In counterterrorism and conflict-affected contexts, criminal domestic laws have continued to prevail over international humanitarian law, creating legal pressure on, and security risks for, humanitarian and medical personnel, along with their activities and facilities.
Analysis
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Profound recalibration, restraint, and meaningful oversight of counterterrorism practices and institutions are needed within the UN system in order to advance both human rights and security.
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Absent international legal mechanisms and multilateral agreements to support the trial of ISIS detainees in northern Syria—including a resolution to adjudicate international crimes—domestic courts in member states are emerging as promising platforms for administering justice.
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The roll-out of counterterrorism and P/CVE policies, plans, and projects in the Philippines is having a significant negative impact on peace, security, and the fulfillment of human rights in the country.
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The complex effects of counterterrorism policies have impeded mediation efforts, impacted conflict dynamics, and created challenges to forging peace.
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The question of how the UN should best support non-UN peace operations is longstanding, however a UN support office for the G5 Sahel Joint Force is a bad idea.
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While the adoption of Resolution 1373 signaled intent by the Security Council to appear responsive, it left more questions than answers about the role and impact of the United Nations in addressing an increasingly transnational threat posed by violent non-state actors.
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The UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and its review process should be a thorough, inclusive, and strategic reflection on the role of the UN in counterterrorism, focusing on peace, rights, development, and security.
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Despite all the resolutions, the tens of millions of dollars that have been spent to support their implementation, and the challenges presented, there has never been a comprehensive, let alone independent, review of the Security Council’s counterterrorism work over the past two decades.
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It is remarkable that two decades of extensive global counterterrorism law and cooperation have proceeded from a normative black hole: the absence of a common definition of terrorism.
