Short statement on: Agenda item 2(ii) – Human Rights and Terrorism

Fifth High Level Meeting UN – Regional Organizations, July 29-30, 2003 Chairman-in-Office, OSCE

Represented by: H.E. Mr. Dirk Jan van den Berg, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of The Netherlands to the United Nations

• The issue
This agenda item addresses situations where human rights can come under pressure as a result of anti-terrorism policies. The main threads of an answer seem clear. First and foremost, in fighting terrorism, the basic human rights of all persons involved must be respected. Second, limitations of certain rights should be prescribed by law, and at all times be proportional to achieve a particular, well-defined interest including emergency situations.

• The challenge
The challenge facing us is that interpretations differ widely on the definition of an act of terrorism, an emergency situation, or a proportionate limitation or derogation of rights. We can not afford those different interpretations to continue to exist, especially if they give rise to broadening of the concept of public emergency. Both effective respect for human rights and an effective fight against terrorism require a common ground with regard to those definitions. This is difficult but not impossible. In different ways, acts of terrorism clearly stand out in comparison with regular crimes that our governments fight each day. First, terrorist acts are not pursuing a specific criminal objective, but are aimed at destabilizing societies as a whole. Second, the violence of terrorists is aimed at causing as much damage as possible, thereby harming innocent people. Finally, terrorist organizations increasingly seem to operate as virtual armies. By virtual, I mean that they can actually function as full-fledged armies, facilitated by trends in globalization and modern technologies, without accountability of any kind.

Common understanding and shared clarity on those definitions will assist us in the fight against terrorism. It will help us define those situations in which derogations of human rights could be considered.

• The CiO
Although international conventions already give some answers in this respect, a lot of questions remain. The Netherlands Chairmanship has the ambition to keep the issue of human rights and terrorism high on the agenda and indeed provide it with new impetus. On 18 September we will, together with the Netherlands Helsinki Committee, host a seminar on this issue in The Hague. The Chairman-in-office, Minister De Hoop Scheffer, will address the participants. A broad range of international representatives of both the human rights and security sector will discuss all aspects of the tension between effective policy against terrorism and respect for human rights. They will go in detail into the questions that I have only briefly touched upon today. The results of this seminar will gladly be shared with those who are interested.

With our different cultural and thematic backgrounds we have today an excellent opportunity to increase our mutual understanding of the difficult but important issue of ‘human rights and terrorism’.