Who we are

Context

Founding meeting and the structure of network

Funding

Who we are

Citizens Against Terror, or CAT, is an alliance of citizens and citizens’ groups from across the world working to build effective civic responses to the threats presented by terrorism and counter-terrorism, particularly the threat of violence against civilians.

The initiative grew out of civil society’s participation in the Madrid summit on Democracy, Terrorism and Security, March 8–10, 2005. The Summit had been inspired by the millions who took to the streets of Spain after the March 11 attacks, to protest and mourn for the victims. This response showed that it was possible to counter new types of terrorist networks with new forms of civic mobilisation.

Citizens Against Terror (CAT) seeks to build on this example and mobilise civic engagement that is owned by people, that amplifies marginalized voices and that challenges terror in all forms.

Context

Terrorism has become a dominant international issue in the post 9/11 environment, responses to which are playing a critical role in geo-political developments and the lives of citizens everywhere. So far, however, citizens have had a limited and mainly passive role in responding to terrorism.

Several key lessons emerged from the civil society working groups at the Madrid Summit:

• Terrorism is a global challenge, not just confined to the West. In many places around the world the debate about terrorism is seen as being inspired by a vision emanating from the West, as if only the West was at risk. The threat is global and the response must be global.

• Governments have so far monopolized the effort to define and respond to terrorism. They must acknowledge that terror, in any form, cannot be successfully confronted without the active participation of all sectors of society to both define and counter the threats.

• Citizens are agents, not just victims, they must be central to the strategies envisioned to deal with the problem. But they also have a responsibility to loudly reject unacceptable forms of violence and actively build inclusive communities that embody alternatives to violence.

• Terror is inflicted by both non-state and state actors. The most violent places in today’s world are either authoritarian states, where violence is inflicted by state security forces, or failed states and conflict zones, where violence is inflicted both by state and non-state actors.

• Democracy cannot be imposed from above or from the outside. Legitimate political authority represents an alternative to terror, but it can only be built from within society. This process can and should be supported by the international community.

• Repressive measures to counter terror undermine democracy and exacerbate terrorism. All quarters have a responsibility to defend human rights and the normal functioning of law.

Founding meeting and the structure of the network

CAT’s founding meeting took place in Barcelona from the 25-26 March, 2006, bringing together diverse participants from across the world. They gathered to discuss the threats posed to civil society by ‘terrorism’ and ‘counter-terrorism’ and, in response, to build the aims, structure and strategy of the network. See the full list of participants, and read the report of the meeting “here”.

The participants envisioned CAT as a decentralised network that seeks to foster ‘ownership’ at all levels and empower those who know their countries best. Maintaining openness and transparency is essential to this. From the meeting emerged a nucleus of approximately 50 organisations and individuals committed to taking the initiative forward. These national partners ensure broad reach and relevance to local context. You can find links to most of these participants on the left, or read the founding meeting report here.

The organisation is guided by a steering committee of 11 international trustees elected in Barcelona from the participants. These trustees are the guardians of the core values and direction of CAT. They are:

Day-to-day operations and project development are coordinated by a small team, appointed at the same time and accountable to the steering committee. Currently based in London and Cairo they are:

Funding

CAT’s seed funding was donated by Diego Hidalgo, founder of Club de Madrid and President of Fride. Support for the founding meeting came from the Catalan Government’s international relations department. Funding is currently being sought from grantmakers for the next phase of the Citizens Against Terror’s development.