A/HRC/13/37 I. Introduction 1. This report is submitted to the Human Rights Council by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 63/185 and Human Rights Council resolution 10/15. The main report lists the activities of the Special Rapporteur from 1 August to 15 December 2009 and focuses thematically on the right to privacy as a human right in the counter-terrorism context. The addenda contain a communications report (A/HRC/13/37/Add.1) and a report on the fact-finding mission to Egypt from 17 to 21 April 2009 (A/HRC/13/37/Add.2). 2. Regarding upcoming country visits, the Special Rapporteur hopes to conduct a mission to Tunisia prior to presenting this report. The Special Rapporteur has suggested dates in late January and early February 2010 and is awaiting a response from the Government. The Special Rapporteur also hopes to conduct official visits to Chile and Peru in 2010. There are outstanding visit requests for Algeria, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand. II. Activities of the Special Rapporteur 3. On 18 and 19 September 2009, the Special Rapporteur convened an expert group meeting at the European University Institute in Florence to discuss thematic issues related to his mandate.1 The meeting partly coincided with a public event on the “Fight against Terrorism: Challenges for the Judiciary”, jointly organized with the Venice Commission and the Sub-Committee on Crime Problems of the Council of Europe. The event was cofunded by the Åbo Akademi University Institute for Human Rights, through its project to support the mandate of the Special Rapporteur. 4. On 29 and 30 September 2009, the Special Rapporteur, along with the other mandate holders involved, participated in informal consultations in Geneva regarding a global joint study on secret detention (A/HRC/13/42). He also met with representatives of the Permanent Missions of Egypt and Tunisia in regard to country visits conducted or planned. 5. On 2 and 3 October 2009, the Special Rapporteur participated in a Wilton Park Conference on “Terrorism, security and human rights: opportunities for policy change” and was a panellist for the discussion on the role of international organizations in response to terrorism and the protection of human rights. 6. On 4 October 2009, the Special Rapporteur delivered a keynote address on the occasion of the inauguration of the academic year at the Faculty of Law at the University of the Basque Country (Universidad del País Vasco) in Bilbao, Spain. 7. From 12 to 14 October 2009, the Special Rapporteur participated in two events in Vienna: the International Workshop of National Counter-Terrorism Focal Points and the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) Retreat. The workshop was jointly organized by a number of member States and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in close cooperation with the CTITF Office and the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED). It provided a forum to exchange views on how to better link global and national counter-terrorism efforts by fostering greater networking among national 1 4 The Special Rapporteur is grateful for the assistance of the members of the expert panel, Dr. Gus Hosein and his research assistant, Mathias Vermeulen, and the participants of his PhD candidate seminar at the European University Institute, in producing this report. GE.09-17804