A/HRC/34/30 17. Measuring the effects of terrorism on the enjoyment of the right to life is challenging, in part owing to the lack of an internationally agreed definition of what constitutes “terrorism”. In addition, recent actions taken by States have contributed to a “blurring of the lines between armed conflict and terrorism and their respective legal frameworks”,19 with implications also for the gathering of statistics on deaths that may have resulted from acts of terrorism. While reported data vary widely, the Global Terrorism Index 2016 suggests that 2015 was the second deadliest year on record, with 74 per cent of “terrorism deaths” being attributed to only four groups — Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Boko Haram, the Taliban and Al-Qaida.20 The same source reported that, in Afghanistan during the same period, there had been a significant increase in deaths as a result of terrorism and that the Taliban had been responsible for the majority of terrorist attacks in 2015. In one contribution to the present report, it was reported that 3,129 civilians had lost their lives in Afghanistan in 2015, with 34.7 per cent of them killed as a result of suicide bombings.21 18. Contributions to the present report also highlighted the deprivation of liberty of individuals by Boko Haram, ISIL and the Taliban, including serious injuries to the body and the mind.22 It should be recalled in this regard that, according to the Human Rights Committee, States parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights have the duty to take appropriate measures to protect the right to liberty of person against deprivation by third parties and against abduction or detention by terrorist groups operating within their territory.23 19. In its 2016 report on crimes committed by ISIL against the Yazidis, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic found that ISIL’s conduct constituted serious abuses of international human rights, including the prohibition against slavery. It stated that female survivors of sexual slavery had been shattered, many experienced suicidal thoughts and some of the families had tremendous difficulty acknowledging the crimes committed against, in particular, the youngest female victims of sexual slavery.24 Reports from several Special Rapporteurs and OHCHR on violations and abuses committed by Boko Haram and the impact on human rights in the countries affected stressed that, since 2009, Boko Haram has subjected women and girls to widespread and severe forms of abuse, including sexual slavery, which has resulted in many becoming pregnant.25 20. The Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic stated that the sexual and physical violence, together with the severe mental trauma, that Yazidi women and girls over the age of 9 had experienced at the hands of ISIL had risen to the level of torture, causing them serious physical and psychological harm. 26 Furthermore, women and children living in Boko Haram-controlled areas had been subjected to repeated beatings when they 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 6 See Christine Beerli, Vice-President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, “Terrorism, counter-terrorism and international humanitarian law”, statement to the 17th edition of the Bruges Colloquium, 20-21 October 2016. Available at www.icrc.org/en/document/terrorism-counterterrorism-and-international-humanitarian-law. See Institute for Economics and Peace, Global Terrorism Index 2016, pp. 2-3. Available at http://economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Global-Terrorism-Index-2016.2.pdf. Details relating to the methodology of the Index are set out in pp. 98-100. See contribution from the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. See contributions from Alliance Defending Freedom International and Freemuse. See Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 35 (2014) on liberty and security of person, paras. 3 and 7. See A/HRC/32/CRP.2, paras. 16, 174 and 177. See A/HRC/32/32/Add.2, para. 37; and A/HRC/30/67, para. 38. See A/HRC/32/CRP.2, para. 130.