A UN human rights expert on Monday called on the international community to agree on a precise definition of terrorism to help prevent abuses occurring under the guise of counter-terrorist operations.
The recently-appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the protection of human rights while countering terrorism, Martin Scheinin, said in a report that a wide range of interpretations opened the door to both "deliberate misuse" and "unintended human rights abuses".
"None of the 13 anti-terrorism conventions contain a comprehensive definition of the term 'terrorism'", he added.
The legal grey zone could also lead to trouble with extradition and mutual legal assistance between countries or even to the failure of the international community to deal with some acts of terrorism, the report said.
Scheinin suggested that in the interim countries should adopt threefold criteria for "terrorist offences" outlined in UN Security Council resolution 1566 some two years ago.
They include acts committed with the intention of killing or causing injury and hostage taking, intimidating a population or government in order to "provoke a state of terror", and offences covered by existing terrorism treaties.
Scheinin joined long-standing criticism by human rights groups and UN officials of allegedly growing abuse or torture by governments since the attacks on the United States in September 2001.
"The result is that these calls for and support for counterterrorism measures by the international community may in fact legitimise oppressive regimes and their actions even if they are hostile to human rights," he said.
His report is due to be debated by the annual meeting of the 53 member UN Human Rights Commission, which begins on March 13.
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