EU Intervention – UN General Assembly 3rd Committee: Interactive dialogue: Interactive dialogue on Human Rights and Counter-terrorism

Mme. Special Rapporteur,

The European Union reiterates its strong, unwavering support for your mandate.

As we stressed in the context of the Eighth Review of the Implementation of the United Nations Global Counterterrorism Strategy, efforts to combat terrorism must never serve as a pretext for human rights violations.

Let me be very clear, the EU strongly condemns all acts of terrorism. There is no justification for terror.

The European Union condemns in the strongest possible terms Hamas and its brutal and indiscriminate terrorist attacks across Israel and deeply deplores the loss of lives. We support Israel’s right to defend itself in line with humanitarian and international law in the face of such violent and indiscriminate attacks. We also reiterate the importance to ensure the protection of all civilians at all times in line with International Humanitarian Law and call on Hamas to immediately release all hostages without any precondition. 

States must ensure that CT measures comply with the rule of law and all their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law.

What is more, CT measures must not be misused to suppress perceived dissent and silence human rights defenders. That includes deterring cooperation of individuals or entities with UN mechanisms and reprisals for engagement with the United Nations. In this regard, we again welcome your Global Study on the impact of Counter-terrorism on civil society and civic space which you also mention in your report [and your presentation] to this committee.

Your report further demonstrates the importance of the principle of an independent access to, inter alia, places of detention. That is true for your mandate, but also for all other special procedures or human rights mechanisms. We call on all States, and non-state actors alike, to be open to this kind of scrutiny, and commend those that have recently welcomed your visits.

Mme. Special Rapporteur,

Q: We are alarmed by the instances of denial of humanitarian access and gross and systematic human rights violations mentioned in your report, potentially implicating core crimes experienced by children. Could you elaborate further on the importance of predictable humanitarian access?