Despite a broad international consensus that the promotion and protection of international human rights, including rights enumerated under humanitarian and refugee law, is not only the legal and moral obligation of states, but also an essential pillar in the international counter-terrorism framework, the effective promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms remains a critical challenge. In its efforts to address this challenge since 2001, the international community has made substantial and necessary progress in integrating human rights with counter-terrorism measures, as reflected in the fourth pillar of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, and due in large part to the sustained efforts of the Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and other UN bodies. This progress includes the development of best practices in countering terrorism and in intelligence cooperation, recommended by the Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism.
To contribute to the international progress underway toward developing a more coherent, effective, and sustainable approach to counter-terrorism and promoting the key pillar of human rights, this whitepaper assesses the impact of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on the rights of member state citizens and the international human rights framework. It also advances a number of concrete policy and practice recommendations directed to the SCO and its member states, as well as to UN bodies and national governments.
This whitepaper argues that the SCO approach to counter-terrorism, modeled on China’s Three Evils doctrine, and highlighting principles of territorial integrity, non-interference in internal affairs, and social stability, contributes to supporting repressive regimes at the expense of national, regional, and global human rights. The international community, and the UN in particular as it deepens and expands its engagement with the SCO, must address in a more effective and coherent manner the human rights risks posed by each SCO member state and by the collective SCO framework, policies, and practices.
Each of the six SCO member states has individually ratified or signed core international human rights treaties, committing themselves to obligations for national implementation of human rights under international law. As parties to these important instruments, each SCO member state must undergo regular periodic assessment of its progress implementing treaty-based human rights obligations. However, this whitepaper’s examination of the observations of and conclusions drawn by the various human rights assessment bodies and mechanisms reveals wide-ranging human rights abuses in every member state, including what appears to be a systematic targeting of disadvantaged groups, including rural and ethnic groups.
Specifically, these international expert reviews reveal stark patterns of abuses common to all SCO member states, including the use of politically-motivated judicial and administrative procedures that lack minimum due process requirements, such as the right of accused individuals to legal representation; systematic arbitrary arrests and detentions; the practice of torture and other unlawful treatment to extract confessions or gather evidence in criminal investigations, and the forced extradition of individuals to states likely to inflict such treatment upon an individual’s return; the practice of enforced or involuntary disappearances; and the occurrence of summary and arbitrary executions without minimum due process requirements.
The SCO, however, has a unique and unparalleled opportunity to exercise regional leadership in advancing compliance with international human rights obligations – both in its own efforts and by its individual member states. As a regional body with rapidly growing influence at the national, regional, and international levels, it is up to the SCO to lead by example, and to demonstrate the positive impact that integration of human rights protections will have on the effectiveness of counter-terrorism measures and on the lives of member state citizens. Human Rights in China urges the SCO and its member states to seize this opportunity.
At the same time, as the UN and individual governments move forward to deepen their cooperation with the SCO, they must also take concrete steps to ensure that any cooperation modalities – including technical assistance, training initiatives, and joint exercises – integrate adequate human rights benchmarks, indicators, and accountability mechanisms. Instead of uncritically contributing to strengthening a regional approach that is undermining international human rights – and ignoring the serious ongoing human rights problems in each SCO member state – international cooperation with the SCO must address these human rights challenges. Failure of the international community to demand accountability from regional frameworks such as the SCO will only compromise the effectiveness and integrity of the international system in countering terrorism and advancing rule of law, peace, and security.
At stake are the peace and security of the region, the human rights of over 1.5 billion people, and the credibility and effectiveness of the international counter-terrorism framework.
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