Introduction The best — the only — strategy to isolate and defeat terrorism is by respecting human rights, fostering social justice, enhancing democracy and upholding the primacy of the rule of law. The late Sergio Vieira de Mello, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (2002) Our responses to terrorism as well as our efforts to thwart it and prevent it, should uphold the human rights that terrorists aim to destroy. Respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law are essential tools in the effort to combat terrorism — not privileges to be sacrificed at a time of tension. Former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan (2003) The OSCE participating States will not yield to terrorist threats, but will combat them by all means in accordance with their international commitments…. They will defend freedom and protect their citizens against acts of terrorism, fully respecting international law and human rights. They firmly reject identification of terrorism with any nationality or religion and reconfirm the norms, principles and values of the OSCE. OSCE Bucharest Ministerial, Decision No. 1 on Combating Terrorism T his manual outlines the fundamental human rights principles that are most commonly engaged in the fight against terrorism. It explains states’ obligations in respect of those rights when dealing with terrorism. Counter-terrorism strategies that are compliant with human rights not only avoid certain legal pitfalls, but may also prove more effective in the long term at winning the ideological battle against terrorism than strategies that themselves violate human rights. One of the side effects of terrorist activity and the international response to it has been the tendency to pit the ideas of liberty and security against each other. The notion of human rights protection has often been presented as being in conflict with protection from terrorism. Nothing could be further from the truth. International human rights standards emerged from a need, and obligation, to control violent and extreme behaviour. United Nations human rights standards were, in part, created to deal with the ravages of political extremism, violence and war of the 1930s and 1940s. Human rights instruments are structured to respond to conflict and to provide the mechanisms to ensure peace and stability. The international human rights framework is therefore applicable in dealing with the terrorist threat, from addressing its causes, to dealing with its perpetrators, to protecting its victims, to limiting its consequences. States have an obligation to provide protection against terrorism. Human rights standards impose positive obligations on states to ensure the right to life, protection from torture, and other human rights and freedoms. Acts of terrorism are likely to infringe on all of the rights that are part of a state’s positive duty to protect. This does not necessarily mean that an act of terrorism amounts to a failure to protect by the state. However, if the state fails to take adequate and appropriate measures to protect those rights, the state itself bears some responsibility for the violation. An effective counter-terrorism strategy can therefore be a part of a state’s human rights obligations. Countering Terrorism, Protecting Human Rights 15