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Advocacy Blog
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Council of Europe Disapproves of Terrorism Blacklist Standards
The Washington Post has addressed a Council of Europe report, Europe's leading human rights watchdog organization, approved by their Legal Affairs Committee criticizing the way the United Nations and the European Union blacklist terrorist suspects. The report states that the method used to sanction individuals and organizations does not include any "procedures for an independent review of decisions taken, and for compensation for infringements of rights. Such a procedure is totally arbitrary and has no credibility whatsoever." The committee recommends that those who are sanctioned be allowed a fair trial with the ability to see the evidence against them, within a reasonable time and compensation for wrongful designation as a terrorist. Just as in the United States, cases are being taken to court, but the problems with the underlying regulations and laws have not been addressed.
The council's actions serve as recommendations to members of the 27-nation European Union. Approximately 370 individuals and 60 organizations worldwide have been blacklisted by the U.N. Security Council or the European Union, the investigation found. In addition to the freeze on their finances and the prohibition on travel, they have little recourse for getting delisted, according to Dick Marty, a Swiss legislator who led the investigation. . . . "The person or group concerned is usually neither informed of the request, nor given the possibility to be heard, nor even necessarily informed about the decision taken -- until he or she first attempts to cross a border or use a bank account."
Posted by Amanda Adams
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