Why Enforceable World Law
International Terrorism can be curbed, not by War but by enforceable World Law,
effective global governance and peace education
Terrorism greatest menace
Since the start of the millennium, terrorist attacks have highlighted the severe impact of modern terrorism on humanity. The Mumbai attacks from November 26-28, 2008, were particularly devastating, with around 200 people killed and 400 injured by international terrorists arriving via sea. This attack, among others in cities like Jaipur, Bangalore, and Ahmedabad, underscores the persistent threat of terrorism in India.
Terrorism, often driven by religious fundamentalism, poses a significant menace as terrorists frequently target innocent civilians. The post-Cold War era saw the United States acting as an international law enforcer, but its actions have faced criticism, even from allies. The September 11, 2001 attacks cemented international terrorism as a major global threat.
International terrorism stems from global lawlessness, where individuals resort to violence to highlight grievances they believe are ignored by the system. Despite the lack of justification for such violence, state-sponsored terrorism and false pretexts for war further exacerbate the problem.
The absence of universally enforceable international laws contributes to this lawlessness. Effective control of international terrorism requires enforceable world laws rather than wars. The last six decades have seen more casualties from numerous conflicts than both World Wars combined. The proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons adds to global insecurity.
The United Nations, despite its achievements, has not fully met its founding aspirations. Nobel laureate Jan Tinbergen emphasized the need for a World Government to address global issues, achievable through a strengthened United Nations system.
Education for world peace
To effectively counter the threat of international terrorism, unprecedented levels of international cooperation and global efforts are essential. No single national government, not even the world's superpowers, can tackle this issue alone. Reliance on war is not a sustainable solution. Instead, fostering a spirit of globalism in the younger generation is crucial for building a future free from terrorism.
The Role of Education in Fighting Terrorism
For effective international cooperation, reminiscent of the aspirations of the League of Nations and the United Nations, a concerted effort to inculcate globalism in children worldwide is necessary. Shaping young minds towards globalism will cultivate a true generation of world citizens. Schools play a vital role in this transformation by promoting tolerance, coexistence, and a love for all humanity. As wars and terrorism originate in the minds of individuals, peace must also be instilled there. This process begins in schools, where young and impressionable minds can be taught the values of peace and global citizenship.
Benefits of True Education
True education develops capacities, analytical abilities, self-confidence, willpower, and goal-setting competencies. It instills a vision that empowers individuals to become self-motivated agents of social change, serving the best interests of their communities. At pivotal moments in history, education acts as a powerful tool for profound social transformation. That moment is now.
Need of the hour
With the rapid developments in science, technology and communications, the world today has become a global village where people from all the countries have to perforce live in close cooperation for mutual progress, development and survival. In this changed scenario, the old mindset has become redundant and a new mindset is needed for this millennium.
The crying need of the new age is unity of humankind and peace in the world. There is thus an urgent need for a legally constituted law making body for enacting enforceable International or World Law that is applicable to all the countries and peoples of the world at the same time. Only such world law can ensure unity of humankind and preserve world peace. This can be done either by strengthening the United Nations system, as suggested by Jan Tinbergen, or by creating a new body and a new world executive under a new world order.
Enforceable World Law
New revolutionary changes in the technology of transport and communications have reduced the world to a global village. People living on the opposite sides of the globe have become virtual neighbours, thanks to the internet and supersonic jets. In such a close-knit world, the emergence or formation of a new world order is only a matter of time.
The mute question is whether the unification of humankind will happen after unimaginable horrors precipitated by humanity’s stubborn clinging to old patterns of behaviour, or is to be embraced now by an act of consultative will. However, there can be little doubt that only enforceable international or world law enacted by a properly represented and duly constituted World body can ensure world peace, implement global steps to conserve the environment, outlaw and check acts of terrorism, and eliminate all weapons of mass destruction, thus safeguarding the future of world’s children, born and yet-to-be-born. However, a powerful executive authority will be imperative to ensure and enforce compliance.
And in order to ensure obedience to such laws, the executive authority must have sanction and support of all the nation states so as to enable such authority to compel any state to surrender to international or world law and provide effective global governance. Such a world order will be able to address important problems of lawlessness, terrorism, environmental degradation, drug trafficking and other global problems.