(VOVWORLD) - In 2015, the UN General Assembly established the International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism to be commemorated annually on August 21. This year the UN has emphasized the importance of healing the psychological trauma of victims, and warned that terrorism is showing signs of growing in multiple places around the world.
 People lay flowers in memory of the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks on September 10, 2021. (Photo: XNA/VNA) |
Listen to the victims
In a message released on August 21, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said this year’s theme “Voices for Peace: Victims of Terrorism as Peace Advocates and Educators”underlines that victims and survivors of terrorist acts should be heard and never forgotten.
Most of the victims are civilians, and the lives of survivors and their loved ones are often irreparably damaged. Many victims of terrorist attacks are living with permanent mental trauma. Nearly 23 years after the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York (September 11, 2001), thousands of people still have not recovered emotionally and still require treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
The terrorist attacks on trains in Madrid, Spain, in March 2004 that killed 193 people and injured 2,000 left unhealable wounds. At this year’s 20th commemoration of the bloodiest terrorist attack in the EU’s history, the families of the victims asked the government to build memorials to preserve the memories of victims and increase punishments for terrorism to bring lasting justice for its victims.
In France, the suicide of artist Fred Dewilde in May, a survivor of the terrorist attack on the Bataclan theater in Paris in November 2015, shocked the public. Dewilde repeatedly said he could not endure his physical and mental pain after the terrorist attack, even though he devoted himself to creating four comic books about the tragedy. Before Dewilde’s suicide, two other victims of the Bataclan terrorist attack committed suicide because of the psychological trauma.
 UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (Photo: IRNA/VNA) |
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said it can take years for survivors to recover, and many continue to suffer from persistent trauma.
Therefore, the international community needs to listen to the voices of the victims of terrorism and empower them as peace advocates and educators.
"Acts of terrorism create a wave of unimaginable grief. Families and communities torn apart by terrorist acts are forever changed. Reflecting on personal trauma to educate others is an act of immense courage. This day urges us to listen and to learn,” said Guterres.
New threats
This year's Global Terrorism Index (GTI) report shows that terrorism remains one of the most serious global threats. In 2023, deaths from terrorism surged 22% to more than 8,300 people – the most since 2017. According to the UN, the heinousness of terrorist attacks has increased. The average number of victims killed in 2023 rose 56% from 2022 and was the highest rate in the past 10 years. Bloody terrorist attacks in Iran in January killed 95 people and injured 300. In Russia 145 people were killed and more than 500 injured in March.
 UN Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov (Photo: UN) |
At the UN Security Council’s special meeting on August 8, the UN warned of the rise of terrorist branches of the self-proclaimed Islamic State in West Africa and the Sahel region.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov said that the terrorism landscape in West Africa and the Sahel remains challenging and complex.
“Terrorist groups continued to expand in the Sahel and inflict high casualties, undermining regional stability. Two of the Da’esh affiliates in the region, have expanded and consolidated their areas of operations. Should these groups extend their influence in northern littoral States, a vast territory stretching from Mali to northern Nigeria could fall under their effective control,” he warned.
Security experts say that recent developments in West Africa and the Sahel have revived the scenario of the IS taking over territories as they did a decade ago in Syria and northern Iraq. Widespread conflicts in the Middle East, along with political instability in some African countries, makes efforts to prevent terrorism more difficult.