
UN Security Council unanimously adopts Resolution 1373, mandating member states to pass wide-ranging counterterrorism laws, on September 28, 2001.© 2001 UN PHOTO
The 112-page report, “In the Name of Security: Counterterrorism Laws Worldwide since September 11,” says that while terrorist attacks have caused thousands of deaths and injuries, that is no justification for counterterrorism laws that violate the basic rights of suspects and that are also used for politically motivated purposes.
“Terrorist acts are a repudiation of human rights, but overbroad laws that ignore basic rights only compound the harm,” said Letta Tayler, senior terrorism and counterterrorism researcher at Human Rights Watch.