Eradicating poverty key to counter-terrorism fight

The conditions conducive to the rise of terrorism are rather complicated, poverty as a major factor, along with ethnicity, religion, cultural and social issues, is likely to directly or indirectly lead to the rise of extremism and help it spread.

Dozens of United Nations documents, including the Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism, have emphasized the role poverty and unemployment play in providing fertile ground for extremism and making violent extremist groups an attractive source of income.

Research on the relationship among poverty, crime and terrorism also show that poverty leads to easier contact and acceptance of violent extremist thought, through the negative effects it has on people’s surroundings, educational status, interpersonal communication, development track and personal decisions.

Thus, eliminating poverty could help prevent and strike extremism and terrorism at the root. Facing the increasingly complex and serious challenge of extremism and terrorism, politicians from a number of nations and the heads of international organizations have appealed to nations to eradicate poverty and oppose hatred and violent crimes to address some of the root causes of terrorism.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has made major deployments and arrangements on poverty alleviation with unprecedented resolve and intensity since the 18th National Congress of the CPC in 2012, which have achieved remarkable results and significantly improved the lives of impoverished people.

Yet eliminating poverty remains a daunting task for China, especially in areas with extreme poverty. As the three-year Guideline on National Poverty Reduction issued by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, China’s Cabinet, points out, some regions inhabited by ethnic minority groups and border areas still face deep levels of poverty and high poverty incidence rates, which could undermine the fight against extremism and terrorism, as these areas are at the forefront of the counter-terrorism fight. Eliminating poverty in these regions and promoting their development to promote better living conditions for the inhabitants could prevent extremist forces from fabricating conflicts and justifying violent crimes.

Besides, cultural progress has a material basis, and improving this is conducive to greater moral accomplishments and cultural prosperity. In many cases, the lack of education, limited understanding of religion, history and culture, and the inability to tell normal religious activities from extremism facilitate the spread of extremism in remote and isolated areas. Only promotion of material basis and cultural progress will ensure people who might otherwise be susceptible to extremism have a strong resistance to such indoctrination.

Eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development states. China’s poverty alleviation work is therefore a major contribution to confronting the challenge of international terrorism. And its strategy to eradicate poverty and realize common prosperity will provide experiences for global fight against extremism and terrorism.

Wu Wenyang, the Beijing Research Center on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era