Terrorism and Human Rights

A/RES/76/169View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 74b Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, published in 2021.

What other versions does this mandate have?

10 versions · 2018–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/213

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/80/213	Terrorism and human rights	3,513	28%Compare
2024	A/HRC/RES/57/11	Terrorism and human rights	4,082	28%Compare
2023	A/RES/78/210	Terrorism and human rights	3,499	28%Compare
2022	A/HRC/RES/51/24	Terrorism and human rights	4,059	28%Compare
2022	A/RES/76/169	Terrorism and human rights	3,488	53%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

4 reports · 2019–2025

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2025	A/80/380	Terrorism and human rights report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/78/210
2023	A/78/269	Terrorism and human rights report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/76/169
2021	A/76/273	Terrorism and human rights report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/74/147
2019	A/74/270	Protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/73/174

What subjects does this mandate have?

2 subjects

Counter-Terrorism Human Rights

What’s in this document?

38 operative paragraphs

Strongly condemns all terrorist acts as criminal and unjustifiable, and expresses grave concern at their detrimental effects on the enjoyment of all human rights;

Reaffirms that States must ensure that any measure taken to combat terrorism complies with their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law;

Expresses concern that terrorists and terrorist groups have targeted communities and individuals, as well as Governments, including on the basis of religion or belief and/or ethnicity;

Stresses the responsibility of States to protect persons in their territory against such acts, in full compliance with their obligations under international law, and in particular international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law;

Expresses serious concern at the violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms and of international refugee law and international humanitarian law in the context of countering terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism;

Reaffirms the obligation of States, in accordance with article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to respect certain rights as non-derogable under any circumstances, recalls, in regard to all other Covenant rights, that any measures derogating from the provisions of the Covenant must be in accordance with that article in all cases, underlines the exceptional and temporary nature of any such derogations, and in this regard calls upon States to raise awareness about the importance of these obligations among national authorities involved in combating terrorism;

Reaffirms its commitment to the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and a balanced and integrated implementation of its four pillars, as adopted in its resolution 60/288, and at its seventh review, and recognizes the need to redouble efforts for even attention paid to and even implementation of all the pillars of the strategy;

Reaffirms its profound solidarity with the victims of terrorism and their families, acknowledges the importance of protecting their rights and providing them with proper support, assistance and rehabilitation while taking into account, when appropriate, considerations regarding remembrance, dignity, respect, justice and truth in such a way that promotes accountability and ends impunity, and encourages the enhancement of international cooperation and the exchange of expertise in that respect, in accordance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations;

Stresses the importance of ensuring access to justice and accountability, and calls upon States to ensure that any person who alleges that his or her human rights or fundamental freedoms have been violated by measures taken or means employed to counter terrorism or violent extremism conducive to terrorism has access to justice, due process and an effective remedy, and that victims of human rights violations and abuses receive adequate, effective and prompt remedy and reparations, which should include, as appropriate, restitution, compensation, rehabilitation and guarantees of non-repetition as a fundamental basis of any strategy to counter terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism;

Also stresses the importance of developing and maintaining effective, fair, humane, transparent and accountable criminal justice systems in a manner that fully respects the rights to equality and non-discrimination in the administration of justice, to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal, to a review of detention and to the presumption of innocence and other fundamental judicial guarantees, such as due process, in accordance with their obligations under international law, including international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international refugee law;

Urges States to fully comply with their obligations under international law while countering terrorism, in particular international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, with regard to the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;

Also urges States to take all steps necessary to ensure the right of anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge to be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power and the entitlement to trial within a reasonable time or release;

Further urges States to safeguard the work of civil society by ensuring that counter-terrorism laws and measures are consistent with and are applied in a manner that fully respects human rights, particularly the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association;

Urges States to ensure that measures taken to counter terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism are not discriminatory, and not to resort to profiling based on stereotypes founded on ethnic, racial or religious grounds or any other ground of discrimination prohibited by international law;

Also urges States to ensure, in accordance with their obligations under international law and national regulations, and whenever international humanitarian law is applicable, that counter-terrorism legislation and measures do not impede humanitarian and medical activities or engagement with all relevant actors as foreseen by international humanitarian law;

Recognizes the important role of religious leaders and institutions, local communities and community leaders in promoting tolerance and in preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism;

Also recognizes the important role of women in preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism, and requests States to consider, when appropriate, the impact of counter-terrorism strategies on women’s and children’s human rights, and to seek consultations with their respective organizations when developing strategies to counter terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism;

Urges States to ensure that gender equality and non-discrimination are taken into account when shaping, reviewing and implementing all counter-terrorism measures and to promote the full and effective participation of women in these processes;

Also urges States to take measures to ensure that counter-terrorism laws and implementing measures are consistent with and are applied in a manner that fully respects the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the obligations of States under international human rights law, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, with a view to ensuring respect for the principles of legal certainty and legality;

Strongly condemns terrorist acts and all acts of violence committed by terrorist groups, including trafficking in persons, kidnapping and hostage-taking with demands for ransom and/or political concessions, and the continued systematic and widespread abuses of human rights perpetrated by such groups, and calls upon all Member States to prevent terrorists from benefiting from ransom payment and political concessions and to secure the safe release of hostages, in accordance with applicable legal obligations, while noting the initiatives in this regard, including the Algiers Memorandum on Good Practices on Preventing and Denying the Benefits of Kidnapping for Ransom by Terrorists;

Urges States to do all they can, in accordance with their obligations under international law, to prevent any political, material or financial support from reaching terrorist groups, to deny terrorists safe haven, freedom of operation, movement and recruitment and to criminalize the wilful provision or collection by any means, directly or indirectly, of funds by their nationals or in their territories with the intention that the funds be used, or with the knowledge that they are to be used, by terrorist groups for any purpose, and to bring to justice or, where appropriate, extradite the perpetrators of terrorist acts or any person who supports, facilitates or participates, or attempts to participate, in the financing, planning or preparation of terrorist acts;

Calls upon States to refrain from providing support to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts, including support in establishing propaganda platforms advocating hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, including through the Internet and other media, and emphasizes in this regard the key importance of full respect for the right to freedom of opinion and expression as set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

Urges States to adopt rehabilitation and reintegration strategies for returning foreign terrorist fighters, in line with good practices, such as those set out in the Hague-Marrakech Memorandum on Good Practices for a More Effective Response to the Foreign Terrorist Fighter Phenomenon of the Global Counterterrorism Forum, and to adopt a comprehensive approach that includes, inter alia, the development of national centres for counsel and the prevention of radicalization to violence, which can play an important role together with criminal justice responses;

Renews its commitment to strengthening international cooperation to prevent and counter terrorism in accordance with international law, including the Charter, international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including through technical cooperation, capacity-building and the exchange of information and intelligence on countering terrorism, and in that regard calls upon States and relevant regional and subregional organizations, as appropriate, to continue to implement the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and its four pillars;

Strongly encourages relevant United Nations agencies, including those involved in supporting counter-terrorism efforts, to take into account in their technical assistance with regard to counter-terrorism efforts, whenever appropriate, the elements necessary for building national capacity in order to strengthen criminal justice systems and the rule of law and to continue to facilitate the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, due process and the rule of law, while countering terrorism;

Requests all Governments to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism in the performance of her mandated tasks and duties;

Urges States and the international community and encourages civil society to take measures, as appropriate, including through education, awareness-raising, the media and human rights education and training, to promote a culture of peace, justice and human development, ethnic, national and religious tolerance and respect for all religions, religious values, beliefs and cultures and to effectively address the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism and that make individuals and groups more vulnerable to the effects of terrorism and to recruitment by terrorists;

Emphasizes that mutual respect, tolerance, pluralism, inclusion and respect for diversity, dialogue among civilizations and the enhancement of interfaith and intercultural understanding, and combating intolerance, discrimination and hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence on the basis of religion or belief, or any other basis, including at the national, regional or global levels, are among the most important elements in promoting cooperation and success in preventing and combating terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism, and welcomes the various initiatives to that end;

Acknowledges that the active participation of civil society organizations can strengthen ongoing governmental efforts to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism and to assess the impact of terrorism on the enjoyment of all human rights, and calls upon States to ensure that measures to counter terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism and to preserve national security do not hinder the work and safety of such organizations and are in compliance with the obligations of States under international law, in particular international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law;

Urges States to safeguard the right to privacy in accordance with international law, in particular international human rights law, and to take measures to ensure that interference with or restriction of that right are not arbitrary, are adequately regulated by law and are subject to effective oversight and appropriate redress, including through judicial review or other means;

Calls upon Member States to remain alert to the use of information and communications technology for terrorist purposes and to cooperate to prevent and counter violent extremist propaganda and incitement to violence on the Internet and social media, including by developing effective counter-narratives, and to prevent terrorists from recruiting and raising funds online for terrorist purposes, while respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, in compliance with their obligations under international law, and stresses the importance of cooperation with civil society and the private sector in this endeavour;

Expresses its concern at the increasing use, in a globalized society, by terrorists and their supporters, of information and communications technology, in particular the Internet and other media, to advocate, commit, incite, recruit for, fund or plan terrorist acts, urges States to take appropriate preventive measures in this regard while acting in full compliance with their obligations under international law, and reiterates that such technologies can be powerful tools in countering the spread of terrorism, including by promoting tolerance, dialogue among peoples and peace;

Invites all treaty bodies, special procedure mandate holders, international and regional human rights mechanisms and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, within their respective mandates, to pay due attention to the negative impact of terrorism on the enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and on alleged violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism, and to report regularly to the Human Rights Council;

Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism to continue to contribute to the work of the Office of Counter-Terrorism through, inter alia, participation in the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact;

Encourages the Security Council, the Counter-Terrorism Committee and the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate to strengthen, within their mandates, the links, cooperation and dialogue with relevant human rights bodies, giving due regard to the promotion and protection of human rights and the rule of law in their ongoing work relating to counter-terrorism;

Encourages relevant United Nations bodies and entities, in particular those participating in the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact and international, regional and subregional organizations, which provide technical assistance upon request, to step up their efforts to ensure respect for international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, as well as the rule of law, as an element of technical assistance, including in the adoption and implementation of legislative and other measures by States;

Calls upon international, regional and subregional organizations to strengthen information-sharing, coordination and cooperation in promoting the protection of human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law while countering terrorism;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report on the implementation of the present resolution to the Human Rights Council and to the General Assembly at its seventy-eighth session.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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