MADRID, March 10: UN chief Kofi Annan on Thursday outlined a five-point global strategy for fighting terrorism which called for dissuasive, preventive and deterrent measures — without sacrificing human rights.
He detailed the plan in a speech to an international conference on terrorism in Madrid, delivered on the eve of commemorations marking the first year anniversary of the March 11 train bombings in the city.
In it, he made what many took to be criticism of the US for repressive tactics in its “war on terror”, saying: “Terrorism is in itself a direct attack on human rights and the rule of law. If we sacrifice them in our response, we are handing victory to the terrorists.”
Mr Annan told the audience of heads of state and government that the “principled, comprehensive strategy” consisted of five elements: to dissuade disaffected groups from choosing terrorism as a tactic to achieve their goals, to deny terrorists the means to carry out their attacks, to deter states from supporting terrorists, to develop state capacity to prevent terrorism and to defend human rights in the struggle against terrorism.
He said the last point, upholding human rights, was “essential” and strongly endorsed a the appointment of a UN rapporteur who would evaluate whether nations’ counter-terrorism measures were compatible with international law.—AFP
