When terrorists attacked the staff of the Charlie Hebdo magazine, their intentions were clear.
They wanted to extinguish an established European tradition of free-expression.
They wanted their deadly violence, employed in the service of a bankrupt and backward ideology, to weaken confidence in our values and our way of life.
The murderers may have hoped too, that our communities would erupt in a spasm of anti-Muslim discord, leading to an explosion in Islamophobic vengeance.
As such, the march of world leaders in Paris, which I joined one year ago, was more than just an international demonstration of solidarity with the French people, or even, a validation of the journalist’s right to work free of harassment.
It was a robust defence of our multi-ethnic, multi-faith societies and a symbol of our willingness to confront those who would use bombs and bullets to stymie dialogue and roll back progress.
A common front with the victims of terror everywhere, was also cemented.
The march was indisputable evidence of our determination to show to the armed fanatics that they will not succeed.
This commitment, when underpinned by human rights standards, leaves us better placed to hold our societies together and resist the siren call of extremism.
It is vital that governments and institutions remain accountable for their actions. Counter-terrorism should not corrode our democratic systems, leading us to rein-in expectations and sacrifice our freedoms.
The Council of Europe’s monitoring of states’ human rights obligations and more specifically its guidelines against ‘foreign fighters,’ its work on preventing prison radicalisation and its inter-cultural proposals for living better together, are governed by such an approach.
It is our view that terrorism can be defeated by European democracies which are free, fair and dedicated to the rule of law.
Nevertheless, the November massacres in Paris, show that the terrorist challenge to democracy has only increased since last January’s attacks at the premises of the Charlie Hebdo magazine and the Jewish supermarket.
That is why our response must be resolute. It has to be relentless and it should be anchored by human rights first-principles.
