A/HRC/45/27 1. Counter-terrorism legislation 14. A comprehensive definition of terrorism has not yet been adopted in universal legal instruments aimed at preventing terrorist acts or in resolutions of the various United Nations bodies. Short of an internationally agreed definition, human rights law and the fundamental principles of the rule of law impose certain parameters on the development of national definitions of acts of terrorism, in particular the principles of legal certainty, clarity of definition and legality. Article 15 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which covers a non-derogable right under the Covenant, is particularly instructive in that regard. Moreover, Security Council resolution 1566 (2004), together with the model definition proposed in 2005 by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, provide guidance on the cumulative characteristics of acts of terrorism.14 15. Human rights law requires that legislation criminalizing acts of terrorism be made accessible to the public, formulated with precision, applicable to counter-terrorism alone, non-discriminatory and non-retroactive.15 The absence of the necessary precision creates conditions under which counter-terrorism policies can be overextended and abusively interpreted and implemented, undermining human rights protections for individuals and groups and affecting legitimate speech and conduct. 16. Some States have developed and implemented broad and vague counter-terrorism legislation, which often does not require violent conduct. Such laws sometimes expressly cover conduct that is protected by international human rights law, for instance the legitimate exercise of the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly or association. In some legislation, definitions of terrorism include conduct such as “insulting the reputation of the State”, which could result in the criminalization of any discourse critical of the Government or its policies. Other broadly formulated legislation creates new offences such as “advocating”, “encouraging”, “glorifying” or providing support to terrorism, which could lead to unnecessary or disproportionate interference with the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association.16 As the United Nations human rights mechanisms have asserted, overly broad definitions of concepts or specific acts of terrorism or associated conduct facilitate the infringement of human rights and fundamental freedoms. 17 Civil society organizations, human rights defenders, journalists, members of religious or ethnic minority groups18 and others may be affected by abusive or discriminatory application of unduly broad counter-terrorism legislation.19 17. The frequent inclusion in national counter-terrorism legislation of a vague offence of membership of or association with a terrorist group may pose practical challenges in implementation. In 2014, the High Commissioner noted that national legislation that failed to define “membership” or to require a link between the membership and the prohibited status or activity would be contrary to the principle of legality, in particular where such membership led to targeted sanctions or criminal penalties, such as imprisonment. 20 18. Vague or non-existent definitions of the offences of membership of or association with a terrorist group allow for broad interpretation by law enforcement officers and courts, resulting in the conviction of persons who may not have engaged in any illegal conduct or other behaviour that implies criminal responsibility. Conviction for such an offence often 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 E/CN.4/2006/98, paras. 35–41. A/HRC/28/28, para. 28; General Assembly resolution 72/180, para. 5 (o); and A/HRC/8/13, paras. 19–23. A/HRC/28/28, para. 22; and A/HRC/31/65, para. 39. See KGZ 3/2020, ETH 3/2019, PHL 4/2020, p. 4, and CHN 13/2020, pp. 4–5, available from https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/Tmsearch/TMDocuments; CCPR/C/BEL/CO/6, paras. 11–12; CCPR/C/BGR/CO/4, paras. 33–34; A/HRC/8/13, paras. 20–22; A/HRC/44/49/Add.1, paras. 26–27; and CCPR/C/TJK/CO/3, paras. 23–24. For example, A/HRC/40/52/Add.3, para. 8. OHCHR, Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine:16 August to 15 November 2019, paras. 74–75; CERD/C/SWE/CO/22-2, para. 20; and CAT/C/NER/CO/1, para. 31. A/HRC/28/28, para. 26. 5