A/HRC/30/64 III. Statements by panellists 10. The panellists emphasized the complementarity and mutually reinforcing nature of security and human rights and stressed that respect for international law, including international human rights law, was of key importance when taking measures to combat terrorism. The devastating impact of terrorism on the enjoyment of human rights and the importance of recognizing the rights of victims of terrorism were also noted. 11. The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism endorsed the Deputy High Commissioner’s opening remarks and stated that the core of his mandate was to ensure the protection and promotion of human rights while countering terrorism. He emphasized the importance of the core guiding principles of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, which put the rule of law and promotion of human rights at the front and centre of all counter-terrorism action. 12. The Special Rapporteur stated that victims of terrorism deserved more attention. He considered it striking that, despite the proliferation of counter-terrorism agreements, none of those negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations focused on the rights of victims. In his first report to the Human Rights Council in 2012 (A/HRC/20/14), the Special Rapporteur proposed framework principles for securing the human rights of victims of terrorism, focusing on effective prevention, investigation, due process rights and the responsibility of States to provide reparations to victims. He urged all States to recognize that human rights violations in the context of terrorism could be committed by State and non-State actors alike. He welcomed the high-level conference planned by the CounterTerrorism Implementation Task Force Office in the coming months to discuss and move forward on the framework principles. However, he noted that highly influential nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and States rejected the notion that terrorist acts could amount to human rights violations. From a victim-centred perspective, he believed that the stance that only States could commit human rights violations was dangerous and that human rights law must keep pace with the changing world in order to retain its validity. To deny that victims of terrorism have suffered grave and often gross and systematic human rights violations would be to render them prisoners of doctrine. 13. In his report on the human rights challenges posed by the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) (A/HRC/29/51), the Special Rapporteur noted the failure of the Security Council to take effective action to enforce international law and protect civilians in areas under ISIL control and stressed the need for the international coalition of States currently engaged in military action against ISIL in Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic to ensure that effective steps were taken to minimize the risk of civilian casualties and to be transparent about such losses when they occur. While there were some human rights concerns in respect of the conduct of international coalition forces in Iraq, he found that, based on the available evidence, the coalition-inflicted casualties paled in comparison to the horrific crimes systematically committed by ISIL. The report provides an assessment of the scale of the violations of international law committed by ISIL in the territory it occupies, which include crimes reportedly amounting to genocide, crimes against humanity, serious violations of international humanitarian law and gross violations of international human rights law. The findings of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) showed clear evidence of persecution of religious and ethnic minority communities, including the Yezidis; arbitrary executions of community leaders, journalists, intellectuals and others; mass disappearances; forced religious conversion; and systematic torture. The enforcement of summary justice in areas under ISIL control included public beheadings, stoning, 4