Terrorism and Human Rights

Calls upon States to ensure that any measure taken to counter terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism complies with international law, in particular human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law;

Urges States to ensure that measures taken to counter terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism are not discriminatory, and not to resort to profiling based on stereotypes founded on ethnic, racial or religious grounds or any other ground of discrimination prohibited by international law;

Urges States to take measures to ensure that counter-terrorism laws and implementing measures are consistent with and are applied in a manner that fully respects the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the obligations of States under international human rights law, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, with a view to ensuring respect for the principles of legal certainty and legality;

Urges States to do all they can, in accordance with their obligations under international law, to prevent any political, material or financial support from reaching terrorist groups, to deny terrorists safe haven, freedom of operation, movement and recruitment, and to criminalize the wilful provision or collection by any means, directly or indirectly, of funds by their nationals or in their territories with the intention that the funds be used, or with the knowledge that they are to be used, by terrorist groups for any purpose, and to bring to justice or, where appropriate, extradite the perpetrators of terrorist acts or any person who supports, facilitates or participates, or attempts to participate, in the financing, planning or preparation of terrorist acts;

Also urges States to prohibit and criminalize the recruitment and use of children, including by terrorist groups, to investigate cases of exploitation of children and to bring perpetrators to justice;

Requests States to refrain from providing support to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts, including support in establishing propaganda platforms advocating hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, including through the Internet and other media, and emphasizes in this regard the key importance of full respect for the right to freedom of opinion and expression as set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

Urges States to adopt rehabilitation and reintegration strategies for returning foreign terrorist fighters in accordance with international law, including international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and good practices, such as those set out in the Hague-Marrakech Memorandum on Good Practices for a More Effective Response to the Foreign Terrorist Fighter Phenomenon of the Global Counterterrorism Forum, and to adopt a comprehensive approach that includes, inter alia, the development of national centres for counsel and the prevention of radicalization to violence, which can play an important role together with criminal justice responses;

Strongly encourages relevant United Nations agencies, including those involved in supporting counter-terrorism efforts and preventing and countering violent extremism conducive to terrorism, to take into account in their technical assistance with regard to counter-terrorism efforts, whenever appropriate, the elements necessary for building national capacity in order to strengthen criminal justice systems and the rule of law, and to continue to facilitate the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, due process and the rule of law while countering terrorism;

Urges States and the international community and encourages civil society to take measures, as appropriate, including through education, awareness-raising, the media and human rights education and training, to promote peace, justice and human development, ethnic, national and religious tolerance, and respect for all religions, religious values, beliefs and cultures, and to effectively address the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism and that make individuals and groups more vulnerable to the effects of terrorism and to recruitment by terrorists;

Invites all treaty bodies, special procedure mandate holders, international and regional human rights mechanisms and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, within their respective mandates, to pay due attention to the negative impact of terrorism on the enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and on alleged violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism, and to report regularly to the Human Rights Council;

Invites the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism to pay attention to the negative effect of terrorism on the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to make recommendations in this regard;