OSCE/ODIHR trains law-enforcement officers on protecting human rights in countering terrorism

Respect for human rights in counter-terrorism policing was the focus of a training organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on 26 and 27 November 2014 in Warsaw, Poland.

The workshop, which addressed the importance of compliance with human rights standards to effectively counter terrorism, gathered 17 senior law-enforcement officials from eight OSCE participating States, along with experts from the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as ODIHR staff. During the workshop, which combined lectures with individual exercises, participants discussed general principles of counter-terrorism policing, as well as the effect of external pressure on law-enforcement officers when implementing counter-terrorism measures or strategies.

“The OSCE regards human rights as an integral element of security, and considers that efforts to combat terrorism will not succeed if the means to do so are not in conformity with human rights standards,” said Snježana Bokulić, Head of the ODIHR Human Rights Department. “This workshop not only provided participants with valuable technical expertise to assist them in their work, but also served as a platform to share examples and best practices from across the OSCE region.”

During the workshop, the trainers highlighted the negative short- and long-term effects of human rights violations on the effectiveness of counter-terrorism practices.

This workshop was organized as a follow up to the one delivered in co-operation with the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo in July 2014, and forms part of an ODIHR project aimed at developing a training curriculum, a trainers’ manual and a training-of-trainers programme for counter-terrorism officers.