A/HRC/40/52: Impact of measures to address terrorism and violent extremism on civic space and the rights of civil society actors and human rights defenders
Published
01 March 2019
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A/HRC/40/52
Focus
Terrorism
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Summary
In this report, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, examines the impact that measures and practices used to counter terrorism and to prevent and counter extremism have on the protection of human rights for civil society and human rights defenders. She further examines the global challenges of protecting civic space that have arisen as a result of the implementation of counter-terrorism law and practice. Since 2001, civil society space has been shrinking around the globe. This is indisputably linked to the expansion of security measures.
The Special Rapporteur gives an empirically based assessment of the scale of misuse of such measures, and identifies trends and patterns in State practice. Targeting civil society violates human rights and makes for inept and poorly executed counter-terrorism practice. It undermines the fundamental interests of all States and must be addressed urgently.
Trends and patterns in the use of counter-terrorism measures against civil society actors and human rights defenders
Counter-terrorism architecture, security imperatives and civil society
The value of civil society in countering terrorism
The Impact of the global matrixes that regulate counter-terrorism, PVE and national security on civil society
The Security Council
The General Assembly
The Role of new global outsource entities
Typology of national measures and trends impacting civil society
Security legislation: Overly broad definitions
Legislation criminalising the legitimate exercise of fundamental freedoms
Legislation strictly regulating the existence of civil society
Measures that limit various forms of support to terrorism
Indiscriminate legislation choking civil society
Increased use of administrative measures
Devolution of regulation to private actors
Overlapping, cumulative and sustained forms of harassment
Media campaigns
Physical harassment
Judicial harassment
Group Persecution
Key effects on civil society
Conclusion and recommendations
Issued By:
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism