In 2023, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism will produce the first independent global study on the impact of counter-terrorism measures on civil society and civic space (Global Study). The Global Study will assess the impact of terrorism and counter-terrorism or preventing or countering violent extremism conducive to terrorism measures on civil society and civic space. This includes addressing challenges related to the meaningful participation and leadership of civil society in efforts to counter terrorism and (violent) extremism in national contexts, and examining the progress made on the inclusion, promotion, and protection of the rights of civil society amongst the efforts of the United Nations, Member States, and other stakeholders.

Since 2006, and as of 2018, 66 per cent of the Special Rapporteur's communications have related to the misuse of a counter-terrorism measure against civil society. As the Special Rapporteur has documented, undue legal restrictions on civil society undermine long-term counter-terrorism and prevention strategies within a country, as well as governance, sustainable development, peacebuilding, gender equality, and conflict resolution priorities. The Global Study will be undertaken through a participatory, civil society-engaged-and-led process. This will include consultations at the international, regional, national, and local levels, alongside a commitment to mainstream gender equality and women's rights from its inception. The Study will build on existing data and create a broader, coalitional evidence base on the subject. The Global Study will also use focus group discussions and one-on-one interviews with diverse civil society organisations from around the world, presenting an unprecedented examination of the impact of counter-terrorism on civil society and civic space.

Global Study Goals

• Support Member States, the United Nations, and other stakeholders to ensure that future deliberations in biennial strategy reviews respond to the concrete challenges faced by civil society in contributing to peaceful, just, and inclusive societies, including through the impact of counter-terrorism measures.
• Amplify the far-reaching and diverse findings of international, regional, national and local civil society organisations, in addition to UN human rights treaty bodies, and other sources and demonstrate the importance of the meaningful participation of diverse civil society in addressing the prevention of violence, including terrorism and advancing human rights, the rule of law and societies to preserve the dignity and worth of each person.
• Provide insights to Member States, the United Nations and other stakeholders on how counter-terrorism can integrate stronger human rights due diligence safeguards to foster participatory, inclusive, and civic space enabling modalities in its work and how such efforts can fundamentally contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights.
• Deliver an evidence-based service to Member States, the United Nations, and civil society organisations in the lead up to the 8th Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy Review in 2023.

Call for Submissions

This is an open call from the Special Rapporteur for submissions to the Global Study. These submissions will be included as recognized contributions whether thematic or country-specific in nature and contribute to the invaluable research available on the mandate’s website in 2023, with the requisite safeguards.

The Special Rapporteur would welcome inputs that address the following matters:

1. Information addressing the critical role the civil society actors and organisations play in preventing and addressing the conditions conducive to violence in society, particularly in complex, fragile, and conflicted settings.
2. Assessment of the interface between local, national, regional, and/or international impact of counter-terrorism frameworks on various constituencies, communities, civil society actors or organisations.
3. Descriptions, examples, or assessments of any instances where your organisation have been positively or negatively affected by local, national, regional, and/or international counter-terrorism or preventing/countering violent extremism laws, policies, or practices.
4. Assessment of the key indicators of meaningful civil society participation in national, regional, and international counter-terrorism efforts.
5. Descriptions, examples, or assessments of instances where your organisation enjoyed meaningful participation in national, regional or international counter-terrorism entities.
6. Descriptions, examples, or assessments of any instances where your organisation faced acts of intimidation or reprisal for engaging in human rights activities, including engagement with UN or other international stakeholders. Such acts can include sanctions, travel bans, threats and harassment, including by officials, smear campaigns, surveillance, introduction of restrictive legislation, physical attacks, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and ill-treatment, including sexual violence and denial of access to medical attention, killings, among others. Please include a description of the source of the act of intimidation or reprisal, the nature of the measure, and whether it relates specifically to the use of counter-terrorism and preventing/ countering violent extremism measures. For further information on what may constitute a reprisal, please see OHCHR resources. In addition, please find the UN Guidelines against intimidation or reprisals here.
7. Descriptions, examples, or assessments of any instances where your organisation (including any communities or individuals your organisation works with or on behalf of) was impacted by or successfully contributed to countering terrorism financing laws, policies, and programming. This can include overbroad or inadequate terrorism financing laws, non-compliant implementation of the Financial Action Task Force Recommendations, physical or digital surveillance, suspension of bank transfers or accounts, organisational dissolution, prosecution for terrorism financing offences, etc.
8. Descriptions, examples, or assessments of any instances where your organisation (including any communities or individuals your organisation works with or on behalf of) been impacted by counter-terrorism targeted sanctions. This can include restrictions on registration as a civil society, non-profit, academic or other relevant categorization; restrictions on access to donor funding; restrictions on the types of activities that can be included in programmes or projects; impact on ability to deliver existing programming; forced dissolution of organisation; or other measures.
9. Descriptions, examples, or assessments of any instances of misuse of technology used for terrorism, counter-terrorism, prevention of (violent) extremism laws, policies, or processes. This may include misuse of artificial intelligence, biometric collection, advanced passenger information and passenger name record data, digital surveillance, electronic monitoring, unmanned aircraft systems or drone technologies, etc.
10. Descriptions, examples, or assessments of any instances where your organisation worked with individuals who have been affected by any administrative measures (domestic or international) on the basis of counter-terrorism or preventing/countering violent extremism grounds? This can include restrictions regarding residence; restrictions regarding movement, including within or outside country of residence; restrictions regarding social security or other entitlements/benefits; obligations to engage with a state agency or programme; restrictions on access to internet or other information communications technology, including cellular phones; closure of bank account or inability to open bank account; physical harassment by State security forces; obligations to permit surveillance, including through monitoring devices or other means; denial of access to property or confiscation of property; revocation of citizenship or other immigration proceedings; or other measures.
11. Descriptions, examples, or assessments on repatriation and resettlement, or lack thereof, of foreign (terrorist) fighters and their families from conflict zones. *
12. Descriptions, examples, or assessments of the impact of counter-terrorism and preventing/countering (violent) extremism measures on gender, specifically on women, girls, boys and men, and those identifying as LGBTQI+.
13. Assessment of any inclusion, promotion, and protection of the rights of civil society and fostering of civic space in United Nations counter-terrorism or United Nations prevention and countering violent extremism efforts.
14. Assessment of the United Nations’ integration of due diligence safeguards to foster participatory, inclusive, and civic space enabling modalities in its work.
15. Assessment of fundamental freedoms and human rights, including gender-related, impacted as a result of terrorism, counter-terrorism and preventing/countering (violent) extremism laws, policies, or processes.
16. Any documentation or assessments regarding recommendations to national governments, Member States, the international community, and/or UN entities regarding the interface between counter-terrorism measures, civil society and civic space.
17. Recommendations to States and regional and international organisations, including the United Nations, for ensuring adequate civil society participation and consideration of the impacts of counter-terrorism on civil society.