Terrorism is a global bane and one of the greatest evils bedeviling our world. It is no doubt that at the mention of terrorism, what comes to mind are Islamic fundamentalist groups such as al Qaeda, Taliban, Boko Haram, ISIS, and other religious motivated movements that try to propagate their ideas and beliefs forcefully. While these groups represent an imminent threat to individuals, groups, and the entire world, it is crucial to note that across regions and continents, there seems to be a rising threat of a form of legitimate terrorism perpetrated by the government of nations.
The recent spate of government abuses, disregard for human rights, government-sponsored victimization, as well as mass killing of individuals and groups opposed to their ideologies is in no small measure a cause for alarm. The year 2021 was littered with reports of government or national abuses by security agencies working directly under strict instructions from national leaders, but military and civil. Top among the cases is the indiscriminate abuses and killing of youths by the Myanmar junta government following the military coup earlier in 2021. “Recently, the UN Human Rights Office reported multiple villages being burned, including protected structures, such as places of religious worship and residential buildings. In Thantlang, it was reported that the military torched 19 civilian and religious buildings and 450 homes in 10 different incidents. In Kayah State, it was reported that villagers were burned alive when their place of shelter was allegedly set ablaze by security forces” Source. From February 2021 to December 2021, it has been reported that more than 1,300 individuals have lost their lives, with about 10,600 detained for daring to oppose the coup and military junta of Myanmar Source.
Similarly, in 2021 several reports of the notorious activities perpetrated by the Chinese governments attracted concern from civil societies, international communities, and religious groups. Reports of the Chinese Communist Party waging targeted campaigns against the Uyghur people, and members of the Turkic Muslim minority in Xinjiang, China. These human rights abuses include coercive population control, forced labor, arbitrary detention in internment camps, torture, physical and sexual abuse, mass surveillance, family separation, and repression of cultural and religious expression Source.
Reports about human rights in the Africa continent are rampant across nations including Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sudan, Mali, Uganda, Cameroon, etc. On 20 October 2020, the Nigerian Army was reported to have shot and killed at least 11 unarmed, peaceful protesters and wounded dozens of others during a demonstration targeted at ending police brutality, in an incident that has been labeled a massacre Source. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission released a joint report into abuses committed in the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region. The abuses include extrajudicial killings and executions, widespread sexual violence, torture, forced displacement, arbitrary detentions, violations of economic, social, and cultural rights, and denial of access to aid Source.
As these abuses continue, it is worrisome that under the watch of the United Nations, the world sits back while humans are treated worse than animals. The leaders and military of these oppressive nations on the claim of sovereignty display no restrictions at executing and satisfying their unguided power drunkenness. This then raises the question “Are they government or terrorist”? It is obvious to claim that the United Nation in its current state and powers is unable to protect the rights of minority groups who continue to face existential threats at the hands of national governments that perceive them as less than humans. The world seems to be drifting back in time to days when those with power ruled in fierce arrogance and unrestricted violence. Moreover, with China and Russia playing the underdog to undermine the abilities of the United Nation and ensuring that the UN is unable to reach a resolution in time of national crisis, the clock ticks fast, and only in a matter of time, crisis might overrun the face of the earth.
To guarantee the protection of human rights, especially of minority groups, and forestall the irrational quest for power among national leaders, the UN must step up on its duties and powers or better be reformed to discharge its duties.