Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms While Countering Terrorism

A/RES/63/185View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 64b Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, published in 2009.

What other versions does this mandate have?

20 versions · 2004–2018

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/72/180

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2018	A/RES/72/180	Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism	3,143	17%Compare
2017	A/HRC/RES/35/34	Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism	2,233	65%Compare
2016	A/HRC/RES/33/21	Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism	2,816	16%Compare
2016	A/RES/70/148	Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism	3,559	18%Compare
2015	A/HRC/RES/29/9	Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism	1,784	77%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

12 reports · 2004–2019

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2019	A/74/270	Protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/72/180
2017	A/72/316	Protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/70/148
2015	A/70/271	Protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/68/178
2013	A/68/298	Protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/66/171
2011	A/66/204	Protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/65/221

What’s in this document?

33 operative paragraphs

Reaffirms that States must ensure that any measure taken to combat terrorism complies with their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law;

Deeply deplores the suffering caused by terrorism to the victims and their families, expresses its profound solidarity with them, and stresses the importance of providing them with assistance;

Expresses serious concern at the occurrence of violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the context of countering terrorism;

Reaffirms the obligation of States, in accordance with article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,¹² to respect certain rights as non-derogable in any circumstances, recalls, in regard to all other Covenant rights, that any measures derogating from the provisions of the Covenant must be in accordance with that article in all cases, and underlines the exceptional and temporary nature of any such derogations;¹³

¹²See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.

¹³See, for example, General Comment No. 29 on states of emergency adopted by the Human Rights Committee on 24 July 2001.

Calls upon States to raise awareness about the importance of these obligations among national authorities involved in combating terrorism;

Reaffirms that counter-terrorism measures should be implemented in full consideration of the human rights of all, including persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, and must not be discriminatory on grounds such as race, colour, sex, language, religion or social origin;

Calls upon States not to resort to profiling based on stereotypes founded on grounds of discrimination prohibited by international law, including discrimination on racial, ethnic and/or religious grounds;

Urges States, while countering terrorism, to fully comply with their obligations with regard to the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;

Also urges States to fully respect non-refoulement obligations under international refugee and human rights law and, at the same time, to review, with full respect for these obligations and other legal safeguards, the validity of a refugee status decision in an individual case if credible and relevant evidence comes to light that indicates that the person in question has committed any criminal acts, including terrorist acts, falling under the exclusion clauses under international refugee law;

Calls upon States to refrain from returning persons, including in cases related to terrorism, to their countries of origin or to a third State whenever such transfer would be contrary to their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international refugee law, including in cases where there are substantial grounds for believing that they would be in danger of subjection to torture, or where their life or freedom would be threatened in violation of international refugee law on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, bearing in mind obligations that States may have to prosecute individuals not returned;

Also calls upon States to ensure that guidelines and practices in all border control operations and other pre-entry mechanisms are clear and fully respect their obligations under international law, particularly refugee law and human rights law, towards persons seeking international protection;

Urges States, while countering terrorism, to ensure due process guarantees, consistent with all relevant provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,Error: Reference source not found and their obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,Error: Reference source not found the Geneva Conventions of 1949¹⁴ and the Additional Protocols thereto, of 1977,¹⁵ and the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees¹⁶ and the 1967 Protocol thereto¹⁷ in their respective fields of applicability;

¹⁴United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, Nos. 970-973.

¹⁵Ibid., vol. 1125, Nos. 17512 and 17513.

¹⁶Ibid., vol. 189, No. 2545.

¹⁷Ibid., vol. 606, No. 8791.

Urges all States to take all steps necessary to ensure that persons deprived of liberty, regardless of the place of arrest or detention, benefit from the guarantees to which they are entitled under international law, including the review of the detention and, if they are subjected to trial, fundamental judicial guarantees;

Opposes any form of deprivation of liberty that amounts to placing a detained person outside the protection of the law, and urges States to respect the safeguards concerning the liberty, security and dignity of the person and to treat all prisoners in all places of detention in accordance with international law, including international human rights law and international humanitarian law;

Acknowledges the adoption of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in its resolution 61/177 of 20 December 2006, and recognizes that the entry into force of the Convention will be an important step in support of the rule of law in countering terrorism;

Reaffirms that it is imperative that all States work to uphold and protect the dignity of individuals and their fundamental freedoms, as well as democratic practices and the rule of law, while countering terrorism;

Encourages States, while countering terrorism, to take into account relevant United Nations resolutions and decisions on human rights, and encourages them to give due consideration to the recommendations of the special procedures and mechanisms of the Human Rights Council and the relevant comments and views of United Nations human rights treaty bodies;

Calls upon States to ensure that their laws criminalizing acts of terrorism are accessible, formulated with precision, non-discriminatory, non-retroactive and in accordance with international law, including human rights law;

Recognizes the need to continue ensuring that fair and clear procedures under the United Nations terrorism-related sanctions regime are strengthened in order to enhance their efficiency and transparency, and welcomes and encourages the Security Council’s continued enhancement of efforts in support of these objectives, while emphasizing the importance of these sanctions in countering terrorism;

Urges States, while ensuring full compliance with their international obligations, to include adequate human rights guarantees in their national procedures for the listing of individuals and entities with a view to combating terrorism;

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General¹⁸ and the report of the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism¹⁹ submitted pursuant to resolution 62/159, and takes note of the recommendations and conclusions contained therein;

¹⁸A/63/337.

¹⁹See A/63/223.

Welcomes the ongoing dialogue established in the context of the fight against terrorism between the Security Council and its Counter-Terrorism Committee and the relevant bodies for the promotion and protection of human rights, and encourages the Security Council and its Counter-Terrorism Committee to strengthen the links and to continue to develop cooperation with relevant human rights bodies, in particular with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism and other relevant special procedures and mechanisms of the Human Rights Council, giving due regard to the promotion and protection of human rights in the ongoing work pursuant to relevant Security Council resolutions relating to terrorism;

Calls upon States and other relevant actors, as appropriate, to continue to implement the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy,Error: Reference source not found which, inter alia, reaffirms respect for human rights for all and the rule of law as the fundamental basis of the fight against terrorism;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner and the Special Rapporteur to continue to contribute to the work of the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, including by raising awareness about the need to respect human rights while countering terrorism;

Requests the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force to continue its efforts to ensure that the United Nations can better coordinate and enhance support to Member States in their efforts to implement their obligations under international law, including international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, while countering terrorism;

Calls upon international, regional and subregional organizations to strengthen information-sharing, coordination and cooperation in promoting the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism;

Acknowledges with appreciation the cooperation between the Special Rapporteur and all other relevant procedures and mechanisms of the Human Rights Council as well as the United Nations human rights treaty bodies, and urges them to continue their cooperation, in accordance with their mandates, and to coordinate their efforts, where appropriate, in order to promote a consistent approach on this subject;

Requests the Special Rapporteur, in the context of his mandate, to continue to make recommendations with regard to preventing, combating and redressing violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the context of countering terrorism;

Requests all Governments to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur in the performance of the tasks and duties mandated, including by reacting promptly to the urgent appeals of the Special Rapporteur and providing the information requested, as well as to cooperate with other relevant procedures and mechanisms of the Human Rights Council dealing with the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism;

Calls upon States to give serious consideration to responding favourably to requests by the Special Rapporteur to visit their countries;

Welcomes the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to implement the mandate given to her in 2005, in resolution 60/158, and requests the High Commissioner to continue her efforts in this regard;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report on the implementation of the present resolution to the Human Rights Council and to the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session;

Decides to consider at its sixty-fourth session the report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.

Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms While Countering Terrorism

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents