Archive Article: Terrorism And Human Rights. 14 Nov 08
December 22, 2008

The first international attempt to ban terrorism arose out of the assassination of King Alexander of Yugoslavia on October 9 1934. That attempt failed – and almost 70 years later, the international community is still trying to solve the same problem. Some of the basic issues just seem to continue on decade after decade.

One of the recurring issues in the struggle against terrorism is the problem of how we are to fight terrorism and yet avoid violating human rights. If government authorities are too heavy-handed in combating terrorism, they could actually increase support for the terrorists because it could add to the anger that the ordinary citizens have against the government.

At the very least, such violence could play into the hands of terrorists who wish to have the government and its society self-destruct. The excessive use of violence by government forces could actually assist the terrorists in their desire to destroy the society. A Council of Europe statement, adopted soon after September 11, warned: “Civilized nations must avoid the trap of abandoning civilized values”.

This is all the more important because it is clear that the “war on terrorism” will not have a quick conclusion. Indeed, the lesson from Northern Ireland is that British Army have been fighting the various IRA and Protestant terrorist groups for over three decades and the battle is still not entirely ended. Much the same could be said about the Basques in Spain. These are just to take two European examples – there are many other examples of long-running conflicts.

We need a guidebook to assist us to make sure that we do not lose sight of “civilized values”.

I have just been reading “Terrorism and Human Rights” by Frederico Andreu-Guzman. It is published by the Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists, which is one of the world’s leading human rights non-government organizations (I am the NSW Chair of the Australian Section of the International Commission of Jurists).

Andreu-Guzman examines the crucial problem of how countries are to combat terrorism while respecting human rights, international law and the Rule of Law.

International law and the case law of human rights courts and other bodies constitute a priceless source of knowledge indicating the sorts of measures involved, the circumstances in which they can be adopted and the conditions for their implementation in order to counter terrorist acts within the framework of the Rule of Law.

Therefore, this publication is very useful in providing a survey of the key legal documents.

As the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned: “An effective international strategy to counter terrorism should use human rights as its unifying framework. The suggestion that human rights violations are permissible in certain circumstances is wrong. The essence of human rights is that human life and dignity must not be compromised and that certain acts, whether carried out by State or non-State actors, are never justified no matter what the ends. International human rights and humanitarian law define the boundaries of permissible political and military conduct. A reckless approach towards human life and liberty undermines counter-terrorism measures”.

This survey of international human rights and humanitarian law provides a good guide to all governments on how they should combat terrorism within the Rule of Law. There is a lot that Australia can learn from overseas experience.

Broadcast Friday 14th November 2003 on Radio 2GB’s “Brian Wilshire Programme” at 9pm