Governments Should Address Corruption to Defeat Terrorism - NGO

The international community will not be able to defeat existing terrorist groups until it addresses the corruption, which helps them to thrive, an anti-corruption NGO said in its recent report.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — "Failure to recognise the root cause of extremism is undermining international efforts to respond to the threat posed by radical groups. Tackling corruption must be a first order priority. And if corruption isn’t addressed, there is a high risk international assistance programmes will simply fuel patronage networks that exclude and disenfranchise populations, often along sectarian lines," Transparency International said in its February report, entitled "The Big Spin."

The NGO points out that such terrorist groups as Islamic State (Daesh), Boko Haram took advantage of corruption to radicalize and recruit people.

"ISIS’s [Daesh] message is clear: governments in power are corrupt, bent towards the interests of a narrow, unrepresentative elite. They fail to provide services for their citizens; ISIS, on the other hand, is focused on justice, good governance and the provision of services," the report said, adding that the "fundamentalist Islam" remained an important part of Daesh narrative.

The report pointed out that while the international community was trying to tackle the ideology of terrorist groups, the materiel issue remained unaddressed.

The NGO stressed that the "failure of corrupt elites to provide security and justice for their citizens" significantly contributed to people's readiness "to take up arms or support insurgents and extremist elements," and urged governments to increase efforts aimed at curbing corruption.