Terrorism: A risk that affects all the countries

-survivors of terrorism. In 2017 alone, nearly three-quarters of all deaths caused by terrorism were in just five countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia and Syria.  According to a statement by the UN, the day is meant to allow victims of terrorism to have their needs supported and their rights upheld.

Terrorism is, in the broadest sense, the use of intentional violence for political or religious purposes.[1] It is used in this regard primarily to refer to violence during peacetime or in the context of war against non-combatants (mostly civilians and neutral military personnel).[2] The terms "terrorist" and "terrorism" originated during the French Revolution of the late 18th century[3] but gained mainstream popularity in the 1970s during the conflicts of Northern Ireland, the Basque Country and Palestine. The increased use of suicide attacks from the 1980s onwards was typified by the September 11 attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. in 2001.

There are various different definitions of terrorism, with no universal agreement about it.[4][5] Terrorism is a charged term. It is often used with the connotation of something that is "morally wrong". Governments and non-state groups use the term to abuse or denounce opposing groups.[6][7][8][9][5] Varied political organizations have been accused of using terrorism to achieve their objectives. These include right-wing and left-wing political organizations, nationalist groups, religious groups, revolutionaries and ruling governments.[10] Legislation declaring terrorism a crime has been adopted in many states.[11] When terrorism is perpetrated by nation states, it is not considered terrorism by the state conducting it, making legality a largely grey-area issue.[12] There is no consensus as to whether or not terrorism should be regarded as a war crime.[11][13]

The terms "terrorism" and "terrorist" gained renewed currency in the 1970s as a result of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict,[23] the Northern Ireland conflict,[24] the Basque conflict,[25] and the operations of groups such as the Red Army Faction.[26] Leila Khaled was described as a terrorist in a 1970 issue of Life magazine.[27] A number of books on terrorism were published in the 1970s.[28] The topic came further to the fore after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings[8] and again after the 2001 September 11 attacks[29][8][30] and the 2002 Bali bombings.[8]

There are over 109 different definitions of terrorism.[31] American political philosopher Michael Walzer in 2002 wrote: "Terrorism is the deliberate killing of innocent people, at random, to spread fear through a whole population and force the hand of its political leaders".[5] Bruce Hoffman, an American scholar, has noted that

It is not only individual agencies within the same governmental apparatus that cannot agree on a single definition of terrorism. Experts and other long-established scholars in the field are equally incapable of reaching a consensus.

There are over 109 different definitions of terrorism.  American political philosopher Michael Walzer in 2002 wrote: "Terrorism is the deliberate killing of innocent people, at random, to spread fear through a whole population and force the hand of its political leaders".   

Experts disagree about  whether terrorism is wrong by definition or just wrong as a matter of fact; they disagree about whether terrorism should be defined in terms of its aims, or its methods, or both, or neither; they disagree about whether or not states can perpetrate terrorism; they even disagree about the importance or otherwise of ‘terror’ for a definition of terrorism.   

In November 2004, a Secretary-General of the United Nations report described terrorism as any act "intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a government or an international organisation to do or abstain from doing any act".