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Global Anti-Terror Monitoring Laws Sought as Britain Unveils New Package
NEW DELHI, Nov 13 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson on Tuesday warned nations against adopting harsh laws to combat terrorism and said the United Nations would develop a system to monitor rights violations by states, as Britain made public a sweeping package of proposed anti-terror legislation that includes detention without trial of terror suspects.
Robinson said she was concerned that both "democracies and non-democratic nations" were forging laws against terrorism that could, in turn, lead to human rights abuses.
"The best way to combat terrorism is to safeguard human rights so that you do not breed new terrorism," she said.
"I am concerned how countries throughout the world will respond to Security Council resolution 1373 which makes it mandatory that measures be taken to combat terrorism," Robinson told reporters in New Delhi in response to questions on laws proposed by Britain, India and the United States to combat terrorism.
The Security Council adopted resolution 1373 shortly after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
"Of course, I am in favor of combating terrorism as it is completely contrary to human rights, but the question is how it is done," she said.
The effort is to "see whether we can find out if there is an abuse of power and a clamping down on legitimate freedom of expressions and legitimate political dissent in a country," she added.
Britain's new laws include the authority to detain terrorist suspects without trial for up to six months, a move that has aroused controversy and sparked condemnation from critics.
Citing a "public emergency," the British government applied Monday for an opt-out clause from article five of the European Convention on Human Rights, which outlaws detention without trial, but which can be suspended in times of "war or public emergency."
The "opt-out", or derogation, measure is an emergency power used during World War II, the 1991 Gulf War and, notoriously, in Northern Ireland 30 years ago.
Critics say the proposed measure erodes one of the cornerstones of British justice - the presumption of innocence.
John Wadham, of the civil rights group Liberty, said it was "a fundamental violation of the rule of law, our rights and traditional British values."
Human rights lawyer Sadiq Khan warned on BBC radio that the crackdown could heighten racial tensions.
She said, "There is concern that this power will be used disproportionately against those who appear to be and are visible Muslims."
But the main opposition Conservatives have pledged their support for the measures; and while there are rumblings of discontent from within the governing Labor Party, the government has such a large majority that the anti-terror measures are set for endorsement.
The government says the derogation would be subject to regular review, and that anyone detained would be able to challenge his or her internment in court.
Veteran Labor MP Tam Dalyell said, "If there is information about sleepers [agents lying low awaiting activation] or others and some catastrophe could be avoided by this measure, then that is all right.
"But what I really fear is that internment could spill over into some kind of confrontation with Islam in this country and could make the situation worse and not better."
The Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill also includes measures already drafted to put the squeeze on the funding of terrorist groups, to improve the sharing of information between security authorities and to tighten loopholes in asylum law.
Home Secretary David Blunkett said detention without trial would be used against only a "handful" of people already identified by the security services as a potential risk.
"I can tell you that we would not be putting this through, we would not after two months of examining this... unless I believed that albeit a handful of people were likely to pose a risk," he told BBC radio.
"Because we are only talking about a handful of people we are not threatening the civil liberties of this country, but we are ensuring those handful don't threaten those civil liberties."
The U.S. also recently passed an Anti-Terrorism Bill, which allows for the detention of anyone suspected in the anti-terror investigation for up to seven days without evidence, along with other measures such as secret search-and-seizure operations and enhanced wiretapping authority.
In addition, the government drafted new visa requirements for men between the ages of 16 and 45 visiting from certain Muslim countries, including background checks and questionnaires, lengthening the application process by at least 20 days.
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft has also stated that previously confidential lawyer-client meetings are now subject to surveillance.
Speaking about the new U.S. laws on immigration and Britain's controversial move on detention without trial - a move also taken by India - Robinson said the world was facing one of its most difficult times.
"I am very concerned, I can say this is a difficult, a very bleak time for human rights. I am deeply concerned and I am trying to evolve a strategy of at least knowing what different countries are doing," she said.
"I have entered into an informal working arrangement with regional human rights organizations such as the Council of Europe, the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Organization of African Unity and groups in Latin America.
"We feel by doing it by a different perspective we may be able to be more effective."
She also said the United Nations would share information about legislation and executive measures governments may be taking to combat terrorism.
Robinson said the agenda of the global conference on racial discrimination in South Africa earlier this year offered mechanisms against draconian laws.
The Durban agenda had turned into an even more relevant document since the U.S. terrorist attacks, she said.
"It makes it clear that we need to combat Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-Arab and anti-Asian prejudices and xenophobia, exactly what has been aggravated by the 11th of September," she said.
"The problem is that we are seeing measures being adopted both by democracies and non-democratic countries and there is a concern in relation to all measures that we are hearing about is that they should retain that essential balance."
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