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| Photo by the Author |
The International Day for the Prevention of Violent Extremism as and When Conducive to Terrorism is observed by the United Nations on this day, February 12.
Extremism is a term usually associated with the realm of politics, especially that of far-left and far-right ideologies. While extremism is described as any political doctrine supporting extreme, unrelenting measures, it is in actuality, a more multifaceted occurrence in the socio-economic aspect of human behavior and ideologies. Extremism could come in several forms, more notably with armed struggles or freedom fighting and to the other end of the spectrum, terrorism.
It is important to acknowledge and understand that circumstances of oppression, injustices, human rights violations, and government neglect among others are only a few reasons that can be attributed to the start of extremism in some ideologies.
This is a stark difference from the extremism that is brought about by pure prejudice and bigotry that aims to alienate the minority. That being said, much like extremism itself, terrorism is much more complex of an idea than just being violent and angry at the government and the people.
Nevertheless, cases of extremism and terrorism around the world have come at the cost of millions of lives severely affected and lost. To this day, marginalized groups are still under attack from extremists that aim to eradicate what is unwelcome to their ideology—namely hateful groups like the KKK (Ku Klux Klan), Neo-Nazis, etc. This makes this day even more important as it serves as a vehicle for much-needed discussions that are crucial to the development of countries or areas affected across the globe.
As we rally behind this resolution, we join the international community in creating a conversation on countering violent extremism through policy changes on strengthening human rights protection, building national resilience, and enriching capacity-building efforts in our communities.
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