TERRORISM AN AFFRONT TO HUMAN RIGHTS

CHALLENGE FOR DEMOCRACIES*

Till the other day, India was one of the few countries facing the onslaught of terrorism single handedly. The Americans knew that the terrorists were getting stronger by the day. It did not bother them. The bloodletting in any part of Asia did not mean much to Europe and America . They pretended to look away. This attitude of the Americans and of some western countries whetted the appetite of the terrorists. Events of 9/11, however, changed not only the thinking but also the attitude of the world community at large towards meeting the challenges posed by terrorist activities. Today there is a worldwide recognition that terror is being perpetrated on a global scale and is becoming a threat to world peace.

Terrorism is a clear and present danger to world today; it strikes a fatal blow to human rights of innocent citizens. It is, to say in one word, terrible . The main aim of such acts is not to kill or harm a particular person or persons but to create a sense of terror and fear among the people generally and de-stabilise the civil society. To achieve that objective no rules are followed and no holds are barred.

Human Rights are basic to civilized existence and right to life is the most basic of all rights. In democratic societies fundamental human rights and freedoms are more than paper or just pious aspirations. The right to life is of crucial significance for every person, every group of people, every class and every nation and as a matter of fact for all humanity. Terrorism, in all its form, is the greatest violator of human rights.

Global awakening about human rights and the threat that terrorism has posed to human rights of the people all over the world is necessary. All nations must, therefore, co-operate to relentlessly and without any compromise fight terrorism.

The World Conference in Vienna (1993) was a significant landmark in recognizing terrorism as a threat to human rights.

International terrorism is a modern form of warfare against liberal democracies and needs to be dealt with as such. The goal of these terrorists is to destroy the very fabric of democracy and it would be wrong for any democratic State to consider international terrorism to be “someone else's” problem.

Terrorists take recourse to different forms of violence to achieve their objectives – to subvert the system – by acts of terror and violence perpetrated through various methods like taking hostages, hijacking, etc. They resort to “deliberate and systematic” use of coercive intimidation. In many countries, ever-growing fundamentalism in its various forms and manifestations aimed at imposition of a religious or ideological will on the society, is another form of terrorism posing a serious threat to peace, order and harmony.

Vast majority of fatalities through terrorism are caused by attacks on unarmed civilians who are going around about their peaceful and lawful business. What more fundamental attack on human rights can there be than to deprive the innocent of the right to life?

More often than not terrorists take advantage of the animosity and indifference of one country against the other. It is not unknown, nor a secret which cannot be shared, that some countries provide training, shelter and other kinds of logistic support to terrorist elements to cause terror in other countries.

The highly coordinated attacks of September 11, 2001 on WTC and Pentagon; of 1 st October 2001 on the J&K State Assembly in Srinagar or on the Parliament at New Delhi on 13 th December and more recently the 26/11 Mumbai attack and 3/3 Lahore attack on the cricket team of Sri Lanka, makes it amply clear that terrorism today, is an activity of expertly organised and well financed organizations and superior communication network. These organizations operate across transnational borders and are undeterred by the threat of punishment.

In 1979 the General Assembly adopted a resolution on terrorism – “ to unequivocally condemn all acts of international terrorism which endanger or take human lives or jeopardize fundamental freedoms. That same year, the General Assembly adopted by consensus the International Convention against the taking of hostages. By 1991, almost nine conventions had already been held to deal with various aspects of terrorism. In 1994, the General Assembly adopted without vote the “Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism”.

In the wake of attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, the Security Council, on 12 th September, adopted Resolution 1368, which, first of all, stated in the preamble, in a general way, that terrorist acts cause threats to international peace and security and expressed determination to combat them “by all means”, which implies the use of armed force as well. Secondly, by recognizing the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense in accordance with the Charter, the resolution, for the first time, recognized military self-defense as applicable against terrorist acts perpetrated by non-state actors, again in a general way and not only in respect to
9/11.

But the Council went even further. On 28 th September, it adopted Resolution 1373. In its preamble, to drive the point made in Resolution 1368 further, it reaffirmed that 9/11 acts, “like any act of international terrorism”, constitute a threat to international peace and security. It also reaffirmed the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense as recognized by the Charter of the UN “as reiterated in Resolution 1368” (actually, the Resolution 1368 recognised it, not reiterated it).

Finally, on 12 th November the Council adopted Resolution 1377, dealing mainly with the assistance to States to fulfil the requirements of Resolution 1373. In it, the Council, declared that acts of international terrorism constitute “one of the most serious threats to international peace and security in the twenty-first century”, as well as “a challenge to all States and to all of humanity”. Thus, a resolve was made, for the first time, after the 1972 Munich Olympics, to combat terrorism and the States were told to do so by a relentless war.

Global awakening about human rights and the threat that terrorism has posed to human rights of the people all over the world is necessary.

It has to be remembered that the fundamental rationale of anti-terrorism measures has to be to protect human rights and democracy. Counter terrorism measures should, therefore, not undermine democratic values, violate human rights and subvert the Rule of Law.

In times of international hostility and antagonisms our institutions, legislative, executive and judicial, must be prepared to exercise their authority to protect all citizens from petty fears and prejudices that are so easily aroused. Terrorism is a challenge which has to be met with innovative ideas and approach. The Supreme Court of India has, in D K Basu v. State of West Bengal , [JT 1997 (1) SC 1] cautioned:

“State terrorism is no answer to combat terrorism. State terrorism would only provide legitimacy to terrorism: that would be bad for the State, the community and above all for the rule of law. The State must, therefore, ensure that the various agencies deployed by it for combating terrorism act within the bounds of law and not become law unto themselves.”

Terrorists actions are quite often dramatic, and, of course, newsworthy. However, when newspaper reporting is determined by the attention-catching potential and “finance generation” as the guiding factor, the terrorists leave no opportunity to exploit that position because an excessive coverage of their violent activities gives a psychological advantage to them. Terrorism may flourish because of the support it receives from the media, wittingly or unwittingly. The media can build-up confidence and assist in forming positive opinion amongst the general public against the fear of terrorists and expose the illogical claims and demands of the terrorists as also the futility and irrationality of the acts of their violence to achieve the objectives which they seek to achieve. The media, therefore, needs to play a very constructive and mature role in aiding the society to counter or curb terrorism.

There is also need to have some uniform legislation to control the funding of such terrorist groups or organizations. Funding takes place in several ways: profits from narcotics or other illegal activities including gambling, smuggling and prostitution, worldwide community donations, money laundering, etc. There is need to plug all such ‘financial aids', because without financial support, the terrorist groups cannot function. The 1999 convention regarding Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism must be respected and acted upon by all the States in letter and in spirit.

The liberal democracies must gear up unitedly to meet the challenge of terrorism, which is an affront to the protection of human rights. They must act now – tomorrow would be too late.

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*. E xcerpts of The L ecture Delivered By D r . J ustice A.s. A nand at The L ucknow U niversity on 17 th M arch , 2009