Report: Leading Jurists Call for Urgent Steps to Restore Human Rights in efforts to counter terrorism
16 February 2009
In one of the most extensive studies of counter-terrorism and human rights yet undertaken, an independent panel of eminent judges and lawyers today presents alarming findings about the impact of counter-terrorism policies worldwide and calls for remedial action. The Eminent Jurists Panel on Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights, established by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), has based its report “Assessing Damage, Urging Action” on sixteen hearings covering more than forty countries in all regions of the world.
“In the course of this inquiry, we have been shocked by the extent of the damage done over the past seven years by excessive or abusive counter-terrorism measures in a wide range of countries around the world. Many governments, ignoring the lessons of history, have allowed themselves to be rushed into hasty responses to terrorism that have undermined cherished values and violated human rights. The result is a serious threat to the integrity of the international human rights legal framework,” said Justice Arthur Chaskalson, the Chair of the Panel, former Chief Justice of South Africa and first President of the South African Constitutional Court.
The report illustrates the consequences of notorious counter-terrorism practices such as torture, disappearances, arbitrary and secret detention, unfair trials, and persistent impunity for gross human rights violations in many parts of the world. The Panel warns of the danger that exceptional “temporary” counter-terrorism measures are becoming permanent features of law and practice, including in democratic societies. The Panel urges that the present political climate may provide one of the last chances for a concerted international effort to take remedial measures and restore long-standing international norms. The change in US administration provides a unique opportunity for change.
“Seven years after 9/11 it is time to take stock and to repeal abusive laws and policies enacted in recent years. Human rights and international humanitarian law provide a strong and flexible framework to address terrorist threats,” said Mary Robinson, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, former President of Ireland and current President of the ICJ. “It is now absolutely essential that all states restore their commitment to human rights and that the United Nations takes on a leadership role in this process. If we fail to act now, the damage to international law risks becoming permanent”, she added.
The report calls for the rejection of the “war on terror” paradigm and for a full repudiation of the policies grounded in it. It emphasises that criminal justice systems, not secret intelligence, should be at the heart of the legal response to terrorism. “We have seen intelligence services around the world acting with insufficient accountability and intelligence cooperation being undertaken outside the rule of law,” said Hina Jilani, lawyer of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and former UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders. “This intelligence is then used in various legal proceedings and cannot be contested. Secrecy is becoming a pervasive feature in our legal systems.”
Though evidence of the deleterious effects of security measures has been well-documented in recent years, this is the first investigation to piece together a picture that draws on public and private hearings covering forty countries over a period of three years. As panellists listened to testimonies from government officials, victims of terrorism, rendition survivors and civil society groups in dozens of countries around the world, a consistent theme emerged: legal systems put in place after World War II were well-equipped to handle current terror threats. The Panel calls on policymakers to rely on civilian legal systems, utilize criminal courts and not resort to ad-hoc tribunals or military courts to try terror suspects. The report repeatedly remarks upon the extent to which undemocratic regimes with deplorable human rights records have referred to counter-terror practices of countries like the US to justify their own abusive policies. Welcoming the report of this independent group, Wilder Tayler, Acting Secretary General of the ICJ called on States to seek guidance from the recommendations of this authoritative report and to urgently move from rhetorical to real acceptance of human rights.
The Panel held the global launch of the report in Geneva on 16 February. The reports findings were also presented in Bangkok on 16 February and in London on 17 February.
The Panel will present its findings in Washington D.C. on 27 February 2009 at the Brookings Institution. For further details of the US launch, please visit the website of the Brookings Institution.
 EJP PRESS RELEASE (PDF format)
EJP REPORT (PDF format)
EJP EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (PDF format)
STATEMENT BY UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL’S PRESIDENT (PDF format)
|
