07/09/2011 Legal Affairs and Human Rights
There is no need for a "trade-off" between protecting human rights and effective counter-terrorist action, according to PACE’s Committee on Legal Affairs, as safeguards exist in human rights law itself.
Adopting a draft resolution based on a report by Lord John E. Tomlinson (United Kingdom, SOC), the committee reminded States Parties to the European Convention on Human Rights that they are duty-bound to secure within their jurisdiction the rights and freedoms guaranteed therein.
In particular, the committee underlined, “they shall ensure that no exception whatsoever is made to the non-derogable rights to life and to the prohibition of torture”. The text will be debated during the Assembly’s next plenary session in Strabourg (3-7 October 2011).