Human Rights Council
Fifty-seventh session
9 September–9 October 2024
Agenda items 2 and 3
Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development
Summary
In the present report, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights addresses the use of administrative measures to counter terrorism, focusing on the extent to which such measures adhere to international human rights law. In this regard, the report highlights certain measures, such as administrative detention, terrorist proscription, movement restrictions, and deprivation of nationality. The report recommends a series of legislative, institutional and policy measures to ensure that such administrative measures are fully human rights-compliant in meeting their stated objectives of countering terrorism.
I. Introduction
1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 51/24. In that resolution, the Council reaffirms its unequivocal condemnation of all acts, methods and practices of terrorism. It stresses the responsibility of States to protect persons in their territory and subject to their jurisdiction against acts of terrorism, in full compliance with their obligations under international law. These elements have been stressed in the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and numerous resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly.
2. In the resolution, the Council noted with concern the “measures that undermine human rights and the rule of law, such as the detention of persons suspected of acts of terrorism in the absence of a legal basis for detention and due process guarantees”, and urged States to review the grounds of detention and to respect the rights to equality and non-discrimination in the administration of justice and to a fair trial, as provided for by international law”. The resolution also emphasized that “States should ensure that domestic laws and practices related to counter-terrorism measures respect the principle of non-discrimination, including by repealing the proscription and listing of organizations and individuals on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion or political opinion, by reviewing laws on the deprivation of nationality, including the foreseeable grounds for deprivation and adequate procedural safeguards, in accordance with international law”.
3. Recent years have seen a significant increase in the use of administrative measures to counter terrorism. Many States have adopted practices such as administrative detention, house arrest, travel restrictions, and control orders independent of the pursuit of criminal charges, while others have resorted to far-reaching measures such as deprivation of nationality in the context of countering terrorism, in addition to placing individuals or entities on so-called watchlists, outside the criminal justice system. In this regard, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) concerning counter-terrorism has recommended that States, “utilize administrative measures … as preventive alternatives to prosecution” only “in cases in which it would not be appropriate to bring terrorism-related charges, while ensuring that such measures are employed in a manner compliant with applicable international human rights law and national legislation and are subject to effective review”.
4. The present report is focused on the use of administrative measures in countering terrorism such as administrative detention, travel restrictions, deprivation of nationality, and terrorist listing of individuals and entities, and on their human rights impacts. It examines certain administrative measures, in legal context, and examines substantive and procedural guarantees afforded in the implementation of such measures. It does not seek to address all human rights aspects associated with all types of administrative measures in the context of countering terrorism, for example measures related to countering terrorism financing, or the impact of administrative measures on humanitarian action. Finally, the report considers the effectiveness of administrative measures, and concludes with recommendations to States to ensure that administrative measures used in counter-terrorism are both human rights-compliant and effective.
5. In February 2024, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) sent notes verbales to States and to international, regional and intergovernmental bodies, and also approached national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations, requesting information to inform the High Commissioner’s report.5 The present report is informed by inputs received from stakeholders, as well as by previous OHCHR reports, the work of United Nations human rights mechanisms and the work of scholars and practitioners.