States Stampeding Human Rights of Own Societies under the Garb of Counterterrorism (original) (raw)
2019, Criterion Quarterly, Islamabad
Omnipresence of post 9/11 terrorism and ensuing counterterrorism efforts represent classical fourth generation warfare with a predominant hybrid façade, resulting into ubiquitous and all-pervasive sense of insecurity. With suicide bomber and drone attacks as respective pervasive strategy, this facet of 21st century warfare became overwhelmingly dehumanised. Important instruments of international law like: UN Charter, “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, “International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights” (ICCPR) and a whole range of Geneva Conventions and other instruments of international law of war are busted with impunity, by both sides. While non-state actors representing terrorism had no legal and moral obligation towards these legally binding laws, the states conducting counter terrorism also frequently set aside these commitments. Use of disproportionate force, no serious effort to separate combatants and non-combatants as well as their properties resulted in equally stampeding Human Rights of non-combatants as well as combatants. Human Rights activists, at individual and entity levels, have all along been expressing discomfort about the impingement of Counter Terrorism effort on Human Rights. However, one must acknowledge that States conducting the counter terrorism operations were beset with serious challenges: instant melting down of combatants with civilian population made determination of who’s who impossible; collection of forensic data for a credible prosecution presented another nightmare; neither was it easy to have secure venues for trial, nor was ensuring security of witnesses. At international level, counter terrorism operations soon became carrier of hidden political and strategic agenda by individual states ostensibly fighting terrorists. Moreover, the available body of international law on war had by and large focused on third generation war fare while challenge was fourth generation warfare, occasionally embracing few streaks of fifth generation warfare; hence lacunas and voids were numerous. Apparent retreat of terrorism and a corresponding respite in urgency and necessity of continuation of ruthless counter terrorism strategies present a window of opportunities to undertake formulation of appropriate international legal frame-work for the conduct of counter terrorism facet of war at national and international levels. This paper reviews the major flaws in post 9/11 counter terrorism strategy resulting into violation of international law of war leading to serious impingement of Human Rights; and suggest ways and means to plug the gaps.
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