A/HRC/6/17
page 24
(f) With reference to his reports on his missions to Israel (A/HRC/6/17/Add.4) and
Turkey, the Special Rapporteur urges Governments to ensure that any demolition of
housing or other destruction of private property conducted as a measure aimed at
combating or preventing terrorism is resorted to in strict compliance with international
standards of international law and is accompanied by adequate reparation. Given that the
high emotional impact of such measures could easily lead to counterproductive effects in
the fight against terrorism, the Special Rapporteur recommends that Governments
exercise extreme caution when resorting to such measures.
73. With reference to States and the international community in general, the Special
Rapporteur makes the following recommendations:
(a) The Special Rapporteur encourages all States and intergovernmental
organizations, while countering terrorism, to take into account relevant instruments for the
protection and promotion of economic, social and cultural rights, in order both to avoid
violations and minimize the negative impact on those rights in the fight against terrorism,
and to utilize fully the potential of promoting economic, social and cultural rights as an
inherent feature of long-term sustainable strategies to prevent terrorism. In particular, the
Special Rapporteur recommends that the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the
Security Council address these issues in order to provide guidance to Member States;
(b) The Special Rapporteur recommends that more attention be paid to the right to
education as a key right in the enjoyment of several other human rights and as a
cornerstone in sustainable long-term strategies for the prevention of terrorism;
(c) The Special Rapporteur recommends that attention be paid systematically to
the rights of women and gender issues in the context of combating terrorism, including by
securing the effective enjoyment by women of economic, social and cultural rights as
another cornerstone in sustainable long-term strategies for the prevention of terrorism;
(d) The Special Rapporteur urges States not to apply their counter-terrorism laws
and measures to social movements or protest by indigenous peoples or minority
communities who claim recognition and full protection for their economic, social and
cultural rights, including the right to enjoy their own distinctive culture, which is often
associated with lands and specific forms of livelihood. He recommends strict adherence to
the principle that terrorism should be defined through its inexcusable methods of violence
against bystanders and its intention to create fear among the general population rather
than through political or other aims, which often overlap with the aims of social
movements that have nothing to do with terrorist acts;
(e) Reiterating the final recommendation of his latest report to the
General Assembly (A/62/263), the Special Rapporteur recommends that States and
intergovernmental organizations commit themselves to a greater sharing of responsibility
in protracted refugee situations, which today are often intertwined with military
insurgency, armed conflict and, at times, terrorist acts against civilians, and that such joint
efforts be based on a transparent, profound and responsible analysis of conditions allowing
for the return of refugees as well as of the existence and risk of conditions that may be
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