The ICJ is pleased to make available the papers presented at the Conference held on 23 and 24 October 2003 in Geneva on “Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism: International Monitoring Systems”.
The Conference assessed efforts within the existing system of human rights protection, at the universal and regional levels, to monitor the impact on human rights of national measures taken to combat terrorism and their conformity with international human rights norms and standards. The Conference aimed to determine whether any substantial gaps exist in these monitoring systems and, if so, how such gaps might be filled.
The Conference heard from experts charged with supervising States’ compliance with the UN human rights treaties as well as those appointed by the UN Human Rights Commission to examine the questions of torture and arbitrary detention. Representatives from the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Court of Human Rights, and the International Committee of the Red Cross addressed the Conference. Presentations were also delivered on the Inter-American, African and Arab systems of human rights protection.
Please find below the program of the Conference.
Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism: International Monitoring Systems
23-24 October 2003
Palais des Nations (Room XVI), Geneva
Thursday 23 October: Universal Systems of Monitoring
Morning
9:00-9:30: Registration
9:30 – 10:00: Opening remarks
Ernst Lueber, Acting Secretary-General, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
Sergei M. Ordzhonikidze, Director-General, United Nations Office in Geneva
Bertrand Ramcharan, Acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
10:00 – 11:00: International monitoring of domestic counter-terrorism measures and international monitoring: Needs and challenges
Claudio Cordone, Senior Director, International Law and Organisations Program, Amnesty International
Antoine Bernard, Executive Director, Fédération Internationale des ligues des Droits de l’Homme (FIDH)
Rory Mungoven, Global Advocacy Director, Human Rights Watch
Moderator: Ernst Lueber, Acting Secretary-General, ICJ
11:00 – 12:30: United Nations Treaty Body Monitoring
Nigel Rodley, Human Rights Committee
Martin Scheinin, Human Rights Committee
Fernando Mariño Menendez, Committee against Torture
Kurt Herndl, Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Moderator: Christopher Sidoti, Director, International Service for Human Rights
12:30-14:30: Lunch Break
Afternoon
14:30 – 16:30: United Nations Charter-based Mechanisms
Leila Zerrougui, Chairperson-Rapporteur, UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
Theo van Boven, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture
Françoise Hampson, Expert of the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
Ben Majekodunmi, Human Rights Officer, Assistant to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights defenders
16:30 – 17:30: OHCHR and ICRC
Jelena Pejic, Legal Advisor, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
EJ Flynn, Legal Officer, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Moderator: Loubna Freih, Geneva Director, Human Rights Watch
Friday 24 October
Morning: Regional Systems of Monitoring
9:30 – 11:15: European System of Human Rights Protection
Markus Jaeger, Deputy to the Director of the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe
John Hedigan, Judge, European Court of Human Rights
Olivier de Schutter, Professor, UCL, Expert and Co-ordinator of the E.U. Network of Independent Experts in Fundamental Rights
Ambassador Christian Strohal, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in Warsaw – ODIHR
Moderator: Rachel Brett, Representative, Quakers United Nations Office
11:15 – 12:30: Inter-American, African and Arab Regional Systems
Rafael Barrios, Lawyer, Colombia
Ibrahima Kane, Legal Officer for Africa, Interights
Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Lawyer, ICJ
Moderator: Melinda Ching, Representative to the United Nations, Amnesty International
12:30-14:30: Lunch Break
Afternoon: Conclusions and Ways Forward
14:30 – 15:30: Assessment of Universal and Regional Human Rights Monitoring Systems: Limits and Gaps
Federico Andreu, Senior Legal Advisor, ICJ
15:30 – 17:30: Towards an Effective United Nations Mechanism or Procedure of Human Rights Monitoring of Anti-terrorist Measures
Ian Seiderman, Legal Advisor, ICJ
Jean-Daniel Vigny, Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations in Geneva
Juan José Gómez Camacho, Director General for Human Rights, Mexican Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Moderator: Mark Thomson, Secretary-General, Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT)
Papers Presented at Conference:
Thursday Morning [full text, PDF]
Thursday Afternoon [full text, PDF]
Friday Morning [full text, PDF]
Friday Afternoon [full text, PDF]