Human Rights
published in February, was well-received at
these and other events.
Counter-terrorism measures increasingly
integrate approaches geared towards prevention. In order to be effective, these strategies
must be anchored in a comprehensive understanding of terrorism as a phenomenon and the
conditions conducive to it. In July, ODIHR convened an Expert Meeting on Security, Radicalization and the Prevention of Terrorism. The
meeting brought together approximately 60
participants and experts from across the OSCE
region to discuss three concrete areas where
religion and security intersect and have inspired
particularly vigorous debate in the context of
radicalization leading to terrorism: religion in
prisons and detention centres; religious, ethnic
and racial profiling; and surveillance and security regarding religious sites and communities.
Within the context of the OSCE’s comprehensive concept of security, the differences in state
policies towards religion and security in the
context of counter-terrorism highlight the crucial relationship between the political/military
and human dimensions, and the need to pursue
security through the protection of human rights
and the rule of law. While all states face similar challenges in combating terrorism effectively
and protecting human rights, one point emphasized at the meeting was that there is no universal solution. The discussions also exposed a
crucial gap in knowledge with respect to understanding the processes and factors underlying radicalization that leads to terrorism, and
underlined the vital need for continuing study
in this area.
IV. Human rights and the armed forces
Following consultations with governments,
experts and non-governmental organizations,
ODIHR finalized the Handbook on Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Armed
Forces Personnel, published jointly with the
Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of
Armed Forces (DCAF). The handbook provides
recommendations to participating States, drawn
from best practices across the OSCE area, on
how best secure the human rights of armed
forces members.
The handbook was launched in May for audiences in Vienna (OSCE) and Geneva (DCAF
Foundation Council). It was also presented at
the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in
September, to a joint session of the OSCE FSC/
PC in Vienna in October, and at the Congress of
the European Organisation of Military Associations (Euromil) in Brussels in November. Further discussions were held with an audience of
parliamentary staff in Belgrade in September, at
a seminar co-organized by DCAF and the OSCE
Mission to Serbia, and with Central Asian military officials at a CPC/Swiss government Seminar on the Code of Conduct on Politico-Military
Aspects of Security in September in Almaty.
The first event to focus on this issue at the
national level took place in June in Tbilisi, where
government officials, members of parliament,
ombudsman office officials and representatives
of NGOs were among those brought together
to discuss the human rights situation for Georgian armed forces personnel. An open discussion ensued, and was then resumed in December at the launch of a Georgian translation of the
Annual Report 2008
41
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