o The failure to ensure access to legal advice from the time of detention;
o The failure to protect the special rights of children in the administration of antiterrorism legislation;
o The targeting of minority groups solely on the basis of ethnic or national origin or
religious or political persuasion;
o The failure to assure a proper process for determining refugee status for all asylum
seekers;
o Extrajudicial killings, such as in ‘fake encounters’;
o The grant of impunity for gross violations of human rights by, for example, law
enforcement officers or members of the military;
o Overly expansive and vague definitions of terrorism in national laws which risk
restricting rights such as freedom of speech, expression and association;
o The introduction of draconian measures targeted to counter terrorism when existing
laws are adequate for the purpose;
o The misuse of anti-terrorism legislation to stifle legitimate political dissent and other
fundamental freedoms;
o The failure to provide adequate safeguards in anti-terrorism legislation to prevent
their misuse;
o The promulgation of counter-terrorism measures by executive decree without
adequate parliamentary scrutiny;
o The erosion of rights to due process, including the presumption of innocence; and
o The proliferation of special tribunals to deal with terrorism offences, thereby
undermining the right to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial
tribunal.
• The Advisory Council recommends that immediate steps be taken by all relevant
authorities to ensure that these unacceptable practices cease forthwith.
• National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) should be conscious of the above matters in
the performance of their functions, including complaint handling and monitoring of human
rights performance within their jurisdiction.
• NHRIs should report on a regular basis to the Office of the Commissioner for Human
Rights on the extent to which the content and administration of counter-terrorism
measures fail to comply with international human rights law.
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