Mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism : 1 Mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism Professor Martin Scheinin, EUI
Webinar, 11 November 2009
Mandate as decided by the Human Rights Council 2007 : Mandate as decided by the Human Rights Council 2007 To make concrete recommendations on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, including, at the request of States, for the provision of advisory services or technical assistance on such matters;
To gather, request, receive and exchange information and communications from and with all relevant sources, including Governments, the individuals concerned, their families, representatives and organizations, including through country visits, with the consent of the State concerned, on alleged violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, with special attention to areas not covered by existing mandate-holders;
To integrate a gender perspective throughout the work of his/her mandate;
To identify, exchange and promote best practices on measures to counter terrorism that respect human rights and fundamental freedoms;
Mandate (Commission 2005, renewed 2007 by Council) : Mandate (Commission 2005, renewed 2007 by Council) To work in close coordination with other relevant bodies and mechanisms of the United Nations, and in particular with other special procedures of the Human Rights Council, in order to strengthen the work for the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while avoiding unnecessary duplication of efforts;
To develop a regular dialogue and discuss possible areas of cooperation with Governments and all relevant actors, including relevant United Nations bodies, specialized agencies and programmes, inter alia with the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the Security Council, including its Executive Directorate, the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and treaty bodies, as well as non-governmental organizations and other regional or subregional international institutions, while respecting the scope of his/her mandate and fully respecting the respective mandates of the above-mentioned bodies and with a view to avoiding duplication of effort;
To report regularly to the Human Rights Council and to the General Assembly;
Country-specific work : Country-specific work Correspondence with governments
‘allegation letters’/’urgent appeals’
focus on ‘advisory services’
Annual communications report
low response rate
Engagement with governments
Meetings in Geneva, consultations on the spot, international meetings
Country visits
Follow-up engagement
Methodology of country visits : Methodology of country visits Combination of fact-finding and normative assessment
With the consent of the government
Standing invitation or ad hoc invitation + practical cooperation
Meetings with government, judiciary, legislature, NGOs, academics, affected individuals etc.
Hands-on elements: prison visits, observation of trials, training centres for law enforcement agencies
Identifying both problems and best practice
Last day: exit interview and press conference with preliminary findings as a press release
Sharing a draft report with the government (4 weeks for comments) and then reporting to the Human Rights Council, entailing a right of reply
Follow-up engagement with countries visited
Criteria for choice of countries to visit : Criteria for choice of countries to visit No actual rules exist
Not simply worst violators of HR but a combination of
Interesting real issues including HR violations
Access and cooperation
Geographical rotation between regions
Coordination with other Special Rapporteurs
Possibility to identify best practice
Turkey (2006), South Africa (2007), USA (2007), Israel & OPT (2007), Spain (2008), Egypt (2009)
Standard Terms of Reference E/CN.4/1998/45 : Standard Terms of Reference E/CN.4/1998/45 No treaty basis and no resolution by the Commission or Council
Compare: Code of Conduct
Freedom of movement in the country
Freedom of inquiry
Access to all prisons, detention centres and places of interrogation
Confidential and unsupervised contact with witnesses and other private persons, including persons deprived of their liberty
Full access to all documentary material
In practice: Turkey, South Africa, Israel and Spain provided confidential access to detainees while the US and Egypt did not (so far)
Thematic work: reports so far : Thematic work: reports so far to General Assembly 2005 conceptual note
2006 freedom of association + terrorist listing
2007 challenges to refugee law while CT
2008 the right to a fair trial in the fight against terrorism
2009 CT, human rights and gender to Human Rights Council 2005 definitions of terrorism + assessement of CTC practice
2006 terrorist profiling + suicide terrorism
2007 impact of CT on economic, social and cultural rights
2008 role of intelligence agencies and their oversight in CT and HR
Thematic reports under preparation : Thematic reports under preparation HR Council 2009: the right to privacy and its erosion in the fight against terrorism
GA 2010: human rights and UN action against terrorism
HR Council 2010: compilation of best practice in respecting human rights while countering terrorism
And compilation of best practice in the role of intelligence agencies and their oversight
Other thematic work : Other thematic work DETECTER 2009-2011
Academic research on the human rights assessment of counter-terrorism detection technologies
Joint study on secret detention
With SR on torture and WG:s on arbitrary detention and disappearances
IACL research group on constitutional responses to terrorism
Mainstreaming work : Mainstreaming work Reports to General Assembly
Briefings to CTC, 1267 Committee, CTED
Membership in CTITF and three of its working groups (human rights, internet and victims)
Liaison with other entities, such as UNODC, ICAO, regional IGOs
Double role of human rights in the 2006 Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy
Best Practice? : Best Practice? Mentioned in SC res. 1624 as part of the mandate of the CTC
Also mentioned in the Commission on HR/HR Council resolutions on the mandate of the SR
Joint identification, starting with res. 1624?
Defining characteristics of best practice:
Effective means in combating terrorism
Compare with symbolic (often overinclusive) measures by UN and member states (“we must do something”)
Full compliance with human rights 12
The Lift and Eurasialift : The Lift and Eurasialift Two blogs related to the mandate
http://legalift.wordpress.com
Global coverage of new developments in the field of human rights and counter-terrorism
news, documents etc.
http://eurasialift.wordpress.com
Focus on Russia and former Soviet countries
Bilingual (English and Russian)
Somewhat broader coverage than just counter-terrorism and human rights