Linked with ‘UN Special Rapporteur Martin Scheinin says … ‘, with E.U. NETWORK OF INDEPENDENT EXPERTS ON FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS, and with the Institute for Human Rights, ABO Academi University.
Martin Scheinin is Dr. iuris, Professor of Constitutional and International Law, Director of the Institute for Human Rights, ABO Academi University.
He says: ”It is quite clear that in very many countries the notion of terrorism is being used for political purposes to stigmatize political opponents and this takes many forms; one form is that there are isolated individual acts of terrorism by some groups or some individuals, but the government uses it then to dub broad groupings, broad political movements, broad ethnic groups as terrorists without any foundations. That is one form, and the other is when a government is simply trying to get away with the persecution of its opponents by calling them terrorists, even though never there was any single act of terrorism. Those two cases refer to the overly broad use of the notion of terrorism ». (full long interview).
Martin Scheinin – Finland
listen to a 4.28 min BBC radio-interview on Craig Murray’s blog.
Watch the following videos:
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism (E/CN.4/2006/98) – Geneva’, 11.37 min., Sept. 25, 2006.
Answers by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism – Geneva, 7.47 min., Sept. 26, 2006;
Press Conference – Mr. Martin Scheinin, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, 36.36 min., Oct. 25, 2006;
Human Rights Council, fourth session, Geneva, 9.02 min., 12- 30 March 2007.
In 2006, Professor Martin Scheinin, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, submitted his study on Australia’s counter-terrorism laws and practices. He expressed grave concern on numerous human rights fronts, including Australia’s lack of domestic human rights legislation, the power of Australian authorities to indefinitely detain non-citizens, and what the UN Special Rapporteur identified as several “actual and potential human rights violations within Australia’s counter-terrorism regime” … . (full text).
Martin Scheinin, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights and Counter Terrorism, said in a 12 March statement that « many provisions of the Human Security Act are not in accordance with international human rights standards ». He then urged the Philippine government to amend, if not repeal, the law … (full text).
Research topics: Domestic implementation of international human rights treaties, comparative constitutional law, international monitoring mechanisms for human rights treaties, indigenous and minority rights, justiciability of economic and social rights, human rights, rule of law and the fight against terrorism, the relationship between public international law and human rights law. Ongoing research undertakings:
- – Steering Committee member of the research project Implementing a Human Rights Based Approach to Development (2006-2009);
- – Responsible project leader of the research project Human-Rights-Based Approach to Disability in Development: Interplay of Disability-Sensitive Development Cooperation and National Policy in Uganda (2007-2010);
- – Leader of the national Graduate School in Human Rights Research and the Nordic School of Human Rights Research;
- – Responsible project leader of the research project Constitutional Issues of the International Community-Hierarchy of Norms in Public International Law (2004-2007). Individual research on the theme Towards a World Court of Human Rights;
- – Member of the research project team Legitimacy and Ethics: The Individual, the Community and the Rule of Law (2005-2008);
- – Coordinator of COST A28 Working Group IV, dealing with preventive and reactive dimensions of international human rights monitoring (the high commissioners of intergovernmental organizations, use of indicators in human rights monitoring, protection and promotion of human rights while countering terrorism, etc.).
(full text).
This month Israel extended an official invitation to Martin Scheinin, the UN Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur for Human Rights, to visit the country … , July 25, 2007. (full text).
Read: REPORT ON THE SITUATION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN FINLAND IN 2004, submitted to the Network by Professor Martin SCHEININ, 97 pdf-pages, on 3 January 2005.
In July 2005, professor Martin Scheinin, Director of the Institute for Human Rights at Åbo Akademi University, was appointed Special Rapporteur of the UN Commission on Human Rights on the protection of human rights while countering terrorism. The mandate for the position is three years. In April – June 2006, the newly established UN Human Rights Council replaced the Commission and assumed its Special Rapporteurs and other mechanisms. The primary tasks of the Special Rapporteur are to make recommendations and give advice to states on the protection and promotion of human rights while countering terrorism, and to gather information about possible violations of human rights, for instance, through country visits. The Special Rapporteur must also promote best practices, report regularly to the Commission on Human Rights (now Human Rights Council) and the UN General Assembly, and act in close cooperation with the other human rights mechanisms and relevant UN bodies … (full text).
His reports as Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism.
Read: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS ON VISIT TO UNITED STATES BY UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS WHILE COUNTERING TERRORISM, Published on Ţo Akademi University, Finland, May 2007.
Read the same text on UNHCHR, May 29, 2007.
His publications:
on Google BETA scholar search;
on Google BETA book-search;
on Google BETA blog-search;
on ULB (University libre de Bruxelles);
on Ţo Akademi University, Finland;
on Odysseus Network;
on stu.edu/IMGFCK/;
as special rapporteur on OHCHR.
Il dit: « Al-Qaeda n’est qu’une métaphore … Il n’existe pas d’accord sur une définition intégrale, universelle du terrorisme ; par contre, il existe de nombreuses conventions internationales contre des formes spécifiques de terrorisme et on peut donc résumer les définitions actuelles de formes particulières de terrorisme pour en élaborer une conception générale et internationale ». (full text).
links:
ESCR net, secondary literature.