_The case presented to the side event organized by ICSFT and the International Union of Arab Jurists" Syria: Inappropriate use of UN mechanisms for political and media propaganda", September 18th, 2017, Geneva, by Ulf Sandmark, Economist, Human rights activist with the Schiller Institute in Sweden, former chairman of the Anti-Drug Coalition in Sweden._

The purpose of this presentation is to bring to the agenda of the UN Human Rights Commission (HRC) as a new category of Human Rights violations the use of terrorism in the arsenal of global strategic irregular warfare. Using terrorists as footsoldiers in strategic irregular warfare is a clear HR crime as it intentionally instils fear in vast populations by means of brutal violence. Secondly, the purpose of the irregular warfare is to preserve an old neocolonial order, which is also an HR crime. It impedes the development potentials of the oppressed populations and blocks them from joining the emerging order of the New Silk Road world development.

The  use of terrorism for strategic warfare by global players, who has a dominating influence on the UN through all their allies and dominions and especially on the decisive UN Security Council, is risking to undermine the UN mechanisms, allowing them to be used for political and media propaganda, instead of being mechanisms to promote the highest ideals of the UN organization. Therefore an organizational change is necessary to directly highlight the problem and address the issues.

Under the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) there is the Working Group on Terrorism. It is called " Working Group on Promoting and Protecting Human Rights and the Rule of Law while Countering Terrorism".[ It was established to support efforts by Member States to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights and the rule of law in the context of countering terrorism.] This Working Group is important, but it, however, is not addressing the issue of the use of terrorism in the arsenal of global strategic irregular warfare, as it is directed at those policies enforcing terrorism, but not against those using terrorism.

Another OHCHR working group addresses more the strategic players. That is the Working Group on the use of mercenaries. It is called the "Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination". (2) This Working Group handles cases of HR violations similar to the cases involving terrorists deployed by strategic international players. However, the use of terrorists to impede the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination is a more sinister form of HR violations. Unlike the mercenaries, terrorists mostly target civilians and not the military forces of the adversary. Even though some terrorist organizations use mercenaries, all terrorists are not mercenaries. Therefore, I hereby call for the  UN Office of the High Commissioner for HR (OHCHR)  to set up a Working Group for HR especially directed against the use of terrorists in the arsenal of global strategic irregular warfare. This plea starts off in Sweden.

I come from Sweden which is not a peace-promoting country. Sweden openly promotes violent regime change in other countries like Libya, Syria and Yemen, which is an act of warfare. The Swedish government supports terrorists to achieve its goal of regime change. AhmadJarba, the president July 2013 until July 2014 of the Syrian national coalition for the Forces of Revolution and the Resistance (SNC) that is often referred to as the Syrian opposition, personally signed the receipt of 40 million Swedish crowns from the Swedish government. He did that as the head of the Syrian Recovery Trust Fund (SRTF), which is a fund supporting the SNC activities in Syria. On 21st March 2014 the terrorist group Jabhat Al-Nushra and the Free Syrian Army from Turkey stormed and desecrated the Armenian Christian border town Kessab in the north of Syria, decapitating or kidnapping inhabitants that could not flee. April 1st, i.e. ten days later, Ahmad Jarba uploaded pictures of himself visiting and celebrating "the liberated"Kessab. (2) Many millions of Swedish crowns have been delivered in support of the SNC, conducting an armed insurrection with its military branch the FreeSyrian Army (FSA) against the government of Syria. Even though Sweden does not provide any military aid to the terrorists, still the humanitarian aid delivered supplies aiding the terrorists in an armed insurrection with the aim of a regime change which is violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination.

[The government of Norway allows the Norwegian Refugee Council to distribute aid that has ended up with Al Qaeda and ISIS in Syria, aid that is in direct line with the Norwegian government policy of regime change in Syria and Yemen.]

After the terrorist attack in Manchester May 22nd this year it was thrown light on, that the terrorist, just as the terrorists attacking London after that was part of the protected terrorist network the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group used by the government of United Kingdom for the regime change in Libya. When the war against Libya started the travel ban for the LIFG terrorists in the U.K., in spite of their affiliation to Al Qaeda was lifted by then Minister of Interior Theresa May, allowing the LIFG terrorists to travel to Libya in time for the war. It was this decision that allowed the Manchester terrorist Salman Abedi to return from Istanbul four days before his attack.

The LIFG terrorists were used as foot soldiers by the U.K., the U.S. and their military allies including France, Norway and Sweden in the overthrow and murder of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Saudi Arabia and Qatar were used by the U.K. and U.S. as the financiers, recruiters and handlers of the Al Qaeda terrorists needed, a slightly higher position than terrorists themselves, in the feeding chain providing the foot soldiers for the global strategic irregular warfare.  The stockpiles of weapons of the Libyan army were allowed to get in the hands of LIFG and its Al Qaeda allies for the purpose of regime change in Syria. The use of Al Qaeda as foot soldiers by the U.K. and the U.S. in the global strategic irregular warfare against Syria allowed the emergence of ISIS as its offspring. Now the U.K. and the U.S. have Al Qaeda and ISIS terrorists fighting alongside the Saudi Coalition forces in their war to impose the illegitimate Hadi regime on the sovereign republic of Yemen.

The use of terrorism for strategic warfare has its devastating impact also on strategic warfare in all parts of the world. In the U.S. the victims and the relatives of victims of the 911 attack in New York and Washington now in a court procedure against Saudi Arabia for its direct support of the hijackers seizing control of the planes and crashing them into the World Trade Center in New York. The Victims of 911 and their relatives have been able, together with Congressmen and groups like the Schiller Institute, to bring the Obama administration to Finally, publish a long time suppressed 28 pages in a 911 Report by the U.S. Congress. In these 28 pages, it was documented the payments for the preparation of the hijackers by the Saudi Ambassador in Washington. In a newly disclosed document presented to the court this month, it was revealed the circumstances for the dry run before the 911, where two Saudi hijackers tried to enter the cockpit in a U.S. domestic airplane. The attempt did not succeed but the plane was forced to land and the two perpetrators were arrested. The Saudi embassy even paid the tickets of these two. The FBI did the coverup of this case. (3)

The fact that U.S. government institutions were covering up for these most serious crimes indicates that the effect of the 911to ignite the so-called war on terrorism was intentional and a part of using terrorism the arsenal of global strategic irregular warfare. The coverup of the Anglo-American use of Saudi Arabia, to instigate terrorist crimes, continues to this day in the ongoing wars in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, the Philippines, Burma and Yemen.

[The use of these terrorists for irregular warfare is a Human Rights violation against those civilians that become victims of their horrific crimes.]

Furthermore, the killing and devastation imposed on the Syrian people, and the wast destruction of the Syrian civil society and culture, will leave a scar in the potentials of Syria for generations to come. It will also leave a scar in the potentials for world development.

If the use of terrorism in the global strategic warfare is stopped, the new paradigm of win-win development cooperation to build the New Silk Road could open up tremendous development potentials for Asia including South West Asia and the whole world. Situated on the Old Silk Road and on the Arab peninsula bridge between Asia and Africa, a reconstructedSyria has an important role in world development.

IT IS AN URGENT NECESSITY THAT THE OHCHR INCLUDE, AMONG THE CATEGORIES OF HR VIOLATIONS, THE USE OF TERRORISM IN THE ARSENAL OF GLOBAL STRATEGIC IRREGULAR WARFARE AS A MEANS OF VIOLATING HUMAN RIGHTS AND IMPEDING THE EXERCISE OF THE RIGHT OF PEOPLES TO SELF-DETERMINATION. IT IS AN URGENT NECESSITY THAT THE OHCHR SETS UP A WORKING GROUP TO ADDRESS THESE GRAVE CRIMES IMPACTING INDIVIDUALS, PEOPLES AND THE WHOLE WORLD DEVELOPMENT.