Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin Delivers Press Conference at the United Nations in New York on the Impact of Counter-Terrorism on Civil Society

Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, in her role as UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, held a press conference at the United Nations this week to report on her findings of that "systematic violations of international law from countering terrorism measures across every region unrelentingly undermine human rights and the rule of law across the globe."

Based on the findings of her recent global study on the impact of counter-terrorism on civil society,  Ní Aoláin established that civil society actors were the consistent targets of abusive counter-terrorism practices. Her report found relentless human rights violations premised on security rhetoric with no meaningful national or international accountability and oversight in place.

Ní Aoláin presented evidence of the systematic misuse of counter-terrorism measures. “The impact of counter-terrorism measures and practices is not singular but layered and multifaceted and is most keenly felt by historically marginalized groups, including ethnic and religious minorities,” she said.