Declaration International Forum
“International Terrorism – Current Situation, Origins
and Ways of Counteraction”

We, the participants of the International Forum “International Terrorism – Current Situation, Origins and Ways of Counteraction”:

- NOTE the inhuman nature of international terrorism

Today the world community faces a completely new form of terrorism. It is characterized by total neglect of lives of thousands of people to achieve its primary goal – becoming an influential and composite element of the new world order and spread fear among millions of people.

Terrorism sustained by a limited resource base and targeted at more powerful countries and state institutions has changed radically. It is no longer “the weapon of the weak”. Actually we can speak of the industry of international terrorism with vast informational, financial, technological and other resources. Along with the process of globalization terrorism technologies escalate with the methods of terrorist acts becoming more sophisticated. The ways of waging informational wars to intimidate civilians and governments, disseminate myths about the presumed existence and power of “the world” terrorism epitomize these trends.

Choice of targets for terrorist attacks and victims of their inhuman plans are no longer politically, nationally or religiously motivated. There is no “Islamic” terrorism but only a notion alienated from humane nature, parasitizing on people’s conscience and creed. No one can be sure that national security system of any country can not be affected by terrorist attacks. “Hot spots” on the world map demonstrate tragic feasibility of these threats gradually approaching the borders of Ukraine.

The paradoxical phenomenon of contemporary world is that countries have technologically advanced armies but still thousands of innocent people die as a result of terrorist attacks. Classical military schemes together with existing systems of collective security prove to be inadequate and fall short of responding to contemporary challenges. The whole structure and security mechanism need revision.

Application of exclusively power methods of counteraction and law-enforcement instruments in the war on terror in no way can eliminate people’s security concerns over own safety and – above all – overcome the origins and reasons of terrorist threat. Consequently, there is a crying need for new approaches, new mechanisms of systematic counteraction to threats to national and international security incorporating state and societal components into this new security architecture.

- SUGGEST new approaches to formation of the world security architecture

That is why nowadays there is an urgent need for new approaches to the architecture of security system which comprises as an active position of public institutions of society as the integral part of counteraction to terrorism. The backbone of this security system should be the postulate about the determination of the humanity in their joint endeavor to counteract warmongering and international terrorism and extremism.

The concept of this security system could be based on the premise that member-countries of the world community have a priori no external enemies. On the basis of this any military attack or hostile action of one country against another is to be considered as acts of international terrorism. Use of force (primarily for the purpose of containment) would be acceptable and relevant only in exceptional cases provided that necessary sanctions of the world alliance with the help of its, specially designed, mobile military (antiterrorist) forces are deployed.

Initiation, preparation and singing of the World Convention on the basis of this or similar concept would promote new moral and ethical atmosphere for international legislative and organizational mechanisms of collective security.

The indispensable feature of the security architecture is strong social support of modernized institutions of international security. Civilian forces of the leading countries should contribute to this security structure. They can urge their governments to develop and realize a global humanitarian and economic program of the world development in which local social conflicts would never transform into global forms posing a threat to the humanity.

In the given context we see the importance of making at least the first step in the direction of a new global companies control system, primarily monitoring corporations manufacturing and distributing weapons.

We are on firm ground saying that the ideology of contemporary terrorism can blocked by the positive potential of the world community, whose consolidating position is based on moral values of universal importance. Further dialogue of Christian, Islamic and other cultures can become the integral component of the new architecture of international security system. Cultural dialogue based on respect of cultural values, lifestyle, mentality and traditions of different people should develop through the channels of social institutions and non-governmental organizations. International representative forum “Europe and Big Middle East – stable development and peace keeping condition” would promote the atmosphere of mutual trust, tolerance and respect, weed roots feeding and instigating extremism and terrorism.

We stand for involving all constructive forces of society, leading religious leaders of various creeds and religions and also specialists in different fields of knowledge in the broad discussion about the role and place of public movement against the No.1 threat to the humanity, and, on this basis, elaboration of informational and social technologies of counteraction to terrorism and extremism.

- MANIFEST our choice of the way without fear and violence

Among various factors contributing to the development of modern civilization there is a marked discrepancy between originally high human values and real destructive tendencies affecting spiritual and other aspects of human life.

The moment of crucial choice have arrived: to go along the way of humanism, celebrating the principle of the highest social value – life, dignity and personal safety or kneel to the cult of fear and violence in one of its ugly forms - terrorism.

Reluctance to accept and resistance to terrorism in all of its forms as a means to solve conflicts and disagreements, refusal to apply forceful methods to settle international and other disputes, provided it is not sanctioned by international organizations, ought to become a universally recognized imperative, a cornerstone of personal, societal and state security.

Development and realization of a global terrorism counteraction program based on new principles of national security systems comprising state and society institutions comes into the spotlight.

The cult of violence, threats of extremism and terrorism should be outweighed by highly-intellectual, spiritually distinguished and consolidated position of the world community regarding development of the just world order. Intellectual resources should be focused on working out universal approaches and methodology to discard violent stereotypes in social relations and remove obstacles to develop democratic processes and create new world economic environment.

Fully understanding the idealistic nature of this paradigm today, the Forum stands for making at least few steps in the direction of this ideal which can prove to be a decisive stage in the development of humanity without posing threats to its self-annihilation and alienation.

Kyiv, Ukraine
28 May, 2004