Non-violent Measures for Preventing Violent Extremism: International Resolutions on the Role of Education

Abstract

Violent extremism continues to be a serious threat on a global scale, affecting people in
underdeveloped, developing and developed societies. Radicalisation, the process towards violent
extremism, is a global phenomenon and no society seems to be free of it. Even though it grows
from the roots of intolerance and feeds on discrimination and prejudice, violent extremism itself
does not discriminate; even if one is not a primary target, at this point in time everyone is facing
a potential danger of becoming a collateral damage, which can be witnessed by the multiple
terrorist attacks in recent decades that have claimed countless innocent lives. Violent extremism
is a diverse phenomenon which is neither new nor exclusive to any region, nationality or system
of belief. The prevention of violent extremism has become a priority for the global community,
as it affects the security and well-being of societies albeit directly or indirectly. The need to
address extremism of all kinds on a cross-community basis is paramount.