Counter terrorism and fundamental freedom
Following 9/11, terrorism became a major national and international threat. The US declaration of war on terror led to initiatives across the world to tighten security legislation and curb civil liberties.
Many countries adopted Bush's policies, and today counter-terrorism politics have spanned the world. Civil liberties and human rights are often the first casualties of any war, but restricting fundamental freedoms in the name of security damages democracy itself. The danger is that the general public may easily be persuaded to sacrifice some of their liberties in exchange for the promise of a greater personal security.
Establishing a proper balance between fundamental freedom and the maintenance of security, while countering terrorism, is a huge unsolved problem.
Human rights consequences
In the aftermath of 9/11 many countries launched responses in the form of legislation or executive orders that, according to Professor D. Dyzenhaus, have created a "variety of legal black holes" while addressing terrorism. Aimed at strengthening the anti-terrorism legal framework by formulating new crimes, banning certain organisations, and freezing assets, such measures effectively curtailed various civil liberties.
Measures taken in the name of "national security" and "public safety" in the US and elsewhere followed, according to Professor D. Cole, a "disturbingly repressive historical pattern." In US the crackdown on human rights was made possible by the climate of fear that gripped that country. Its failure to stand by its fundamental human rights standards had a serious knock-on effect in other countries, particularly where partner governments in the global "war on terror" felt justified by circumstances in violating human rights.
Moreover, governments that had to deal with violent separatist or nationalist movements tended to label the movements "terrorist" and to respond militarily. Today, the just cause of establishing human rights standards across the world is constantly being challenged and criticised. The problem of terrorism, however, seems far from being resolved, which suggests that the surrender of fundamental freedoms in the name of fighting terrorism may be ineffective and could even be counter-productive.
Alternative thinking is certainly needed.
Respect the fundamental freedoms
Rights, liberties and security need to be tackled together, with human rights refusing to yield easily to the demands of counter-terrorism. The state must learn to enact effective laws while at the same time ensure its legitimacy. In democracies, as Professor M. Ignatief points out, there must be a consensus that all lawful means have been employed and that "constitutional black holes" have been avoided.
Just as terrorism breaches human rights, an over-hasty response can be equally damaging. The UN Secretary General's report identified five pillars on which a comprehensive strategy should be based:
* Dissuading people from resorting to terrorism or supporting it;
* Denying terrorists access to funds and materials;
* Deterring states from sponsoring terrorism;
* Developing state capacity to defeat terrorism; and
* Defending human rights.
Professor R. Kumar argues that a state should recognise that its human rights norms and its domestic constitutional law are crucial when ensuring that counter-terrorism does not violate civil liberties. The international community must do so within a framework of respect for human rights. For J. Mertus, the notions of individual dignity and moral equality must be positively promoted. If we fail to do so, according to Professor Freeman, the terrorists will ultimately win: we shall then have lost, and they will have destroyed the very foundation of our modern human civilisation.
Uncovering the root causes
Terrorism's roots lie in long-standing historical and political issues that are systematically manipulated by persons with vested interests. Those issues may spring from poverty, unemployment and lack of opportunity in a world that constitutes a "huge pyramid characterised by inhuman disparity and oppression." Oppression in today's world has three dimensions.
First, the power-countries dominate the world politically, militarily and, through the global capital markets, financially: this causes disparity and oppression among smaller countries.
Secondly, developing countries (and others) have to contend with national or international structures that equally cause disparity and oppression.
Thirdly, large numbers of people who move from poorer to richer countries are faced with "trans-national" structures of inequality and discrimination.
We need to re-think what encourages a person to commit an act of terrorism: What makes an individual a terrorist? We are all members of the human race, and we owe it to the future of humanity to seek out insights that will permit a comprehensive approach to the whole terrorism problem.
Terrorism is too complex to be overcome by simple prohibition backed by legal or military enforcement. The struggle against it may continue for many years, but "the rules of the game" must be changed.
A solution must be found not by bombing but by making society more inclusive and free from poverty, unemployment, injustice, domination and exploitation. The principles of due process, judicial checks and balances, and government accountability -- together with the protection of fundamental rights and civil liberties -- are crucial at this time.
We must be seen to be better than the terrorists: Our fight must be for a better system of government, for social justice, for equality, and for respect for all cultures and belief systems. To achieve lasting realistic peace, we must aim to create a world in which the despair that gives rise to terrorism is replaced by the hope offered by cultural integration, universal education, democracy, and improved economic opportunities.
In the aftermath of 9/11 we are all conscious that "freedom is not free," but the dangerous aspect of the current "war on terror" has potential to be permanent. Citizens may be right to fear a further loss of privacy, liberty and even the right to life itself. It is time now to address the root causes of terrorism that lie within the world's political, social and economic structures, notably the disparities between developed and under-developed nations and the lack of integration between different cultures and religions.
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