Roots of terrorism are all the same

The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) claimed responsibility for the suicide attack by a suicide bomber which killed 22 people and injured 59 at a concert in Manchester, UK, on Monday night. The Secretary-General, António Guterres, strongly condemned the attack and Expressed hope that those who are responsible for this despicable attack will be swiftly found and bought to justice.

Terrorism is an abstract idea that means many things to many different people. The nature of terrorism is constantly evolving and Security forces and citizens need to understand the full implications of modern terrorism. Methods for engaging in political violence have changed. In fact, the future probably will not bring many battlefields, but it will involve increasing amounts of subnational and individual political violence.
Modern terrorism is a new phenomenon. It requires supporting systems from the technological world. instant communication, mobility, and access to destructive technology mean that terrorism will continue to plague the world. Terrorism is not a war in the traditional or constitutional sense. Terrorism is a method of fighting and it requires innovative tactical and strategic responses.

Terrorism clearly has a very real and direct impact on human rights, with devastating consequences for the enjoyment of the right to life, liberty and physical integrity of victims. In addition to these individual costs, terrorism can destabilize Governments, undermine civil society, jeopardize peace and security, and threaten social and economic development. All of these also have a real impact on the enjoyment of human rights.

Security of the individual is a basic human right and the protection of individuals is, accordingly, a fundamental obligation of Government. States therefore have an obligation to ensure the human rights of their nationals and others by taking positive measures to protect them against the threat of terrorist acts and bringing the perpetrators of such acts to justice.

In recent years, however, the measures adopted by States to counter terrorism have themselves often posed serious challenges to human rights and the rule of law. Some States have engaged in torture and other ill-treatment to counter terrorism. Most countries, when meeting their obligations to counter terrorism by rushing through legislative and practical measures, have created negative consequences for civil liberties and fundamental human rights.

Following the above, we also took a look at human rights council latest discussions on ‘the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism’ in which every country emphasized that human rights must be central to counter-terrorism efforts. In the discussion on counter-terrorism, delegates agreed that the traditional State-centric approach to accountability of terrorist organizations must be reviewed in light of international human rights law.

We believe that effective counter-terrorism measures and the protection of human rights are complementary and mutually reinforcing objectives which must be pursued together as part of States’ duty to protect individuals within their jurisdiction. States must ensure that counter terrorism measures comply with international human rights law, refugee law and humanitarian law.
Finally, regardless of who has done a terrorist attack with a national, cultural and religious background it is crucial not to violate human rights of citizens and individuals while countering the extremism. Respecting the principles of equality and non-discrimination is so important otherwise pointing the finger at the wrong perpetrators and sponsors of terrorism and extremism can spread this scourge all across the world.
A comprehensive approach to fighting terrorism is needed, including addressing its root causes. Terrorism will not be eradicated unless through firm resolve and by creating a comprehensive mechanism void of double standards.

Quoted and edited: Negar Paidar

https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2017-05-23/statement-attributable-spokesman-secretary-general-manchester-attack
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-r-white/confusion-about-boston_b_3128995.html
http://en.isna.ir/news/96030201122/Roots-of-terrorism-are-all-the-same-FM-spokesman
http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/Factsheet32EN.pdf

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