Delegate: Nehan Niyas

Committee: Arab League

Topic: Combatting Terrorism in the Arab World
Country: Tunisia

"Terrorism knows no boundaries, and it is our collective responsibility to

combat this menace." - President Kais Saied

From 1970 to 2019, terrorist activities in the Middle East accounted for 24.9% of global
terrorist activities, causing a colossal number of casualties. This issue has had serious
repercussions, disrupting economies across the Arab world and causing widespread political
instability. Combatting terrorism has been tremendously crucial for the state leaders of the
Arab League to enforce measures, actions, and policies to safeguard its civilians, ensuring
their safety and well-being. Tunisia has been contending with the issue of terrorism for a
while, especially since the early 2010s with the security forces falling prey to terrorist-related
incidents.

The issue was exacerbated after the Jasmine Revolution in 2011 as President Ben Ali was
ousted, causing a power vacuum, which disrupted the established political order. This
allowed extremist groups such as Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia to exploit the situation,
radicalizing individuals and recruiting more individuals causing a growth in extremist groups.
This has led to an emergence of radical ideologies and security concerns, witnessing major
attacks such as the 2015 Bardo Museum Attack and Sousse Attacks which accentuated the
vulnerability of the country's tourism sector. However, Tunisia has applied multiple strategies
to enhance security and prevent potential attacks, such as the Counterterrorism law enacted in
2015 to provide a solid legal framework post-revolution, to combat terrorism and the CNLCT
which specialises in implementing counter-terrorism efforts. the CNLCT froze the funds and
assets of six Tunisians suspected of terrorist links in December 2021, disrupting their
financial support for extremist activities.

Tunisia has largely supported UN efforts in countering terrorism, and actively participated in
regional forums like the G5 Sahel, AU, and EU to collectively improve security measures.
Moreover, Algeria has played a key part in countering terrorism with Tunisia, implementing
cooperative border monitoring operations and establishing robust mechanisms for
coordination to impede the mobility of extremists and dismantle terrorist networks. Both
nations have participated in collaborative military drills and capacity-building initiatives to
bolster the effectiveness of their respective security forces. Tunisia has ratified and
implemented several relevant agreements, the most notable being United Nations Security
Council Resolution 2178 (2014), which primarily focused on preventing the movement of
foreign terrorist fighters and restraining their recruitment, travel, and financing.
Tunisia has made an exemplary effort to establish and implement counterterrorism strategies,
yet opportunities for further enhancement persist which could be also enforced in the future.
Opportunities such as strengthening their interregional coordination with additional countries
could result in a much more multidimensional approach to combating terrorism as there’d be:
Shared intelligence to facilitate targeted counterterrorism operations, Coordinated border
control to prevent the movement of terrorists, weapons, illicit goods, etc, Joint operations and
training which further upgrades their military and law enforcement operations. With more
robust regional aid, disrupting transnational networks by merging resources and conducting
joint investigations, it can disrupt the flow of funds, weapons, and propaganda, ultimately
weakening terrorist organisations operating in the region.

As the issue of Terrorism isn’t entirely solved yet, Tunisia stands firmly with committing to
resolving this global threat once and for all. We urgently endorse the Arab League to
collaborate on developing resolutions immediately to maintain regional peace and stability.

Bibliography:
https://www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-terrorism-2021/tunisia
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/tunisia/terrorism
https://issafrica.org/chapter-4-terrorism-in-tunisia
https://africacenter.org/spotlight/tunisias-evolving-counterterrorism-strategy/
https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/s/res/2178-%282014%29