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Human Dignity, Human Security, Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism

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Human Dignity and Human Security in Times of Terrorism

Abstract

At least participants of the human rights discourse intuitively tend to think about human dignity when hearing the word ‘dignity ’, but about national or public security when hearing a reference to ‘security’. Thereby dignity tends to have a positive connotation in human rights circles, while security may primarily be seen as a threat to the full enjoyment of human rights . A closer look into the two notions will, however, reveal that both dignity and security will require a nuanced treatment when addressed in a human rights perspective. In this brief chapter it is suggested that a human rights approach to combating terrorism emphasises both human dignity and human security as the proper way to frame the discourse. The chapter will address these two concepts and discuss their relevance in the fight against terrorism , ending by linking the two notions also to the definition of terrorism . Here, the author relies upon Immanuel Kant’s appeal to reason and his formulation of the categorical imperative as a maxim that any rational person must never treat another human being as mere means but always also as an end.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) refers to the “inherent dignity […] of all members of the human family” and to “the dignity and worth of the human person”. Article 1 declares that all human beings “are born free and equal in dignity and rights”, while Article 22 guarantees economic, social and cultural rights “indispensable for his dignity ” and Article 23 on the right to work promises remuneration that ensures “an existence worthy of human dignity ”. UN General Assembly (1948) Universal Declaration of Human Rights , UN Doc. A/RES/217 (III), Preamble and Articles 1, 22 and 23.

  2. 2.

    The Preambles of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) repeat verbatim the above-quoted references to dignity in the UDHR Preamble. Further, Article 10(1) of the ICCPR prescribes that all persons deprived of their liberty “shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person” while Article 13(1) of the ICESCR requires that education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality “and the sense of its dignity ”. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, opened for signature 19 December 1966, 999 UNTS 171 (entered into force 23 March 1976) (ICCPR), Preamble and Article 10(1); International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, opened for signature 19 December 1966, 993 UNTS 3 (entered into force 3 January 1976) (ICESCR), Preamble and Article 13(1).

  3. 3.

    Notably, the European Convention on Human Rights does not contain references to human dignity . See European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, opened for signature 4 November 1950, ETS 5 (entered into force 3 September 1953). In contrast, the Preamble of the EU Charter refers to “human dignity ” and, quite remarkably, the status of human dignity was elevated in the drafting process so that Article 1 carries the title “Human dignity” and opens the whole Charter with the phrase “Human dignity is inviolable”, replicating Article 1 of the 1949 German Constitution. There is also a reference to dignity in Article 31 on conditions of work. Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union , proclaimed 12 December 2007, 326 OJ C 391 (entered into force 1 December 2009), Articles 1 and 31.

  4. 4.

    CCPR, Manuel Wackenheim v France, Views, 15 July 2002, Communication No. 854/1999 (Wackenheim).

  5. 5.

    Ibid., para 3.

  6. 6.

    Ibid., paras 2.5 and 2.6.

  7. 7.

    Ibid., para 7.4.

  8. 8.

    See CCPR, Ilmari Länsman et al. v Finland, Views, 26 October 1994, Communication No. 511/1992 (Ilmari Länsman), para 9.4: “[a] State may understandably wish to encourage development or allow economic activity by enterprises. The scope of its freedom to do so is not to be assessed by reference to a margin of appreciation , but by reference to the obligations it has undertaken in article 27”.

  9. 9.

    This reading of the Committee’s Views gets support from an obiter dictum in Wackenheim, above n 4, para 7.5: “[t]he Committee is aware of the fact that there are other activities which are not banned but which might possibly be banned on the basis of grounds similar to those which justify the ban on dwarf tossing.” This statement can be read as an affirmation of the position that the protection of human dignity sometimes justifies paternalistic measures that trump the autonomy of the person.

  10. 10.

    In 1934 more than a million Nazi officials swore an oath of loyalty to Hitler. On that occasion Rudolf Hess gave a speech over the radio where he referred to a Reich led by men who desire, instead of merely peace, “peace in dignity and honour”. See Calvin College German Propaganda Archive (1998) The Oath to Adolf Hitler. https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/hess1.htm. Accessed 22 July 2019.

  11. 11.

    In a 1942 speech to the Chamber of Fasci and Corporations Mussolini proclaimed that Italians carried the greatest portion of the blood of the ancient Romans and invoked the notions of duty, honour and dignity . See Ibiblio (1997) Benito Mussolini, Premier of Italy Speech to the Chamber of Fasci and Corporations. http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1942/421202a.html. Accessed 22 July 2019.

  12. 12.

    In June 2017 Donald Trump signed an Executive Order concerning poorly paid apprenticeship programmes and legitimised it as a celebration of the “dignity of work”. See Fortune (2017) President Trump Signs Executive Order to Double Funds for Apprenticeships. http://fortune.com/2017/06/15/donald-trump-executive-order-apprenticeship-programs/. Accessed 22 July 2019.

  13. 13.

    In May 2018, upon swearing the prime-ministerial oath of office for his fourth consecutive term, Orbán said: “[w]e must have the confidence and dignity of a country which knows that the Hungarians have given more to the world than they have taken from it.” See Visegrad Post (2018) Viktor Orbán’s full speech for the beginning of his fourth mandate. https://visegradpost.com/en/2018/05/12/viktor-orbans-full-speech-for-the-beginning-of-his-fourth-mandate/. Accessed 22 July 2019. In fairness, it should be emphasised that even the notion of ‘human dignity ’ is open to abuse, if for instance an authoritarian leader seeks to qualify the concept with problematic connotations. In another speech in the same month (May 2018) Orbán said: “[w]e are building a Christian democracy […]. An old-style Christian democracy rooted in European traditions, where human dignity is paramount and there is a separation of powers. […] We will defend Christian culture and will not surrender the country to aliens.” See Reuters (2018) Hungary PM Orban vows tougher laws on migration, names new deputy PMs. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hungary-government-orban/hungary-pm-orban-vows-tougher-laws-on-migration-names-new-deputy-pms-idUSKBN1I50GP. Accessed 22 July 2019.

  14. 14.

    See Sajó 2004, 2011.

  15. 15.

    UN General Assembly (1948) Universal Declaration of Human Rights , UN Doc. A/RES/217 (III), Article 3: “[e]veryone has the right to life , liberty and security of person”; Article 22: “[e]veryone, as a member of society, has the right to social security […]”, specified in Article 25 as “the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control .”

  16. 16.

    In the ICESCR, above n 2, security appears both as a right and as a justification for restrictions on rights. See Articles 9 and 10 (the right to social security) versus Article 8 (national security as a legitimation for restrictions on trade union rights). Likewise, ICCPR, above n 2, Article 9 enshrines “the right to liberty and security of person” which has given rise to some limited case law (e.g. CCPR, William Eduardo Delgado Páez v Colombia, Views, 12 July 1990, Communication No. 195/1985), whereas national security appears as a basis for permissible restrictions of the rights guaranteed in Articles 12, 13, 14, 19, 21 and 22.

  17. 17.

    As an example from my own work as UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism , reference is made to the 2009 report on the right to privacy in the counter-terrorism context where an effort towards an analytically rigorous test for permissible limitations was developed. See UN General Assembly (2009) Human Rights Council: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism , Martin Scheinin, UN Doc. A/HRC/13/37, paras 14–19.

  18. 18.

    Some years earlier, the notion of human security gained public awareness thanks to an initiative introduced by the Japanese government, a Commission on Human Security , co-chaired by Sadako Ogata and Amartya Sen. Their report Human Security Now (Commission on Human Security 2003) introduces, on page 5, the notion as follows:

    In a world of growing interdependence and transnational issues, reverting to unilateralism and a narrow interpretation of state security cannot be the answer. The United Nations stands as the best and only option available to preserve international peace and stability as well as to protect people, regardless of race, religion, gender or political opinion. The issue is how to make the United Nations and other regional security organizations more effective in preventing and controlling threats and protecting people, and how to complement state security with human security at the community, national and international levels.

  19. 19.

    UN General Assembly (2005) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 16 September 2005, UN Doc. A/RES/60/1, para 143.

  20. 20.

    The paragraph goes on to sub-paragraph h, with much emphasis on national sovereignty. UN General Assembly (2012) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 10 September 2012, UN Doc. A/RES/66/290, para 3. See, also, UN General Assembly (2012) Follow-up to General Assembly resolution 64/291 on human security : Report of the Secretary-General, UN Doc. A/66/763 (2012), para 36 where a list of twelve elements of the concept is presented.

  21. 21.

    Plan of Action in UN General Assembly (2006) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 8 September 2006, UN Doc. A/RES/60/288, Annex, Section I, para 1.

  22. 22.

    UN General Assembly (2010) Human Rights Council: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism , Martin Scheinin. Ten areas of best practices in countering terrorism , UN Doc. A/HRC/16/51, Best Practice No. 7:

    Terrorism means an action or attempted action where: 1. The action: (a) Constituted the intentional taking of hostages ; or (b) Is intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to one or more members of the general population or segments of it; or (c) Involved lethal or serious physical violence against one or more members of the general population or segments of it; and 2. The action is done or attempted with the intention of: (a) Provoking a state of terror in the general public or a segment of it; or (b) Compelling a Government or international organization to do or abstain from doing something; and 3. The action corresponds to: (a) The definition of a serious offence in national law, enacted for the purpose of complying with international conventions and protocols relating to terrorism or with resolutions of the Security Council relating to terrorism ; or (b) All elements of a serious crime defined by national law.

  23. 23.

    “For all rational beings come under the law that each of them must treat itself and all others never merely as means, but in every case at the same time as ends in themselves.” Kant 1987, p 62 (emphasis in original).

  24. 24.

    This element of “compelling” a Government or an international organisation into doing something or refraining from something is one of the two alternative intent elements of many existing definitions of terrorism .

  25. 25.

    This element of “terrorising”, in turn, is the second alternative intent element in many good definitions of terrorism .

  26. 26.

    Reference is made to the (redacted version of the) Report of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on the Central Intelligence Agency's Detention and Interrogation Program (Senate Select Committee on Intelligence 2014) and to my blog post (Scheinin 2014) where I as a particularly shocking example cited from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Report, page 46 a cable from one of the CIA secret detention sites to CIA headquarters where the administrators of the torture clinically reported:

    Our goal was to reach the stage where we have broken any will or ability of subject to resist or deny providing us information (intelligence ) to which he had access. We additionally sought to bring subject to the point that we confidently assess that he does not/not possess undisclosed threat information, or intelligence that could prevent a terrorist event.

  27. 27.

    This is the same logic as was applied in the seventeenth century witch hunts in Europe: suspected witches were treated as means, because by torturing them one would obtain new names of possible witches so that the vicious circle of torture and executions could continue. For a contemporaneous critique of the witch hunts, see von Langenfeld 2003.

  28. 28.

    I have made earlier the point that for this reason the post-9/11 backlash in human rights protections was not only a negation of the achievements of the UDHR era but an effort to turn back the clock by 200 years, to pre-Kantian times. See Scheinin 2018, p 595.

  29. 29.

    As one source, reference is made to the Global Terrorism Index according to which deaths from terrorism have tripled from 2001 (the year of 9/11) to almost 19,000 deaths in 2017 (showing a clear decline since the worst year 2014 when there were about 33,000 deaths). In 2017, 69% of the deaths occurred in five countries (Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria). See Institute for Economics & Peace 2018.

References

Articles, Books and Other Documents

Case Law

  • CCPR, William Eduardo Delgado Páez v Colombia, Views, 12 July 1990, Communication No. 195/1985

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  • CCPR, Ilmari Länsman et al. v Finland, Views, 26 October 1994, Communication No. 511/1992

    Google Scholar 

  • CCPR, Manuel Wackenheim v France, Views, 15 July 2002, Communication No. 854/1999

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Treaties

  • Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union , proclaimed 12 December 2007, 326 OJ C 391 (entered into force 1 December 2009)

    Google Scholar 

  • European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, opened for signature 4 November 1950, ETS 5 (entered into force 3 September 1953)

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  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, opened for signature 19 December 1966, 999 UNTS 171 (entered into force 23 March 1976)

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  • International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, opened for signature 19 December 1966, 993 UNTS 3 (entered into force 3 January 1976)

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  1. European University Institute, Florence, Italy

    Martin Scheinin

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Correspondence to Martin Scheinin .

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  1. Research Department, T.M.C. Asser Instituut, The Hague, The Netherlands

    Christophe Paulussen

  2. Department of Law, European University Institute, Florence, Italy

    Martin Scheinin

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Scheinin, M. (2020). Human Dignity, Human Security, Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism. In: Paulussen, C., Scheinin, M. (eds) Human Dignity and Human Security in Times of Terrorism. T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-355-9_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-355-9_2

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