Archbishop calls denial of human rights wrong way to fight terrorism

Published: 2006-10-17

UNITED NATIONS (CNS) -- "Counterterrorism strategy must not sacrifice fundamental human rights in the name of security," the Vatican's ambassador to the United Nations said Oct. 16. The ambassador, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, spoke at a U.N. committee session deliberating on a proposed Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. "It is fundamental to affirm from the very outset that effective counterterrorism measures and the protection of human rights are not conflicting goals," he said. "Indeed the former must serve the latter, because the protection of human rights is the primary objective of any counterterrorism strategy. The absolute unacceptability of terrorism lies precisely in the fact that it uses innocent people as means to obtain its ends, thus showing contempt and utter disregard for human life and dignity." When states fail to protect human rights it only diminishes their own moral standing and lets terrorists "dignify in the eyes of some the grievances" that the terrorists cite to "justify their aberrant behavior," Archbishop Migliore said.

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