Dag Hammarskjöld Library at Uppsala University
Terrorism and Human Rights
- © United Nations
The issue of terrorism has been a concern of the United Nations for decades.
In recent years, as the threat of terrorism has grown more urgent, UN programmes and agencies have intensified efforts to strengthen international engagement to combat terrorism at the legal and political level. The foundation for this struggle is respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.
The Security Council has taken action in countering terrorism through a range of resolutions and by establishing subsidiary bodies. Resolution 1373 from September 28, 2001 calls upon increased international cooperation to prevent and suppress terrorist acts. It established a Counter Terrorism Committee to monitor States' implementation of the resolution, with the assistance of appropriate expertise.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights has elaborated by releasing a Digest of Jurisprudence of the UN and Regional Organizations on the Protection of Human Rights while Countering Terrorism.
In 2005, an Independent Expert - a Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism was appointed to make recommendations and identify, exchange and promote best practices on measures to counter terrorism which also respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and
to report regularly to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly.
The Sixth Committee of the General Assembly and the Ad Hoc Committee against Terrorism prepare
draft conventions to supplement existing international instruments dealing with international terrorism.
Thirteen international conventions have been created in order to be instrumental in preventing terrorist attacks, each convention addressing a special form of terrorist act. Member States are currently negotiating a fourteenth convention to supplement the existing framework.
The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy was adopted in 2006. For the first time, countries around
the world agreed to a common strategic approach to fight terrorism. The strategy includes practical steps at the local,
national and international level to prevent and combat terrorism and to ensure that human rights and the rule of law are
always respected in the fight against terrorism.
Documentation
A list of Security Council resolutions on terrorism are posted at the UN official web site, section UN Actions against Terrorism.
General Assembly resolutions on terrorism, reports of the Sixth Committee and the Ad Hoc Committee can
be retrieved from the UN official web site, section UN Actions against Terrorism, General Assembly.
The official web site of the Counter Terrorism Committee provides background information and full text documents and reports with a special section for Human Rights.
Documents from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights are posted at the official web site, section Issues, Terrorism.
Full text conventions can be accessed through the UN official web site, section UN Action against Terrorism,
International instruments.
The official web site of the Ad Hoc Committee established by General Assembly resolution 51/210 of 17 December 1996 provides background information and full text documents.
The United Nations Counter-Terrorism Online Handbook, with a number of search functions, provides access to United Nations counter-terrorism related resources.
Yearbook of the United Nations provides an overview of the UN action to counter terrorism. A complete collection of yearbooks is held by the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, Uppsala, and the Libraries at UN Headquarters in New York and Geneva. Since October 2008 the complete full text collection of The United Nations Yearbooks is available online at http://unyearbook.un.org/.
Databases and Indexes
A web portal to the United Nations action against terrorism with links to UN main bodies and focal points, with full text documents and reports, is posted at the UN official web site, section UN Actions against Terrorism.
The UN Library online catalogue UNBISnet contains reports, documents and articles related to UN activities with links to full texts for recent years. Subject search can be performed using relevant terms from the UNBIS THESAURUS.
Documents from the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism can be retrieved from the Charter Based Bodies Database available at the UN official web site, section Human Rights.