Regional organisations must respect and promote human rights while countering terrorism: UN expert
Press releases
Special Procedures
11 March 2025
GENEVA -- Dozens of regional organisations around the world play a vital role in the fight against terrorism, but they have also enabled serious human rights violations and evaded adequate scrutiny, a UN expert said today.
"Regional organisations should never enable governments to repress their critics or destroy human freedoms," said Ben Saul, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.
In his report to the 58th session of the Human Rights Council, Saul urged regional organisations to engage more meaningfully with diverse civil society organisations in preventing terrorism, addressing its root causes, and remedying human rights violations.
"Regional organisations must empower member states to fight terrorism in accordance with the rule of law and human rights," he said.
The Special Rapporteur stressed that the involvement of civil society enhances the legitimacy of counter-terrorism measures, builds public trust and security cooperation, and makes measures more effective. He made key recommendations, including:
- Publicising information on how civil society can get involved;
- Avoiding restrictive accreditation and registration criteria for civil society;
- Providing funding and administrative support for civil society engagement; and
- Protecting civil society from reprisals and intimidation.
"Regional organisations that impose sanctions on 'terrorist' individuals or entities must fully respect human rights law, given the acute risk of their misuse against human rights defenders, civil society, journalists and political activists," the expert said.
In his report, Saul called for regional definitions of terrorism that are used to impose counter-terrorism sanctions to be narrow, rights-respecting and in line with international best practice standards.
"There must be rigorous due process, independent review, and effective remedies for violations," he said. "The sanctions imposed must also be strictly necessary and proportionate and not applied automatically."
The Special Rapporteur urged those involved in regional military cooperation against terrorism to respect international law, from capacity-building to peacekeeping and combat operations.
"Regional missions must respect the prohibition on the use of force as strictly interpreted by the International Court of Justice," the expert said. "They must commit to respect international humanitarian and human rights law and to protect the civilian population.
They must independently investigate violations, accept legal responsibility where appropriate, and provide effective remedies, including reparations."
"Regional organisations should assess human rights risks in advance of and during missions, including when partnering with third states," Saul said. "They must scrupulously respect international standards on arms and munitions transfers. They should be transparent in publicly reporting on their operations."
The Special Rapporteur called for regional missions to always be part of a comprehensive response that addresses the root causes of conflict, including State violations of human rights and poor governance, and enables peace-making and reconciliation.
This is a follow-up to his report to the General Assembly in October 2024, which addressed other human rights concerns related to regional organisations.
Ben Saul is the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism
Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.
Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/
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