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 Constitution. 4.6 The Commission from time to time has reiterated that terrorism creates an environment that destroys the right of people to live in freedom from fear. Terrorism’s goal is to destroy 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 fought against terrorism for over fifty years and has learnt a great deal from its successes and failures. The endeavour of the Commission is to call on the international community to co-operate in combating terrorism. At the same time, the Commission has always emphasized that in doing so, the approach should be humane, rational and secular. 4.7 The Commission has always taken up the cause of the victims of acts of terrorism and has taken steps for providing relief and rehabilitation to them. It is the firm view of the Commission that though the terrorism threats we are facing now are of an unprecedented scale, since the rationale of anti-terrorism measures is to protect human rights and democracy, counter-terrorism measures should not subvert these values through violation of human rights in contravention to the rule of law. While fighting the war against terrorism, the State cannot be permitted to be either selective in its approach or go overboard and declare a war on the civil liberties of the people. B. Custodial Violence and Torture 4.8 Custodial violence of different kinds including torture represents the worst form of excesses by public servants entrusted with the duty of law enforcement. The Commission regards crimes like rape, molestation, torture, fake encounter in police custody as manifestations of a systemic failure to protect human rights. Therefore, it is deeply committed to ensure that such illegal practices are stopped and human dignity is respected in all cases. Besides recommending compensation to the victims or next of their kin, the Commission’s efforts are also geared towards bringing an end to an environment in which human rights violations are committed with impunity under the shield of “uniform” and “authority” within the four walls of a police station, lock-up and prison, where the victims are helpless. 4.9 The Commission has issued various guidelines in this regard. One of such guidelines is that a death in custody has to be reported to the Commission within 24 hours. Though all custodial deaths may not be crimes or the results of custodial violence or medical negligence, it is important that no assumption is made without thorough enquiry and analysis of reports like inquest report, post mortem repost, initial health screening report, magisterial enquiry 28 National Human Right Commission Annual Report - 2014-2015