Summary

The present report is the first annual report submitted to the General Assembly by the newly appointed Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism. A brief introduction (sect. I) is followed by a description of the activities of the former and current Special Rapporteurs (sects. II and III). The Special Rapporteur shares several initial thoughts reflecting her priorities and interpretation of the mandate and how she intends to discharge it (sect. IV) and highlights conclusions and recommendations (sect. V). She identifies four substantive areas of interest falling within the mandate: the proliferation of permanent states of emergency and the normalization of exceptional national security powers within ordinary legal systems; the need for greater clarity in respect of the legal relationships between national security regimes and international legal regimes (human rights, international humanitarian law and international criminal law) as well as the relationship of human rights to the emergence of stand-alone international security regimes regulating terrorism and counter-terrorism; the advancement of greater normative attention focused on the gendered dimensions of terrorism and counter-terrorism; and the advancement of the rights and the protection of civil society in the fight against terrorism. In the first instance, the Special Rapporteur will focus particular attention on those issues and will integrate them into the tools available to her in the discharge of her mandate, specifically in future country visits and cooperation with Governments and all pertinent actors, including relevant United Nations bodies.