Challenges of international law in post 9/11 scenario

Challenges of international law in post 9/11 scenario

Introduction

We must be aware that on September 11th, thousands of human beings,innocent civilians, were
brutally deprived of the most fundamental of all humanrights - the right to life - by a very
premeditated act of terror which we shouldconsider as a crime against humanity. It is very
difficult to grasp the reasons of thepeople who are prepared for this kind of crime, but we cannot
achieve security bysacrificing human rights. If we did, we would be handing the terrorists a
victorybeyond all their expectations. On the contrary, a greater respect for human
rights,democracy and social justice, which is well-established and elaborated in mostimportant
international instruments, such as the UN Charter, international covenantson human rights, and
the Geneva Conventions for the protection of war victims,will in the long-term prove the only
effective cure against terror.
Certainly, we must continue our struggle to give everyone in thecontemporary world a reason to
value their own rights and to respect those ofothers. At the same time, we must constantly
confirm and reaffirm the primacy ofthe rule of law and the principle that certain acts are so evil
that no cause whatsoevercan justify their use.

Challenges of international law:

Terrorists increased dispersion, use of nonphysical (virtual) safe havens, and informal
operational and logistical coordination complicate efforts to find and defeat them.
In Iraq, al-Qaida and associated foreign terrorists have made clear that their goal is to build a
Taliban-like state and then expand their battle to neighboring states. In the near future, some of
these terrorists could return to their home countries, exacerbating domestic conflicts or
fomenting radical ideologies.
Terrorists and insurgents are increasingly using media and the Internet to spread propaganda,
rally support, and share experiences, as well as a means to communicate with each other.

Terrorists have openly declared both their desireto develop and intent to employ weapons of
mass destruction against the United States, our partners, and our interests around the world. We
must remain vigilant in our efforts to deny terrorist access to WMD.
We will face the challenge of marshaling all elements of national power and influence,
employing the best efforts of local, State, and Federal governments in full partnership with both
the private sector and our partners abroad.
 Al-Qaida propagandists continue to exploit local grievances to create the sense that the Muslim
world is aggrieved and disrespected. A key challenge remains understanding the motivations of
those who join or support terrorist networks, as well as the incentives and recruitment techniques
employed by terrorists. Only then can we develop effective tools to combat the attractiveness of
their message

Main challenges :

Jurisdiction, responsibility and access to asylum. Against this background, the main challenge
currently facing international protection systems is the definition and effects of the concept of
jurisdiction, as it constitutes the trigger of State responsibility.
This problem plays out in a variety of areas and ways:
1. States are reluctant to accept responsibility for providing international protection when they
engage in extraterritorial action. Mechanisms for border and migration control denying
jurisdiction have multiplied in recent decades,from simply acting on the high seas outside
national territorial waters, to concluding agreements with other countries placing responsibility
on them for the care and protection of asylum seekers.
2. In the EU, the integrated border management system together with the Global Approach to
Migration constitute the main strategies through which migratory flows are administered.
However, while controls are implemented inland as well as abroad, there has been no full
recognition of the extraterritorial applicability of the rights of refugees and migrants. These
measures obstruct access to international protection and entail a high risk of refoulement. The
emergence of new categories of displaced persons poses a challenge to international protection
systems and access to asylum by those concerned. The specific problems of climate refugees
have so far been addressed by the international community in piecemeal fashion. There is,
however, a need for a comprehensive response, looking at the central elements of the problem
and how it intersects with international protection obligations generally. Concerted action at
global level in this and related areas may be obstructed by the lack of a harmonious approach to
refugee protection. In particular, there are states without refugee laws or which have not ratified
any international instruments regarding international protection. Cooperation with these states
should be avoided until they fully comply with international standards. As this includes most of
the States on the southern shores of the Mediterranean, the point is of particular relevance for the
EU, intersecting with the issues of jurisdiction and responsibility. In all these different contexts,
Member States may need to accept that asylum within the EU is the only viable option if
international obligations are to be upheld.

Since 11 September 2001, many hard and soft security strategies have been introduced to
enable more intensive surveillance and control of the movement of `suspect populations'. Suicide
bombings have since generated a step-change in asymmetric threat analysis and public
perceptions of risk. how post-9/11 security issues intersect with existing and emerging
technologies, particularly those relating to identity, location, home, and work that will form the
backbone of the European Information Society. The article explores the complexities generated
by the way that these technologies work, sites of nationalist resistance, and formal bureaucratic
roles. Many of the planned surveillance methods and technologies are convergence technologies
aiming to bring together new and existing data sources, but are unable to do so because of poor
data quality and the difficulty of using the integrated data to reduce serious crime risks. The
delay may enable legal compliance models to be developed in order to protect the principles of
privacy that are set out in the ECHR and the EC Data Protection Directive. Though (moral)
panics produce changes in law, the article emphasizes the constraining effects of law.

Conclusion

In light of these difficulties, we formulate several recommendations, including a number of

concrete proposals for the European Parliament, as ways to solve the problems of access to
asylum and coherence between internal and external action:

In the design and administration of Regional Protection Programmes the necessities and
capacities of the targeted states hosting large refugee populations should be taken into account in
a spirit of shared responsibility. Channels for direct consultation could be opened by the
European Parliament, e.g. through parliamentary delegation visits.

Resettlement programme during the next round of consultations for resettlement priorities or
once the European Commission launches its Proposal on how to improve the EU Resettlement
Programme in 2014. In particular, the activation of the program vis--vis Syrian refugees would
enhance the credibility of the EUs joint response to the ongoing conflict in Syria.