Explore Our Work > Projects > Terrorism and human rights
Status: Published
Terrorism and human rights (2008)
Introduction
Have human rights organisations responded adequately to the threat of international terrorism and official responses to that threat? This report reaffirms that the core mission of human rights advocates is to make sure that governments respect human rights and the rule of law. But fresh thinking is also needed. Human rights organisations should participate in efforts to agree a sound definition of terrorism in international law. A victim-centred approach might enable them to apply human rights to a wider range of issues, making their advocacy more relevant to those who suffer because of terrorist violence. The report discusses how advocates might develop principled but also more understandable positions when they talk about terrorism to officials and the public or those who sympathise with it.
Research team
Biographical affiliation was accurate when research took place.
Research director
Monette Zard, Research Director, ICHRP, 2003-2006. From 2007 Richard Carver, Consultant Project Manager, ICHRP. Please contact Fairouz El Tom, Outreach and Publications Coordinator, ICHRP, for more information on this project.
Rapporteur
Patricia Gossman, was the Rapporteur for this project until early 2006. She is a freelance consultant with extensive experience working in South Asia. She was previously Project Director at the Afghanistan Justice Project, and Senior Researcher in the Asia division of Human Rights Watch.
Advisors
Lydia Alpízar Durán, Executive Director, Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID).
Charlotte Bunch, Professor, Centre for Women’s Global Leadership, Rutgers State University.
Stefanie Grant, lawyer.
Imrana Jalal, lawyer; Human Rights Adviser, Regional Rights Resources Team, Fiji.
Hina Jilani, lawyer; UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders, Pakistan.
Dimitrina Petrova, Executive Director, Equal Rights Trust, London.
Marco Sassoli, Professor of Law, University of Geneva.
Chaiwat Satha-Anand, Professor of Political Science, Thammasat University, Bangkok.
Wilder Tayler, Deputy Director, International Commission of Jurists, Geneva.
Researchers
Chaloka Beyani, Senior Lecturer in Law, London School of Economics.
Lyse Doucet, Senior Journalist, BBC.
Neil Hicks, Director, International Programs, Human Rights First.
Sidney Jones, Director, International Crisis Group, Indonesia.
Martin Scheinin, Professor, Åbo Akademi University; Director, Human Rights Centre, Åbo Akademi University.
Wilder Tayler, Deputy Director, International Commission of Jurists, Geneva.
Documents
Report
Summary
Working papers
Notes on the Human Rights Movement and the Issue of Terrorism
•
en
Politically Motivated Violence and Acts of Terror: Conceptual and Legal Issues
•
en
Problems Confronting Human Rights Defenders – New Pressure Coming from States
•
en
Terrorism, Human Rights and Advocacy Strategies
•
en
Funders
An Anonymous donor
Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), United Kingdom
Department for International Development (DFID), United Kingdom
Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAE), Switzerland
Ford Foundation, United States
Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
Links
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Amnesty International - Counter Terror with Justice
Human Rights First - US Law and Security
Human Rights Watch - Counterterrorism
International Committee of the Red Cross - Terrorism and international humanitarian law
International Crisis Group - International Terrorism
Transnational Terrorism, Security, and the Rule of Law
UN Action to Counter Terrorism
UN Counter-Terrorism Task Force
UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights while Countering Terrorism
Bibliography
Abi-Saab, Georges. “The Proper Role of International Law in Combating Terrorism.” Chinese Journal of International Law 1, no. 1 (2002): 305-313.
Alston, Philip, Academy of European Law, and New York University, Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, eds. Non-State Actors And Human Rights. Collected courses of the Academy of European Law. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Arnold, Roberta. The ICC as a New Instrument for Repressing Terrorism. International and Comparative Criminal Law Series. Ardsley, NY: Transnational Publishers, 2004.
Association for the Prevention of Torture. Defusing the Ticking Bomb Scenario: Why we must say No to torture, always. Geneva: APT, 2007.
Bellinger, John B. “Legal Issues in the War on Terrorism.” Paper. London School of Economics, 31 October 2006.
Bennoune, Karima. “Terror/Torture.” Berkeley Journal of International Law 28 (forthcoming).
Burke, Jason. Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam. Rev. ed. London: Penguin, 2004.
Clapham, Andrew. Human Rights in the Private Sphere. Oxford Monographs in International Law. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993.
—. The Human Rights Obligations of Non-State Actors. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Cole, David. “Why the Court Said No.” New York Review of Books, 10 August 2006, vol. 53, no. 13.
Davis, Mike. Buda’s Wagon: A Brief History of the Car Bomb. London: Verso, 2007.
Debray, R. “Le passage à l’infini.” In La scène terroriste, edited by Catherine Bertho Lavenir, and François-Bernard Huyghe. Les cahiers de médiologie, no. 13. Paris: Gallimard, 2002.
Dershowitz, Alan M. “Want to Torture? Get a Warrant.” San Francisco Chronicle, 22 January 2002.
Doswald-Beck, Louise. “The Right to Life in Armed Conflict: Does International Humanitarian Law Provide All The Answers?” International Review of the Red Cross 88, no. 864 (2006): 881-904.
FIDH, “Counter-Terrorism versus Human Rights: The Key to Compatibility”, Analysis Report 429/2 (October 2005): 15-20.
Gearty, Conor. “Legitimising Torture – With a Little Help.” Index on Censorship 1 (2005).
Golder, Ben, and George Williams. “What is Terrorism? Problems of Legal Definition.” University of New South Wales Law Journal 27 (2004): 270.
Goldstone, Richard J., and Janine Simpson. “Evaluating the Role of the International Criminal Court as a Legal Response to Terrorism.” Harvard Human Rights Journal 16 (2003): 13-26.
Heykel, Bernard. “Among Jihadis, a Rift Over Suicide Attacks.” International Herald Tribune, 12 October 2005.
Hor, Michael, Victor V. Ramraj, and Kent Roach, eds. Global Anti-Terrorism Law and Policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005
Ignatieff, Michael. “Lesser Evils.” New York Times Magazine, 2 May 2004.
International Council on Human Rights Policy. Crime, Public Order and Human Rights. Geneva: ICHRP, 2003.
—. Ends & Means: Human Rights Approaches to Armed Groups. 2000; reprint, Geneva: ICHRP, 2006a.
—. Journalism, Media and the Challenge of Human Rights Reporting. Geneva: ICHRP, 2002.
—. Negotiating Justice? Human Rights and Peace Agreements. Geneva: ICHRP, 2006b.
—. Taking Duties Seriously. Geneva: ICHRP, 1998.
International Crisis Group. “Understanding Islamism.” Middle East/North Africa Report 37 (2 March 2005): 15.
Jones, Sidney. “The Lessons from the Latest Bali Bombings.” Asian Wall Street Journal, 4 October 2005.
Karatnycky, Adrian and Puddington, Arch. “The Human-Rights Lobby Meets Terrorism.” IPA Review 54, no. 1 (2002): 6-9.
Kretzmer, David. “Targeted Killing of Suspected Terrorists: Extrajudicial Executions or Legitimate Means of Defence?” The European Journal of International Law 16, no. 2 (2005): 171-212.
Laferrière, Dominic. “Fighting Terrorism and Respecting Human Rights, A Case Study of International Human Rights Jurisprudence.” Master’s thesis, Faculty of Law, Lund University, Fall 2002.
Lavenir, Catherine Bertho, and François-Bernard Huyghe, eds. La scène terroriste. Les cahiers de médiologie, no. 13. Paris: Gallimard, 2002.
Levitt, Geoffrey. “Is Terrorism Worth Defining?” Ohio NULR 97 (1986): 115.
Lim, Ching Leng. “The Question of a Generic Definition of Terrorism Under General International Law.” In Global Anti-Terrorism Law and Policy, edited by Michael Hor, Victor V. Ramraj, and Kent Roach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
Megret, Frederic. “‘War?’ Legal Semantics and the Move to Violence.” The European Journal of International Law 13, no. 2 (2002): 361-399.
Ould Mohamedou, Mohammad-Mahmoud. Non-Linearity of Engagement: Transnational Armed Groups, International Law, and the Conflict between Al Qaeda and the United States. Cambridge: Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research, Harvard University, 2005.
Pape, Robert Anthony. “The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism.” American Political Science Review 97, no. 3 (August 2003): 19.
Paz, Reuven. “Islamic Legitimacy for the London Bombings.” Global Research in International Affairs Center, The Project for the Research of Islamist Movements (PRISM) Occasional Papers 3, no. 4 (July 2005).
Pedahzur, Ami. Root Causes of Suicide Terrorism : Globalization of Martyrdom. Cass Series on Political Violence. London: Routledge, 2006.
Pejic, Jelena. “Terrorist Acts and Groups: A Role for International Law?” British Yearbook of International Law 75 (2005): 71-100.
Richards, Paul, and International African Institute. Fighting for the Rain Forest: War, Youth & Resources in Sierra Leone. African Issues. Oxford: James Currey, 1996.
Richardson, Louise. What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Terrorist Threat. London: John Murray, 2006.
Rona, Gabor. “International Law under Fire – Interesting Times for International Humanitarian Law: Challenges from the ‘War on Terror’.” The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs 27, no. 2 (Summer/Fall 2003): 55-74.
Sassoli, Marco. “Terrorism and War.” Journal of International Criminal Justice 4, no. 5 (2006a): 959-981.
—. “Transnational Armed Groups and International Humanitarian Law.” HPCR Occasional Paper Series. Cambridge: Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research, Harvard University, 2006b.
Saul, Ben. Defining Terrorism in International Law. Oxford Monographs in International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Stahn, Carsten. “International Law at a Crossroads: The impact of September 11.” Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht 62 (2002): 183-256
Townshend, Charles. Terrorism: A Very Short Introduction. Very Short Introductions. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Walzer, Michael. “Five Questions about Terrorism.” Dissent 49, no. 1 (Winter 2002): 5-10.
World Public Opinion. “World Citizens Reject Torture, BBC Global Poll Reveals.” (18 October 2007.)
“A thoughtful and considered piece of work.” Eric Metcalfe, Human Rights Policy Director, JUSTICE
“The work is clearly a valuable contribution to the intellectual/conceptual side of the discourse
on human rights which has faced new challenges especially since 2001.” Devendra Raj Panday, Member of the International Board of Directors, Transparency International