Chapter - 5 CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS A. Terrorism and Militancy 5.1 Today, the world at large and India in particular, is facing daunting challenges in the task of protecting human rights of common people. No country in the world can be said to be free from the deadly scourge of terrorism. With the grim spectre of terrorism continuing to target innocent and defenseless people, the task of protection of human rights has become ever challenging for the institutions around the world. 5.2 A peaceful society rests on the pillars of justice and individual accountability. The concern for justice has been of paramount importance while dealing with the vexing issue of terrorism. In most of the tragedies associated with terrorism, it is mostly the common people, men, women and children, whose rights have been violated. During the year under review too, terrorism continued to raise its head again and again and hundreds of innocent people across the length and breadth of this country became the targets. 5.3 Since there has been an increase in the activities of the terrorists, including the naxalites, the role of security forces has become even more important. They have increasingly been called upon to control civil unrest, enhance security, and also to maintain law and order whenever and wherever required. 5.4 The United Nations General Assembly adopted a Resolution on 17 December 1979 that all security personnel shall respect and protect human dignity and uphold the human rights of all persons. Towards this objective, they are expected to abide by the international conventions against torture and other cruel punishments and the principles of international cooperation in detention, arrest and extraditions. 5.5 The NHRC is of the firm view that proper observance of human rights is not a hindrance to the promotion of peace and security. Rather, it is an essential element in any worthwhile strategy to preserve peace and security and to defeat terrorism. The purpose of anti-terrorism measures must, therefore, be to protect democracy, rule of law and human rights, which are fundamental values of our society and the core values of the Indian Constitution. 5.6 The Commission from time to time has reiterated that terrorism creates an environment with the aim of destroying the right of people to live in freedom. The goal of terrorism is to wipe out the very fabric of democracy. It has today emerged as a serious threat to humanity. India remains an important ally in the global war on terrorism. It has been waging this war for over fi�y years and has learnt a great deal from its successes and failures. The endeavour of the NHRC 83