STATEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES

On the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
While Countering Terrorism

Delivered by Judith A. Chammas
Deputy Chief of Mission, Alternate Representative, Human Rights Council

Monday, September 25, 2006

Thank you, Mr. President.

The United States is pleased to see the energy and expertise Mr. Scheinin has brought to this topic.

While we all agree that a strong response to those who commit acts of terrorist violence is imperative, in doing so all governments must fully respect their obligations under international law, keeping in mind the imperative to ensure that the rule of law and democratic principles are respected.

Like the Special Rapporteur, the United States notes with concern actions by some countries to justify on grounds of combating terrorism repressive internal measures to restrict human rights and fundamental freedoms.

We also agree with the Special Rapporteur that when countries bring criminal charges against individuals for terrorist acts, or other crimes in their domestic courts they must do so in accordance with due process of law and other safeguards reflected in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other applicable human rights instruments.

Precisely because we strongly support effective work by the Special Rapporteur, we wonder whether certain areas he suggests are sufficiently central to this mandate or likely to lead to productive results to justify precious time and resources spent on them.

One example is the exceptionally difficult and controversial undertaking of developing a single definition of terrorism. How would the Special Rapporteur propose to avoid a rehash of the literally thousands of hours of debates that have impeded other efforts to develop such a definition?

Another example is exploring the “root causes” or “conditions conducive to terrorism.” While these are, of course, very important issues, they are far from the heart of this mandate and would be a distraction from the important work to be done within it. Again, what would the Special Rapporteur suggest to avoid a loss of focus in this area?

We look forward to helping the Special Rapporteur carry out his important work.

Thank you, Mr. President.