[26/04/07 18:30] On 26 April, Thomas Hammarberg addressed a Council of Europe international conference on the fight against terrorism. An initiative of the Council of Europe Committee of Experts on Terrorism (CODEXTER), the conference brought together experts from member and observer states as well as representatives of NGOs, academia and international organisations.
"Nothing can justify or excuse acts of terrorism. These crimes shall never be trivialized or explained away, they have to be condemned strongly," the Commissioner said in his introduction. "Unfortunately, the protection of human rights has been presented as an obstacle to an effective work against terrorism. This has been a gigantic mistake, the damage of which is still hurting on a global level. […] Marginalization, misery and other human rights deficits seem to breed an atmosphere in which extremist leaders can recruit young people for violent actions," the Commissioner said.
