ABSTRACT
Sixteen years ago, the international community, shocked by the 9/11 attacks, undertook under the aegis of the United Nations, never again to witness such atrocious acts against humanity, and called upon states to “combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.” The sweeping nature of the international response that ensued, particularly following the adoption of the United Nations Security Council resolution 1373, signaled that 9/11 was indeed a cataclysmic act of terror to end terrorism. During this period, counter-terrorism emerged as the most dominant if not preponderant political discourse that has shaped international relations profoundly. The world changed after 9/11, and the past 16 years have been a struggle by the international community to stem terrorism, conceived as a common threat to humanity.
