Terrorism has become one of the major threats facing both states and the international community, in particular after the terrorist attacks in the United States, Madrid and London, which revealed a whole new scale and dimension of the phenomenon. An effective response is absolutely necessary; this response, however, cannot undermine democracy, human rights, the rule of law or the supreme values inherent to these principles.There is no universally agreed definition of "terrorism", nor is there an international Jurisdiction before which the perpetrators of terrorist crimes can be brought to account. The European Court of Human Rights is the first international Jurisdiction to deal with such a phenomenon. For many decades and through more than four hundred cases, it has elaborated a clear, integrated and articulated body of case law on responses to terrorism from a human rights and rule of law perspective. Thus, this is a handbook on counter-terrorism with a special focus on due respect for human rights and rule of law.This book compiles the doctrine laid down by the European Court of Human Rights in this field with a view to facilitating the task of adjudicators, legal officers, lawyers, international IGOs, NGOs, policy makers, researchers, victims and all those committed to fighting this scourge. The book presents a careful analysis of this body of case law and the general principles applicable to the fight against terrorism resulting from each particular case. It also includes a compendium of the main cases dealt with by the Strasbourg Court in this field and will prove to be a most useful guiding tool in the sensitive area of counter-terrorism and human rights.

This book reviews the war on terror since 9/11 from a human rights perspective.

The objective of this work is to provide an analysis of the legislative approaches to counter-terrorism and human rights in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The text is aimed at lawyers and practitioners within and outside common law nations. Although the text analyses the subject within the four jurisdictions named, many parts of the book will be of interest and relevance to those from outside those jurisdictions. Considerable weight is placed on inter- tional obligations and directions, with a unique and hopefully useful feature of the text being the inclusion and consideration of a handbook written by me on human rights compliance when countering terrorism (set out in Appendix 4 and considered in Chap. 13). A signi?cant part of the research undertaken for this work was as a result of my being awarded the International Research Fellowship, Te Karahipi Rangahau a Taiao, an annual fellowship generously funded by the New Zealand Law Foun- tion. The New Zealand Law Foundation is an independent trust and registered charitable entity under the Charities Act 2005 (NZ). This project would not have been possible without the Law Foundation’s award, which allowed me to undertake research and associated work over reasonably lengthy periods of time in Australia, Canada, Israel, England, Austria, Switzerland and Finland. It is not just the g- graphical location of this work that was made possible, however.

The ever-present threat of terrorism and the growing human-rights backlash against anti-terrorist policies are becoming ever more significant on the international stage. Constant media-coverage and public concern have characterised the debate over the last ten years. This book is a fair and objective assessment of counter-terrorist policy and human rights worldwide, and covers a wide breadth of international material. While raising key questions for reader consideration, this book aims for straight-forward consideration, leaving polemic to the reader.

While providing a substantive legal analysis of the links between human rights and counter-terrorism, this book provides the tools to successfully argue that a human rights approach does not undermine the fight against terrorism. Through practical examples, it shows that a State’s lack of respect for human rights hinders its fight against terrorism and can be counter-productive. The contributing experts represent a wide breadth of experience at the national and international levels, and bring their unique approach to each cross-cutting topic.

This book provides theoretical and practical guidance to those interested in understanding the dilemmas found at the heart of counter-terror decision-making. It addresses fundamental questions such as: should terror organizations be engaged in the human rights discussion? How can we counter extremist ideology? What is the role social media plays in terrorism?The book compares the practices of different countries to determine if a cohesive approach to counter-terrorism can be achieved. It not only analyses different aspects of terrorism and counter-terrorism (ideology, recruitment, financing, education, support etc) but also explores the roles of the relevant players (courts, security forces, the press, public opinion, inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations etc) and their influence on the measures taken to fight terrorism on the one hand, and safeguarding basic human rights on the other.

From its inception, the "War on Terror" has been a heavily gendered endeavour. A careful examination of counter-terrorism campaigns outside the current "War on Terror," reveals that such national security efforts also have a complex, but often unexplored, relationship to gender. This edited volume brings together scholars from various disciplines to consider, from a human rights perspective, the many ways in which gender interacts with counter-terrorism and national security efforts by modern states. The book provides a systematic overview of the key intersections between gender and counter-terrorism considering what it means to take a gendered human rights approach to counter-terrorism measures, the patterns that emerge from such an approach, and the human rights tools that can be utilized in this endeavour. The book includes case studies of specific countries including Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the USA, exploring the intersections of gender and counter-terrorism in the specific country context, drawing both country-specific and general conclusions. It goes on to examine the narratives and common assumptions at work in the counter-terrorism context and the gendered impacts of specific policies, analyzing through a gender lens the counter-terrorism efforts associated with the post-9/11 "War on Terror" as well as other campaigns against terrorism.

Terrorism and human rights has been the subject of increased attention since the events of 11th September 2001. Drawing on works that were originally published between 2002 and 2011, this authoritative collection covers a variety of topics, including detention and extraordinary rendition, targeted killings, freedom of expression, privacy and terrorist listings.

'This book makes uncomfortable reading both in its detailed analysis of terrorism and its causes, and in the critique of state responses, particularly in modern times. It is unusual to have such a defence of a 'human rights framework' from a counter-terrorism practitioner rather than from within the legal fraternity. It is this that makes the case even more persuasive. All who are involved in counter-terrorism strategy should consider carefully the arguments put forward.'Global Policy JournalFor more than 150 years, nationalist, populist, Marxist and religious terrorists have all been remarkably consistent and explicit about their aims: provoke states into over-reacting to the threat they pose, then take advantage of the divisions in society that result. Yet, state after state falls into the trap that terrorists have set for them. Faced with a major terrorist threat, governments seem to reach instinctively for the most coercive tools at their disposal and, in doing so, risk exacerbating the situation. This policy response seems to be driven in equal parts by a lack of understanding in the true nature of the threat, an exaggerated faith in the use of force, and a lack of faith that democratic values are sufficiently flexible to allow for an effective counter-terrorism response. Drawing on a wealth of data from both historical and contemporary sources, Avoiding the Terrorist Trap addresses common misconceptions underpinning flawed counter-terrorist policies, identifies the core strategies that guide terrorist operations, consolidates the latest research on the underlying drivers of terrorist violence, and then demonstrates why a counter-terrorism strategy grounded in respect for human rights and the rule of law is the most effective approach to defeating terrorism.

This book aims to improve understanding of the broad trends in the utilisation of political violence by examining the use of state terror in world politics. The ending of the Cold War and the overthrow of communism in Eastern Europe led many to assume that this presaged the demise of the one-party terror regime and acceptance of Western concepts of democracy, freedom and human rights throughout the international system. But of course this did not end state terror. The totalitarian one-party state still exists in North Korea and China, and there are numerous military regimes and other forms of dictatorship where the use of terror techniques for internal control is routine. The late Professor Paul Wilkinson conceived and began this project with the intention of analysing the major types of international response to state terror, as well as their outcomes and their wider implications for the future of international relations. In keeping with this original premise, the contributors explore the history of terrorism, as well as reflecting on the need for international cooperation based on the protection of civilians and a consistent approach to intervention in conflict situations. This book will be of much interest to students of terrorism studies, political violence, human rights, genocide, and IR in general.