RES/35/34 Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism

GE.17-11803(E)



Human Rights Council Thirty-fifth session

6–23 June 2017

Agenda item 3

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 23 June 2017

35/34. Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while

countering terrorism

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Reaffirming its decision 2/112 of 27 November 2006 and resolutions 6/28 of 14

December 2007, 7/7 of 27 March 2008, 10/15 of 26 March 2009, 13/26 of 26 March 2010,

19/19 of 23 March 2012, 25/7 of 27 March 2014, 29/9 of 2 July 2015, 31/3 of 23 March

2016 and 33/21 of 30 September 2016, and Commission on Human Rights resolutions

2003/68 of 25 April 2003, 2004/87 of 21 April 2004 and 2005/80 of 21 April 2005,

recalling General Assembly resolutions 57/219 of 18 December 2002, 58/187 of 22

December 2003, 59/191 of 20 December 2004, 60/158 of 16 December 2005, 61/171 of 19

December 2006, 62/159 of 18 December 2007, 63/185 of 18 December 2008, 64/168 of 18

December 2009, 65/221 of 21 December 2010, 66/171 of 19 December 2011, 68/178 of 18

December 2013, 70/148 of 17 December 2015 and 70/291 of 1 July 2016, and welcoming

the efforts of all relevant stakeholders to implement them,

1. Calls upon States to ensure that any measure taken to counter terrorism and

violent extremism conducive to terrorism complies with international law, in particular

international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian

law;

2. Expresses serious concern at the violations of human rights and fundamental

freedoms and of international refugee law and international humanitarian law in the context

of countering terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism;

3. Affirms its unequivocal condemnation of all acts, methods and practices of

terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations,

wherever and by whomsoever committed, regardless of their motivation, and of the

financial, material or political support of terrorism, as unjustifiable in accordance with

applicable international law, in the light of, in particular, their detrimental effects on the

enjoyment of human rights and on democratic societies as well as the threat they pose to

territorial integrity, the security of States and the stability of Governments;

4. Renews its commitment to strengthen international cooperation to prevent,

counter and combat terrorism, and in that regard calls upon States and other relevant

parties, as appropriate, to continue to implement the United Nations Global Counter-

Terrorism Strategy and its four pillars, which reaffirm, inter alia, respect for human rights

for all and the rule of law as being the fundamental basis of the fight against terrorism;

5. Stresses the responsibility of States to protect persons in their territory

against such acts, in full compliance with their obligations under international law, and in

particular international human rights law, international refugee law and international

humanitarian law;

6. Deeply deplores the suffering caused by terrorism to the victims and their

families and, while stressing the need to promote and protect the rights of victims of

terrorism, in particular women and children, reaffirms its profound solidarity with them,

and stresses the importance of providing them with proper support and assistance while

respecting, inter alia, considerations regarding remembrance, dignity, respect,

accountability, truth and justice, in accordance with international law;

7. Emphasizes the need to ensure that victims of terrorism are treated with

dignity and respect, stresses the need to promote international solidarity in support of the

victims of terrorism, and recognizes the role that victims of terrorism can play, including in

countering the appeal of terrorism;

8. Calls upon States to ensure that any person who alleges that his or her human

rights or fundamental freedoms have been violated by measures taken or means employed

to counter terrorism or violent extremism conducive to terrorism has access to justice, due

process and an effective remedy, and that victims of human rights violations receive

adequate, effective and prompt reparations, which should include, as appropriate,

restitution, compensation, rehabilitation and guarantees of non-recurrence;

9. Stresses the importance of ensuring access to justice and accountability,

including by developing and maintaining effective, fair, humane, transparent and

accountable criminal justice systems, in accordance with applicable international law, as a

fundamental basis of any strategy to counter terrorism and violent extremism conducive to

terrorism;

10. Strongly encourages relevant United Nations agencies to take into account in

their technical assistance to counter terrorism, whenever appropriate, the elements

necessary for building national capacity in order to strengthen criminal justice systems and

the rule of law;

11. Reaffirms that terrorism and violent extremism cannot and should not be

associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group;

12. 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;

13. Recognizes the important role of education, respect for cultural diversity,

preventing and combating discrimination, employment and inclusion in helping to prevent

terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism, and welcomes the engagement of

relevant United Nations agencies with Member States to implement strategies to prevent

violent extremism conducive to terrorism through education;

14. Also recognizes the importance of preventing violent extremism conducive to

terrorism, and invites Member States and regional and subregional organizations to

consider developing national and regional plans of action in this regard;

15. Acknowledges that the active participation of civil society can reinforce

ongoing governmental efforts to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms while

countering terrorism, and calls upon States to ensure that measures to counter terrorism and

violent extremism conducive to terrorism and to preserve national security do not hinder its

work and safety and are in compliance with their obligations under international law;

16. Urges States to ensure that gender equality and non-discrimination are taken

into account when shaping, reviewing and implementing all counter-terrorism measures;

17. Calls upon States to highlight the important role of women in countering

terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism, and to consider, when appropriate,

the impact of counter-terrorism strategies on women’s and children’s human rights and

women’s and children’s organizations, and to seek consultations with these organizations

when developing strategies to counter terrorism and preventing violent extremism

conducive to terrorism;

18. Recognizes the important role of religious leaders and institutions, local

communities and community leaders in preventing and countering terrorism and violent

extremism conducive to terrorism;

19. Reiterates that, given their potential status as victims of terrorism and of

other violations of international law, all children alleged as, accused of or recognized as

having infringed the law, particularly those who are deprived of their liberty, as well as

child victims and witnesses of crimes, should be treated in a manner consistent with his or

her rights, dignity and needs, in accordance with applicable international law, in particular

the obligations set out under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and, bearing in

mind relevant international standards on human rights in the administration of justice in this

regard, urges Member States to take relevant measures to effectively reintegrate children

formerly associated with armed groups, including terrorist groups;

20. Urges all States to respect and protect the right to privacy, as set out in article

12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 17 of the International

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including in the context of digital communication,

and calls upon States, while countering terrorism and violent extremism conducive to

terrorism, to review their procedures, practices and legislation regarding the surveillance of

communications, their interception and the collection of personal data, including mass

surveillance, interception and collection, with a view to upholding the right to privacy by

ensuring the full and effective implementation of all their obligations under international

human rights law, and urges them to take measures to ensure that any interference with the

right to privacy is regulated by law, which must be publicly accessible, clear, precise,

comprehensive and non-discriminatory, and that such interference is not arbitrary or

unlawful, bearing in mind what is reasonable to the pursuance of legitimate aims;

21. Emphasizes the key importance of the full respect for the right to freedom of

opinion and expression in efforts to fight terrorism and violent extremism conducive to

terrorism, and also in countering the propaganda of terrorist and extremist groups, bearing

in mind the provisions set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

22. Urges States to ensure that any measure taken or means employed to counter

terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism, including the use of remotely

piloted aircraft, complies with their obligations under international law, including

international human rights law and international humanitarian law;

23. Also urges States, while undertaking counter-terrorism activities, to respect

their international obligations regarding humanitarian actors and organizations that play a

key role in areas where terrorist groups are active;

24. Further urges States to undertake prompt, independent and impartial fact-

finding inquiries whenever there are plausible indications of breaches of their obligations

under international law as a result of any measures taken or means employed to counter

terrorism, and to ensure accountability for those responsible for violations that amount to

crimes under national or international law;

25. Notes with concern measures that undermine human rights and the rule of

law, such as the detention of persons suspected of acts of terrorism in the absence of a legal

basis for detention and due process guarantees, the use of torture, the unlawful deprivation

of the right to life and other fundamental freedoms, and urges States to provide for review

of detention and to respect the rights to equality and non-discrimination in the

administration of justice, to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and

impartial tribunal as well as to the presumption of innocence, to a fair trial and other

fundamental judicial guarantees, as provided for by international law, including

international human rights law, and, as applicable, international humanitarian law and

international refugee law;

26. 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

international human rights law, in particular the rights enshrined in articles 10 and 11 of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights and further codified in articles 14 and 15 of the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, with a view to ensuring respect for the

principle of certainty of the law by clear and precise provisions;

27. Notes with concern the unlawful transfer or return of suspects of terrorist

activities to countries where there are substantial grounds for believing that they would be

in danger of being subject to torture;

28. Calls upon Member States and the United Nations entities involved in

supporting counter-terrorism efforts to continue to facilitate the promotion and protection of

human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as due process and the rule of law, while

countering terrorism;

29. Encourages Member States, United Nations entities, regional and subregional

organizations and relevant actors to consider instituting mechanisms to involve youth in the

promotion of a culture of peace, justice and human development, and of ethnic, national

and religious tolerance by establishing and encouraging, as appropriate, education and

public awareness programmes involving all sectors of society;

30. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the

promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering

terrorism;1

31. Takes note of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for

Human Rights on the negative effects of terrorism on the enjoyment of all human rights and

fundamental freedoms;2

32. Requests the Special Rapporteur, in accordance with his mandate, to continue

to gather, request, receive and exchange information on alleged violations of human rights

and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, and to report regularly to the Human

Rights Council;

1 A/HRC/34/61.

2 A/HRC/34/30.

33. Requests all States to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur in the

performance of the tasks and duties mandated, including by reacting promptly to urgent

appeals and providing the information requested, and to give serious consideration to

responding favourably to requests by the Special Rapporteur to visit their countries;

34. Welcomes the creation of the Office of Counter-Terrorism,3 and encourages

the Office and all relevant United Nations bodies, agencies, funds and programmes, and

international, regional and subregional organizations involved in supporting counter-

terrorism efforts, in particular those that are participating in the Counter-Terrorism

Implementation Task Force and that provide technical assistance relating to the prevention

and suppression of terrorism to consenting States, to include, as appropriate and where

consistent with their mandates, respect for international law, in particular human rights law

and, as applicable, international humanitarian law and international refugee law, as an

important element of the technical assistance they offer to States in the area of counter-

terrorism;

35. Recalls the need to continue to ensure that fair and clear procedures under the

United Nations terrorism-related sanctions regime are strengthened in order to enhance

efficiency and transparency, in particular with regard to placing individuals and entities on,

and removing them from, terrorism-related sanctions lists, while emphasizing the

importance of sanctions in countering terrorism under international law, and welcomes the

ongoing efforts of the Security Council in support of those objectives;

36. Requests the High Commissioner and the Special Rapporteur to present their

reports, bearing in mind the content of the present resolution, to the Human Rights Council

under agenda item 3, in conformity with its annual programme of work.

38th meeting

23 June 2017

[Adopted without a vote.]

3 See General Assembly resolution 71/291.