the issue of growing Terrorist Organizations and how to handle their recruitment capabilities. One aspect to consider about this topic is the difficulty in doing such prevention work. It is believed that a large multi-pronged international framework for a solution is needed. To pinpoint the root causes of radicalization is a difficult task that requires combined efforts of many great nations to come together and handle. By charging at these root causes head on, you can see the issues of the terrorist recruitment process.

Studies have found that the demographic most often appealed to by these terrorist organizations are youth audiences. By spreading around the extremist beliefs and values of their group, they can easily achieve an influence on the youth, tempting them to join their cause. Guyana has taken steps towards fierce anti-terrorism laws and policies locally and internationally. Somewhere that terrorist organizations attempt recruiting most is online. These groups find it far easier to spread their radicalized perspectives through the internet. To counter this, Guyana has come together with corporations to fight against the spread of terrorist beliefs online.

Guyana passed countermeasures to these issues. Such as The Anti-Terrorism and Terrorist Related Activities Act of 2015. Allowing a group to enforce it. The Special Organized Crime Unit and The Special Branch of The Guyana Police Force. These actions are necessary to prevent future terrorist organizations from carrying out horrific acts to civilians and militaries alike.
Efforts of the UN, CARICOM, and The Organization of American States to run counter-terrorism operations. The easiest way to stop terrorist groups is to disrupt their income, which feeds into supplies such as firearms, armored vehicles, explosives, ammunition, and far more weapons that would cause great harm if the nations of Guyana and the UN were not to step in. A statement from Mrs. Rodrigues-Birkett summarizes this perfectly. ”Terrorism today remains a grave and urgent threat to international peace and security.” February 10th, 2025 10 a.m. New York

Resources :
Welcome to the United Nations
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Cooperative Republic of Guyana
Ministry of Home Affairs
UNDOCS

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Nigeria
Delegate Name: James Zawacki

Disarmament and International Security Committee
Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Federal Republic of Nigeria
James Zawacki
Forest Hills Eastern High School

The highest ranking point of interest falls under the topic of recruitment. An unfortunate fact of the matter is that issues such as poor education, lack of opportunity in the labor market, human rights violations, and communal isolation are driving factors that push individuals toward extremism. Now more than ever, it is important to find ways to mitigate human rights violations and socioeconomic problems that push recruitment for terrorist organizations. However, it is also worth noting that social media and education play a significant role in promoting recruitment and educating others about recruitment methods. The United Nations strongly advocates for a “comprehensive approach encompassing not only security-based counterterrorism measures,” but also for solutions to the underlying conditions that drive recruits to join these recruitment agencies. The United Nations has addressed this issue in the past by launching the CT Tech initiative, aimed at strengthening the capabilities of Law enforcement and criminal justice authorities in countering terrorist organizations and recruitment centers, which launched in 2022. Unfortunately, new regulations and expansions of such policies need to be deliberated on further to adapt to the new and changing strategies of Recruitment and world technology.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria recognizes the immediate need for protection and action to reduce the recruitment numbers of terrorist organizations and their capabilities through the use of technology and other forms of communication commonly used for recruitment. Nigeria has counterterrorism legal frameworks such as the Terrorist Prevention Act, which aims to secure identity and prepare against threats. This policy delves into the roots of extreme terrorism by adopting a comprehensive societal approach, promoting collaboration among civil society, leaders, and stakeholders. Nigeria is now more relevant than ever in the field of terrorism, as indices from 2024 indicate that Nigeria is ranked 8th in the world for terrorism deaths, with 565 deaths recorded from terrorist activity. But this number is on the rise as Global rankings place them about sixth as of 2025. The majority of these terrorist threats come from militant religious groups and criminal gangs, which are often divided by the underlying issues of poverty and socioeconomic inequality. Nigeria has worked in tandem with the UN and other organizations, such as the African Union, to help counteract the surge of terrorism. This includes topics and plans such as the road map to “Silence the Guns by 2030”.Nigeria has also passed Laws such as the Cybercrimes Act of 2015, which is a framework that criminalizes the use of the internet for purposes such as terrorism.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria urges the United Nations to take more action and invest more resources in combating terrorist organizations and recruitment centers through the use of new technology and improved education/information about these organizations. Nigeria recommends addressing the root of the cause, that being inequality and social unrest, as well as promoting more awareness about organizations. This could help developing countries and developed countries more accurately identify and locate sources of terrorist Behavior. By achieving Nigeria’s goals, terrorism could meet a low not just in its own country but all around the world, fortifying and protecting them from Terror.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Republic of Korea
Delegate Name: Abigail Kearney

Terrorism presents a significant and evolving global threat. Increased usage of social media coinciding with a rise in extremist and offensive views has primed emerging terrorist organizations for devastating impacts on the worldviews of upcoming generations. The spread of hate speech and polarizing views in social media makes pathways between especially vulnerable adolescents that impacts formation of moral and ethical standards. Terrorists in a technological age increasingly use social media as a conduit for recruitment and planning of violent and damaging attacks. The key to preventing these catastrophic scenarios is blocking the spread of terrorist recruitment tactics before they enter mainstream thought. A proactive measure is required to effectively manage and mitigate the spread of terrorist organizations, and such strategies should be promptly adopted to maintain global peace and cooperative hegemony. Artificial intelligence continues to play dangerous roles in terrorist recruitment, as terrorists harness the power of deep-fakes and conversational chatbots to lure and coerce citizens into joining and aiding their heinous causes.

The Republic of Korea identifies terrorism and terrorist organizations as a foundational cause of internal disruption and fractured unity both within and outside of defined borders. Experiences with terrorism within the Republic of Korea have been limited in recent years. However, geographical location provides ease of access and recruitment for terrorist organizations within the state. To respond to vulnerability and protect the people, the Republic of Korea has finalized compliance regarding all terror related UN treaties. Not only this, but the Republic of Korea believes in a community focused approach to guaranteeing public safety involving reliance and local monitoring as well as data collection on international events. Such communalism allows all Korean citizens to share and gather information that enhances public safety and security. In a new and evolving technological age, the Republic of Korea sees success with such methods, however, also recommends updated protocols to assess online spread of extremist thought.

The key to preventing these catastrophic scenarios is blocking the spread of terrorist recruitment tactics before they enter mainstream thought. A proactive measure is required to effectively manage and mitigate the spread of terrorist organizations, and such strategies should be promptly adopted to maintain global peace and cooperative hegemony. The Republic of Korea believes in strict requirements for age verification online as well as prohibition of those under certain age brackets from accessing parts or the whole of social media as a method for prevention of terrorist recruitment. Guardrails for artificial intelligence are also crucial to limiting the ability of terrorist organizations to impersonate and connect with those chronically online and exposed to extremist thought. Specifically, investment in AI researching and training. Periodic and controlled exposure to artificial intelligence and training to younger generations would also allow younger, more online generations to understand the boundaries and correct applied usage of artificial intelligence in practical situations. A continued monitoring of terrorist activities and spread of hateful messaging can aid in preventing coercion and recruitment before it has the chance to begin. The Republic of Korea firmly believes in the eradication of hate speech within social media, and enactment of punishments on those who fail to obey such laws.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Ukraine
Delegate Name: Tejasvi Annadurai

Disarmament and International Security Committee
Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Ukraine
Tejasvi Annadurai
Forest Hills Northern

Ukraine believes that disrupting the recruitment capabilities of terrorist entities is one of the most critical elements for world security, given the ability of international terrorism to adapt through digital propaganda, decentralised radicalisation, and exploitation of unstable regions. The situation viewed from Ukraine is deeply informed by its own security challenges following Russia’s ongoing aggression, which has facilitated the rise of violent non state actors in occupied territories. Since 2014, Russia backed armed groups in Crimea and eastern Ukraine have coercively intimidated and applied extremist narratives to forcefully recruit young people and vulnerable civilians. Their activities have been enabled by poverty, lack of access to education, and an absence of stable governance. The destabilisation driven by Russia’s actions has weakened regional security structures, enabling terrorist linked groups to tap into local grievances, increase disinformation, and radicalise individuals via social media and encrypted digital platforms.

Ukraine firmly believes that terrorism and foreign-backed armed extremism need to be treated as interconnected threats by the international community. The same mechanisms that empower ISIS, Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab, and other globally recognised terrorist groups-economic desperation, propaganda, and lack of institutional presence-are exploited by armed groups acting with external backing in Europe and around the world. Ukraine has striven to counter these trends through national reforms on cybersecurity, community resilience, and protection of vulnerable populations. Domestically, Ukraine enhanced anti-terrorism legislation, widened intelligence cooperation with NATO and EU partners, and enhanced digital literacy programs as a means of reducing vulnerability to online recruitment. Internationally, Ukraine supported UN Security Council resolutions addressing counterterrorism financing, extremist recruitment, and technology misuse for the purpose of radicalisation. Ukraine continues to call for accountability for states that indirectly or directly assist armed extremist groups through money, weapons, or safe havens.

Ukraine calls on the international community to adopt a more comprehensive strategy toward the reduction of terrorist recruitment through prevention, resilience, and accountability. Ukraine urges the member states to further develop information sharing systems to monitor digital recruitment networks and establish joint monitoring programs for social media radicalisation. We believe that much more needs to be invested in education, community support systems, and economic development in conflict affected regions in order to reduce the vulnerability of people to extremist narratives. Ukraine welcomes the creation of a UN led initiative on naming and keeping accountable those states which enable recruitment through disinformation campaigns or arms supplies to violent non state actors. Ukraine encourages capacity building programs that train local leaders, social workers, and educators in the identification of early signs of radicalisation and intervention pathways. Above all, Ukraine is confident that global counterterrorism efforts must remain firmly rooted in respect for human rights, civilian protection, and international law. Reducing recruitment is not only a security challenge but also a humanitarian responsibility, and Ukraine stands ready to cooperate with the regional and global partners to safeguard peace and stability.

Works Cited:
“Statement on International Terrorism – Ukraine.” United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/ga/sixth/71/pdfs/statements/int_terrorism/ukraine.pdf
“The Effects of the Russia–Ukraine War on Counterterrorism.” Turkish National Defence University (TNDU). https://www.tmmm.tsk.tr/publication/researches/20-UKR_RUSwarEffectsCT.pdf
“2024 National Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment.” U.S. Department of the Treasury. https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/2024-National-Terrorist-Financing-Risk-Assessment.pdf
“EU SOCTA 2025 – Strategic Organized Crime Threat Assessment.” Europol. https://www.europol.europa.eu/cms/sites/default/files/documents/EU-SOCTA-2025.pdf
“Country Reports on Terrorism 2008 – Ukraine Section.” U.S. Department of State. https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/105904.pdf
“Global Terrorism Index 2020.” Institute for Economics and Peace. https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GTI-2020-web-2.pdf
“External Impacts and the Extremism Question in the War in Ukraine.” Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. https://ctc.westpoint.edu/external-impacts-and-the-extremism-question-in-the-war-in-ukraine-considerations-for-practitioners/
“Global Terrorism Index 2025.” Institute for Economics and Peace. https://www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Global-Terrorism-Index-2025.pdf

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: South Africa
Delegate Name: Melanie Milam

Country: South Africa
Delegate: Isla Bakker
School: Williamston
Committee: DISEC
Topic: Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities for Terrorist Groups

South Africa is a constitutional democracy with a diverse population. Social, political, and economic challenges mark their complex history. Although South Africa does not face the same uttermost violence seen throughout other regions, areas struggling with poverty, inequality, and limited access to opportunity have seen isolated incidents of recruitment attempts and radicalization. Apartheid continues to have a negative connotation on socioeconomic development, leaving numerous communities at risk of exploitation that target minority groups. As South Africa remains a regional standpoint for peacebuilding and protection of human rights, it recognizes the vast importance of conveying both continental threats to stability and domestic vulnerabilities.

South Africa has taken several steps to prevent the issue of terrorist recruitment and protect its people within. The Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorists and Related Activies Act is used by the government to stop extremist activity and push to punish those who engage in recruitment efforts. They also work closely with the United Nations, African Union, and other neighboring countries to portion information and reinforce regional security. Within the national level, South Africa has been seen to prioritize on improving education, expanding social programs to support vulnerable communities, and protecting human rights, which terrorist groups often exploit. The government also works with religious and community leaders to promote peace and discourage violent extremism.

In the future, South Africa has dreams to construct even stronger protections against terrorist recruitment by inscribing origin causes that make people susceptible. The South African government proposes to continue improving education, providing immense amounts of job opportunities, and enlarging youth programs to provide support to younger people included in society. They also aim to tackle areas like social media by working with international partners to limit the spread of fanatic content and aid students to be safer on the web. Additionally, South Africa strongly believes that local voices such as small communities, the youth, and families are essential to fabricating a safe, united community. By strengthening education, online safety, and support within communities, South Africa hopes to limit the influence of terrorist groups and further everlasting tranquility.

South Africa statement — International Terrorism
Southern African Countries Redouble Efforts in Preventing …

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Kazakhstan
Delegate Name: Remy Jorgensen

Country: Kazakhstan
Delegate: Remy Jorgensen
School: Williamston High School
Committee: DISEC
Topic: Reducing the Recruitment capabilities of terrorist groups

A problem that has plagued the world for many years is terrorist groups and the recruitment capabilities surrounding them. One very notable terrorist group is ISIS, well known for extreme violence, beheadings, and large-scale massacres. Also, ISIS is known for worldwide propaganda that influences citizens in countries with higher standards of conformity. Reducing the recruitment capabilities of terrorist groups is important because, if groups like ISIS gain more followers, they will have more members to control and spread their ways.

Kazakhstan has put travel restrictions so that its citizens can’t go into conflict zones to join terrorist groups, they put these restrictions in place to limit extremist influence from neighboring countries such as Afghanistan. Also they put the restrictions in place to curve the number of FTF in their country. Secondly, Kazakhstan has acknowledged and stated that they were working to educate the youth to discourage them from joining terrorist groups. Additionally, the government has banned over 10,000 websites that it has deemed extremist.

Kazakhstan has a few plans for the future of reducing the recruitment capabilities of terrorist groups, such as trying to rehabilitate citizens who had joined terrorist groups. Also, Kazakhstan has started to cooperate with international bodies like UNDP and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in countering extremist ideology. Finally, countries like the United States and other Central Asian countries would help because of our common problems regarding terrorist groups.

Sources
www.state.gov

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Indonesia
Delegate Name: Luke Harkema

Country: Indonesia
Delegate: Luke Harkema
School: Williamston High School
Committee: DISEC
Topic: Terrorist Recruitment

Terrorists across the globe serve as some of the greatest threats to the safety of people everywhere. According to Oxford Reference, terrorism is defined as “the calculated use of violence or the threat of violence to create fear for political, religious, or ideological ends, intending to coerce or intimidate governments or societies.” In spite of countless attempts to eradicate these extremist movements, the ability of these groups to recruit new members from marginalized groups keeps their numbers growing. Socioeconomic hardships, human rights violations, and poor education all influence people towards extremism, especially in children. In addition, with the rise of social media, these extremist messages can reach an even greater population. Solving these underlying issues is necessary to counter the massive problem these terrorists pose to worldwide communities.

Indonesia is highly motivated in finding a quick and effective solution to this major problem, as there have been seventeen terror attacks in Indonesia in the past decade, with the worst attack killing fifteen and injuring fifty-seven. Indonesia, with the help of UNDP, has attempted to counter terrorism recruitment domestically by promoting tolerant religious education to prevent violent extremism. However, Indonesia has mainly fought terrorism through its deradicalization programme, attempting to get former terrorists to abandon their radical ideologies. This program has been implemented both inside and outside of prisons.

Indonesia would propose to resolve this issue by continuing to help educate people in marginalized communities on the dangers of extremism. Indonesia is currently developing the second phase of its National Action Plan for Preventing and Combating Violent Extremism (RAN-PE), which will be in place from 2025 to 2029. Key goals within this plan include addressing the main causes of extremism and helping people get out of disadvantageous situations where they may be susceptible to radical ideas, as well as strengthening the counterterrorism capabilities of law enforcement. This plan is also focused on collaborating with other countries to share information on how to effectively deal with this issue. Other countries that may agree with this plan include Australia and the other members of ASEAN, as Indonesia has worked closely with them in the past in creating counterterrorism measures.

https://www.undp.org/indonesia/projects/enhancing-role-religious-education-countering-violent-extremism?

https://en.antaranews.com/news/364857/indonesias-bnpt-finalizes-2025-2029-plan-to-fight-violent-extremism?

https://www.unodc.org/roseap/en/indonesia/2025/04/preventing-violent-extremism/story.html

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: France
Delegate Name: Olivia Sokol

Country: France
Delegate: Olivia Sokol
School: Williamston High School
Committee: General Assembly DISEC
Topic: Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups

Terrorist groups and individuals have threatened nations and world security, and the numbers are only growing. Despite numerous attempts to eliminate terrorist groups all together, their numbers just keep growing. Factors such as limited education and job opportunities, human rights abuses, and isolation push members to extremism. The rise of these groups are dangerous, and the United Nations has tried to counter extremist narratives by working with community leaders and religious leaders in order to promote more peaceful messages, but deeper structural problems persist.

France has taken immense action to prevent the spread of terrorist organizations not only within its own borders, but within international borders as well. France’s goals in preventing the spread consist of: reduce terrorist groups regional hold; combat financial, human, logistic and terrorist propaganda networks; prevent radicalization; protect French interests and nationals abroad. They have taken measures already, especially through online platforms to curb extremist propaganda. In 2018, France hosted the No-Money for Terror conference in Paris, discussing the counties committed to improving legal frameworks, intelligence sharing, risk assessment, and asset freezing. The country has also taken several military actions in order to eliminate pre-established terrorist groups, for example in the Sahel, in Iraq, and Syria. Beyond military operations, France supports reconstruction and political reconciliation efforts in Iraq, Syria, and the Sahel. This includes funding local stabilization projects and backing regional initiatives such as Sahel Alliance, which focus on governance, development, youth employment, and security.

To achieve the goals previously stated above, France will be in support of using military intervention, stabilizing liberated areas and implementing political solutions. France is also open to enhancing international cooperation, and increasing the amount of action taken by the European Union to eliminate these dangers. Some of these international measures are, but not limited to: stronger airport security and documenting passengers, stronger asset freezing system, tougher anti-arms trafficking, and money laundering laws, and more cohesive technology platforms. France is more than willing to work with the European Union, as well as the G5 Sahel Countries (Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad).

Source:
https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/security-disarmament-and-non-proliferation/terrorism-france-s-international-action/
https://www.alliance-sahel.org/en/sahel-alliance/

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Italy
Delegate Name: Tillee Woods

Since antiquity, nations have struggled with terrorism.Over time, the things that are considered terrorism have changed, and at one point many of the things that we consider to be terrorism today were actually accepted military strategies. The rise of anarchist groups in the 19th century was largely because of poor housing, poverty, and lack of government support. These same factors drive people to join terrorist organizations today. Following the attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, countries across the globe were faced with not only understanding the threat terrorist groups presented but also trying to stop them from recruiting their citizens. Now, it is more difficult than ever with terrorists targeting vulnerable people online.

Italy aggressively investigates and prosecutes terrorists, going as far as deporting foreign nationals with suspected ties to terrorist groups. Italy is also a member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) and co-lead of the Counter-ISIS Finance and Africa Focus Groups. Additionally, Italy was one of the top contributors of troops to Iraq to combat ISIS. Italian law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies regularly exchange information about terrorist activities. Intelligence agencies work to gather intel on people with suspected terrorist connections, and law enforcement helps to prosecute them to the full extent of the law. Italy has anti-terrorism legislation in line with the highest international standards. Although there is a relatively small Muslim population, many do not live in “inner-city” areas that are prone to violence and poverty. These locations are where most terrorists target since the people who live there are more likely to be recruited to join terrorist organizations. A survey shows that 81% of Italian Muslims love Italy and its culture.

In the future, Italy hopes to work with the US Department of Defense to improve its screening of terrorism, as well as migrants. Italy also will continue to update its policies regarding the prosecution of terrorists to make sure it protects its citizens, and the global community as well as possible. Italy will also help its allies in the UN, EU, and NATO to help fight against the recruitment of the young, impoverished, and vulnerable. Italy will do so by increasing public awareness about how terrorists recruit people, especially children. Also, Italy will help increase awareness in law enforcement and government agencies about how to effectively deal with terrorists, which includes passing anti-terrorism legislation at a higher standard. The best ways to stop the spread of terrorism are to educate people, and to reduce the number exposed to poverty and poor conditions. Italy will offer some financial aid to countries in order to build more clean housing, help bring people out of poverty, and provide essentials for those in need. Italy supports legislation that increases the awareness about terrorism, and increases the severity of the punishment for suspected terrorists.

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: South Africa
Delegate Name: Melanie Milam

Country: South Africa
Delegate: Melanie Milam
School: Williamston
Committee: DISEC
Topic: Reducing the Recruitment Capabilities for Terrorist Groups

South Africa is a constitutional democracy with a diverse population. Social, political, and economic challenges mark their complex history. Although South Africa does not face the same uttermost violence seen throughout other regions, areas struggling with poverty, inequality, and limited access to opportunity have seen isolated incidents of recruitment attempts and radicalization. Apartheid continues to have a negative connotation on socioeconomic development, leaving numerous communities at risk of exploitation that target minority groups. As South Africa remains a regional standpoint for peacebuilding and protection of human rights, it recognizes the vast importance of conveying both continental threats to stability and domestic vulnerabilities.

South Africa has taken several steps to prevent the issue of terrorist recruitment and protect its people within. The Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorists and Related Activies Act is used by the government to stop extremist activity and push to punish those who engage in recruitment efforts. They also work closely with the United Nations, African Union, and other neighboring countries to portion information and reinforce regional security. Within the national level, South Africa has been seen to prioritize on improving education, expanding social programs to support vulnerable communities, and protecting human rights, which terrorist groups often exploit. The government also works with religious and community leaders to promote peace and discourage violent extremism.

In the future, South Africa has dreams to construct even stronger protections against terrorist recruitment by inscribing origin causes that make people susceptible. The South African government proposes to continue improving education, providing immense amounts of job opportunities, and enlarging youth programs to provide support to younger people included in society. They also aim to tackle areas like social media by working with international partners to limit the spread of fanatic content and aid students to be safer on the web. Additionally, South Africa strongly believes that local voices such as small communities, the youth, and families are essential to fabricating a safe, united community. By strengthening education, online safety, and support within communities, South Africa hopes to limit the influence of terrorist groups and further everlasting tranquility.

South Africa statement — International Terrorism
Southern African Countries Redouble Efforts in Preventing …

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Argentina
Delegate Name: Melanie Milam

Country: Argentina
Committee: DISEC
Topic: Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Delegate: Melanie Milam
School: Williamston Highschool

The issue of terrorist recruitment remains a serious global problem, as many terrorist groups use social media and online platforms to attract new members. These groups often target vulnerable people especially youth who face poverty and or lack education. Terrorist recruitments can destabilize entire regions and significantly increase violence, making it important for it to be addressed internationally. Reducing recruitment is key to weakening terrorist groups and preventing future attacks.

Argentina has a long history of supporting global attempts to counter terrorism and has worked within the United Nations to strengthen international security. Argentina is a member of the UN Global Counter terrorism Strategy and supports measures helping to stop people from becoming influenced by terrorist ideas. Nationally, Argentina has passed many lows to improve border security, monitor online terrorist activity, and fight money laundering. Argentina is also involved in the Organization of American States (OAS) to improve intelligence sharing. We continue to focus on programs that help education safety, and prevent radical terrorist online content.

Moving forward, Argentina believes that the most effective way to reduce terrorist recruitment is to address the root causes that make people vulnerable to join these groups. Argentina supports United Nations programs to expand education and provide job opportunities. We also encourage international cooperation to remove radical content online. Argentina believed that the United Nations has a strong role in supporting this cause, which this national sovereignty needs to remain respected. Argentina plans to work with countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Germany, and South Africa, which share very similar views on the topic. Together we can help reduce the influence and capabilities of terrorist groups by cutting off their ability to recruit members,

Works cited
Country Reports on Terrorism 2019U.S. Department of State (.gov)https://www.state.gov › reports › country-reports-on-ter…
argentina — measures to eliminate international terrorismWelcome to the United Nationshttps://www.un.org › int_terrorism › argentina_e
GLOBAL SOUTH INITIATIVES TO COUNTER TERRORISM …Welcome to the United Nationshttps://www.un.org › counterterrorism › sites › files
argentina — measures to eliminate international terrorismWelcome to the United Nationshttps://www.un.org › int_terrorism › argentina_e

Topic: 2025 – Reducing Recruitment Capabilities of Terrorist Groups
Country: Central African Republic
Delegate Name: Elisabeth Ver Steeg

The rise of Terrorism across the globe has remained a prevalent issue over the decades. However,
in recent years, it has been spreading faster than ever and becoming ever more deadly. Countries across
Africa and Central and South Asia have experienced the brunt of this increase. Groups like the Taliban,
Abu Sayyaf, and Al Qu’ida Core, being some of the most well-known, have contributed to the killing and
torture of innocent civilians, destruction of infrastructure, and civil unrest. Though it should be known
that terrorist groups do not come to power for no reason. They rise to power due to political and religious
beliefs, perceived injustices, and collective identity. Recruitment for these groups often starts in
adolescence, when personal identity and belief systems in one’s self are most unstable. Social media
streamlines the spread of terrorist group propaganda, luring young adults into extremist paths. The quality
of education plays a huge role in preventing the spread of this propaganda. Schools teach children critical
thinking and information evaluation, allowing them to spot misinformation when they come across it.

The Central African Republic does not have a stance on terrorism, but is instead a victim of it.
According to the Global Terrorism Index, CAR ranks number seventy-one globally on its impact on
terrorism. The same study showed that the Sahel region of Africa ranked as the most affected region
globally; the CAR in among the many countries in this region. Currently, several rebel groups like Séléka
and Anti-Balaka in the country contribute to the high rates of terrorism. The country also has an extensive
history of political coups backed by rebel forces; the earliest being in 1968 when the dictator Jean
Bendel-Bosaka took over the country.

The country’s efforts to reduce terrorist recruitments are weak and limited. It has collaborated
with Wagner (a Russian military group) in order to protect government officials, but the group has turned
to harming civilians in their work. Radio Free Europe, a public news outlet, has written on the issue,
stating,

“Between 2018 and 2024, Russian troops were involved in more than 100 gun battles, and
committed more than 362 incidents of violence against civilians” (Koena). The country has adhered to all
UN global terrorism treaties made, and it has signed two regional treaties regarding the Algiers
convention. Even though the country has signed counter terrorism treaties, it’s own domestic terrorism
has degraded the public order, institutions, and rule of law in the country. CAR simply does not have the
ability to uphold any legislation on the issue because of the nations instability running rampant.
What are the possible solutions? It is clear that legislation within the country would have little
effect on countering terrorist recruitment, and the country’s education system is weak and limited. If
anything were to have an effect on reducing terrorism and terrorist recruitment in the country, it would be
outside groups. The country would need the help of other countries and organizations mainly focusing on
improving the quality and duration of the country’s education. The use of military intervention may be
needed, but if it is used, efforts should be made to make sure that it doesn’t have the same outcome the
Wagner group had.

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