Assessing Damage, Urging Action 3. Can respect for human rights actually assist counter-terrorist efforts? There is no inherent contradiction between, on the one hand, upholding human rights and the rule of law and, on the other, ensuring people’s safety by countering terrorism. The Panel does not accept the characterisation of “human rights” and “security from terrorism” as being somehow at opposing poles, and the duty imposed on States as one of balancing these antithetical demands. Instead, the Panel shares the belief enunciated in the ICJ Berlin Declaration that: “safeguarding persons from terrorist acts and respecting human rights both form part of a seamless web of protection incumbent upon the State.” 20 In other words, it is not enough to say that human rights need not hinder counterterrorism; more positively, it can be argued that human rights are an effective weapon in the defence of democratic societies. There are several reasons why this is so. First, defending human rights, especially in the face of violent terrorism, is to privilege the fundamental notion of human dignity. Asserting everyone’s inherent humanity is to refute the claim of others that human beings may be instrumentalised, and to evade the terrorist trap in which violent actions and reactions come to be seen as necessary or justifiable. States that seriously violate human rights, albeit supposedly in the name of the greater good of protecting society, are engaged in a self-contradictory exercise. Rights are inalienable and States cannot selectively choose to protect certain rights, or the rights of certain people. A counter-terrorist policy aimed at protecting all equally is rooted in the application of law and respect for human rights. Such a policy will reinforce a State’s credibility and legitimacy when responding to any violence directed at it. Second, human rights protection requires an independent judiciary, and the establishment and maintenance of an independent judiciary, even in the face of violent attack, ensures, in its turn, fairness and accountability in the behaviour of other branches of government. If counter-terrorist measures are to be effective in the long term, they must be seen to be legitimate, and an independent judiciary can contribute to providing that legitimacy. A well-operating criminal justice system will deter terrorists, disrupt terrorist networks, catch and punish those who commit crimes, and ensure that any innocent suspects mistakenly caught up in the law enforcement process are rapidly released. Third, and contrary to populist debate, human rights speak directly to the needs and rights of the victims of terrorism. Members of the Panel were aware of this from their own professional activities, but were interested to hear the point made in person by many of the victims of terrorism and counter-terrorism met in the course 20 Preamble of the ICJ Berlin Declaration, see Annex 1. 21