Human
Rights Advocacy
Monitor
needed to protect rights in counter terrorism
As
the international community is poised to establish a special
rapporteur of the United Nations on protecting human rights
in counter terrorism efforts, a small number of states
led by China, Russia and United States are colluding to
block the establishment of an effective mandate, a group
of leading international human rights organizations said.
In
addition to these three permanent Security Council members,
Australia, India and Pakistan have sought to undermine
the initiative currently under consideration by the U.N.
Commission on Human Rights meeting in Geneva.
Nearly
four years after the September 11, 2001 tragedy and the
Security Council mandate for robust international action
to combat terrorism, and despite more than three years
of discussion in the U.N. human rights system, China has
argued that it is too early for establishing such a special
rapporteur.
UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, U.N. High Commissioner for
Human Rights Louise Arbour, most Commission member states,
national human rights institutions, and a large number
of NGOs have endorsed the call for a United Nations investigator.
The special rapporteur would monitor counter terrorism
laws and practices for their compatibility with human
rights, act to prevent human rights violations arising
from counter terrorism measures and provide technical
assistance to states.
The
countries blocking the mechanism have demanded a number
of unacceptable amendments designed to kill or hollow-out
the mandate.
Mexico
and many other states proposed the special rapporteur
following a clear conclusion by Robert Goldman, the Commission
s Independent Expert on the protection of human rights
and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, that
there is a pressing need for monitoring under a single
mandate that has a comprehensive overview of the relationship
between human rights and counter terrorism measures.
Amnesty
International, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission
of Jurists, the International Federation of Human Rights
Leagues and the International Service for Human Rights
share the assessment of the Independent Expert that a
broad range of human rights have come under increasing
pressure or are being violated by States in the context
of and counter terrorism initiatives.
The
organizations called on the Commission to act now to address
meaningfully one of the greatest human rights challenges
presently faced by the international community.
Source:
Human rights watch.