UN Special Rapporteur on Counter Terrorism
26 Articles
An Undefined Defining Moment: Marking 20 Years of Counterterrorism Without Ever Agreeing What Terrorism Is
UN Security Council Resolution 1373 in 2001 created a sprawling global system that, rather than solving the problem, spawned widespread abuse.
Violent Extremism and the Governance Challenge
Revisiting "Human rights impact of policies and practices aimed at preventing and countering violent extremism," a recent assessment of the P/CVE field released last year at the…
Defending Human Rights Is Not Terrorism: The Egypt Arrests as a Case in Point
The UN's global counterterrorism system creates a permissive and enabling environment that sustains and facilitates abuse of rights defenders,
Keeping Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism in Focus at the UN
Egypt has for years sought to undermine UN consensus on norms for human rights in countering terrorism. It's time for UN members to take a principled stand.
The Massive Perils of the Latest U.N. Resolution on Terrorism
A newly proposed U.N. Security Council resolution expanding anti-terrorism requirements for member States targets the nexus with organized crime. But like so many counterterrorism…
Counter-Terrorism and Crackdowns on Civil Society
As countries around the globe contend with the threat of terrorism, the challenges to civil liberties and civil society have never been greater. Acknowledging the threat posed…
My Priorities As UN Special Rapporteur on Counter Terrorism: The Problem of Permanent Emergencies
French soldiers patrolling a street of Saint Denis, France, during an anti-terrorist raid on November 18, 2015. France has been under a government-declared state of emergency…
Too Much War, Not Enough Human Rights from the UN Special Rapporteur and European Parliament
Special Rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism Ben Emmerson’s latest report and the European Parliament’s resolution on drones highlight some pressing issues. Most…
Key Findings in New UN Special Rapporteur Report on Drones
The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Ben Emmerson, has now released the final report on…
United Nations Releases New Report on Drones
[Editor’s note: Emmerson’s drone report is also publicly available on the UN website.] Last year, two UN Special Rapporteurs released major reports on drones — a…
A Review of the Special Rapporteur Reports Regarding “Drones” and the Use of Lethal Force
Background The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Mr Christof Heyns, recently reported on the topic of the use of lethal force through armed…
Pakistan Test Fires Missile to Take Down Drones
It might have been easy to doubt the veracity of the Pakistan government’s public protestations against US drone strikes in light of secret agreements between the two governments…