{"id":54121,"date":"2016-09-30T11:27:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T16:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-legal\/supreme\/legal-commentary\/the-un-security-councils-slowly-improving-message-on-counterterrorism-and-human-rights.html"},"modified":"2016-09-30T11:27:00","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T16:27:00","slug":"the-un-security-councils-slowly-improving-message-on-counterterrorism-and-human-rights","status":"publish","type":"supreme","link":"https:\/\/supreme.findlaw.com\/legal-commentary\/the-un-security-councils-slowly-improving-message-on-counterterrorism-and-human-rights.html","title":{"rendered":"The UN Security Council’s (Slowly) Improving Message on Counterterrorism and Human Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The UN Security Council’s (Slowly) Improving Message on Counterterrorism and Human Rights<\/h1><\/td>\n <\/tr>\n

By JOANNE MARINER<\/h2><\/a><\/td>\n <\/tr>\n

Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007<\/td>\n\n <\/tr>\n <\/table>\n

What has the UN Security Council done to advance the fight against terrorism? And what has it done to ensure that counterterrorism efforts do not go hand in hand with the abuse of human rights?<\/p>

In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Security Council took rapid steps to press member states to address the serious threat of terrorism. In late September, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 1373<\/a>, requiring states to deny support to terrorists and terrorist groups, provide mutual assistance in prosecuting terrorism, take steps to prevent terrorism, and ensure that terrorist acts are established as serious criminal offences in domestic laws and regulations.<\/p> \n\n

Because resolution 1373 was passed under the Security Council’s Chapter VII powers, it is considered binding on all UN member states. And underscoring the mandatory nature of its prescriptions, resolution 1373 established the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) to monitor its implementation.<\/p>

The CTC was given exceptional power to compel governments to explain their actions, setting up a mandatory counterterrorism reporting system for all UN member states.<\/p>

What’s Missing from Resolution 1373<\/b><\/p>

Resolution 1373 is viewed as the cornerstone of the UN’s counterterrorism efforts. But unfortunately, given its importance, it sent a worrying message on the issue of human rights. <\/p>

Although fundamental human rights protections are often threatened by government counterterrorism measures–and this was true even pre-September 11–the resolution did not mention human rights, except in a narrow reference to the granting of refugee status.<\/p>

This apparent indifference to human rights norms was confirmed by the CTC’s first chair. In a January 2002 briefing, he declared that assessing compliance with human rights standards was simply “outside the scope of the Counter-Terrorism Committee’s mandate.” The CTC, with its Chapter VII authorization, would review states’ counterterrorism efforts without assessing the impact of these efforts on human rights. <\/p>

In practice, moreover, the CTC maintained a strict focus on security even when the negative human rights consequences of counterterrorism practices were obvious. Indeed, in a 2004 report<\/a>, Human Rights Watch documented how the CTC simply closed its eyes to the human rights implications of government counterterrorism laws and policies.<\/p> \n

The report found that the CTC failed to raise human rights concerns even when:<\/p>