Assessing Damage, Urging Action Foreword Since 11 September 2001, countering terrorism has become one of the biggest priorities for many governments and for the international community. Terrorism is a real threat in many parts of the world and States must address terrorism robustly and effectively. However it is no less imperative that they do so through methods that do not undermine the fundamental values at the heart of the international legal system. It is regrettable that during the last eight years many States have responded to terrorism in a manner that threatens the very core of the international human rights framework, that represents perhaps one of the most serious challenges ever posed to the integrity of a system carefully constructed after the Second World War. In order to respond to this alarming trend, in 2004 the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) adopted the Berlin Declaration on Upholding Human Rights while Combating Terrorism and called for the establishment of a high level panel mandated to conduct a detailed study on the global impact of counter-terrorism measures on human rights. In 2005 the Eminent Jurists Panel on Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights was convened. This initiative follows in the footsteps of the ICJ’s long tradition of critical work on human rights in times of crisis, reflected for example in its 1983 study on “States of Emergency: Their Impact on Human Rights,” that was carried out in response to the prevalence of states of emergencies during the 1970’s and 1980’s. The Panel, which is composed of eight distinguished jurists from all regions of the world, is an independent body, supported by ICJ Secretariat staff. The Panel’s report represents the culmination of an intense and in-depth inquiry over a period of three years. The sixteen Hearings which the Panel held in different countries throughout the world, and on which many of the report’s findings are based, have been at the heart of this inquiry, and constitute one of the most comprehensive surveys on counter-terrorism and human rights ever undertaken. Our gratitude to the civil society organisations, human rights defenders and members of the legal community worldwide that engaged in this process, and whose collaboration made it possible, cannot be overstated. Our admiration for their unwavering commitment to the protection of human rights, in the difficult environment that has prevailed since 2001, is immense. This report does not mark the end of ICJ work on this issue. Rather it represents the beginning of a new chapter. As a global network of jurists the ICJ will now initiate a programme of work intended to build on the Panel’s findings and recommendations. As the Panel highlights, cycles of terrorism and counter-terrorism invariably continue over time. In this context it is vital that governments and the international community now engage in a stock-taking process designed to ensure that respect for human rights and the rule of law is integrated into every aspect of counter-terrorism work. Several of the concerns identified by the Panel require urgent attention. These include the expansion of intelligence agency powers and international cooperation v