A/HRC/40/52
(d)
Representation within the envisaged civil society unit of the Office of
Counter-Terrorism must be inclusive, legitimate, diverse and independent and the
unit must be given meaningful capacity to offer views on policy and strategy and to
deepen the information and data available to, and share experiences with, the Office.
Best practices from the Human Rights Council and the Human Rights Committee
should be emulated;
(e)
The United Nations must lead the way in ensuring that it remains a safe,
secure and inclusive space for civil society. Care must be taken that international
procedures, including accreditation processes for civil society, are not
instrumentalized by unchecked, overly broad national counter-terrorism and security
claims;
(f)
The Security Council should unambiguously exempt humanitarian
action from its counter-terrorism measures and expressly clarify that humanitarian
protection and assistance must never be conceptualized as support for terrorism or
suppressed and criminalized on that basis;
(g)
Office of Counter-Terrorism and United Nations Global CounterTerrorism Coordination Compact entities should ensure, prior to any formal
cooperation with outsource entities, that they fully comply with human rights norms
and standards;
74.
United Nations counter-terrorism bodies must be accountable for the human
rights implications of the international counter-terrorism framework. The CounterTerrorism Committee and its Executive Directorate must engage more proactively
with Governments on the way in which national implementing measures may breach
international human rights law, particularly measures that affect civil society,
including the definition of terrorism and the criminalization of legitimate expression
and opinion. The Committee and its Executive Directorate must refuse any visit
where human rights issues are off the agenda, where they cannot bring a human
rights expert or where they cannot meet local civil society actors.
75.
States must ensure that their measures to address the threats of terrorism,
violent extremism and protect national security do not negatively affect civil society.
In particular:
(a)
Definitions of terrorism and of violent extremism in national laws must
not be overly broad and vague. They must be precise and sufficiently narrow to not
include members of civil society or non-violent acts carried out in the exercise of
fundamental freedoms. Emergency measures must be strictly limited and not used to
crack down on civil society actors;
(b)
Legitimate expression of opinions or thought must never be criminalized.
Non-violent forms of dissent are at the core of freedom of expression. Reporting on,
documenting or publishing information about terrorist acts or counter-terrorism
measures are essential aspects of transparency and accountability. The key role of the
Internet, particularly within repressive societies or for marginalized groups, must be
recognized and protected;
(c)
Damage to property, absent other qualifications, must not be construed
as terrorism;
(d)
Measures aimed at regulating the existence of, controlling and limiting
the funding of civil society must comply with requirements of proportionality,
necessity and non-discrimination. Failure to comply with administrative requirements
must never be criminalized;
(e)
Regulatory measures relating to terrorism financing and removal of
“terrorist content” must comply with principles of legality, proportionality, necessity
and non-discrimination and be subject to adequate oversight and accountability
mechanisms. They should not be left solely to private actor enforcement;
(f)
Humanitarian actors should be protected from any forms of harassment,
sanctions or punishment resulting from measures to counter terrorism or violent
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