CIAO DATE: 07/2009
May 2009
Centre on Human Rights in Conflict
Executive summary
• Policy-makers, domestically and in international fora, tend to address counterterrorism and human-rights protection in terms of competitive goals.
• In the post-9/11 political climate dominated by security concerns, the suppression of the financing of terrorism is given priority over suspects' rights.
• The current procedures established by the UN Security Council for the freezing of funds of terrorist suspects encroach upon several individual rights.
• The most severe infringement upon the rights of persons targeted by the UN sanctions derives from the lack of a secure avenue of appeal.
• The denial of access to justice has been fostered for several years by the deference of national and regional courts to the UN Security Council.
• Recent developments at European Union level demonstrate that judicial decisions can shape counter-terrorism policies.
Resource link: Trading Justice for Security? UN Anti-Terrorism, Due Process Rights, and the Role of the Judiciary [PDF] - 123K