The Attack on the World Trade Centre

Posted by Prof. Kenneth Counter on October 20, 2001 at 12:18:39:

There are some situations in which it has already been necessary for us to consider the role of the state where members of it have acted in a particular way, an example being the principle that where a person has a well-founded fear of persecution in his own state at the hands of someone other than the state itself he is entitled to international protection under the UN Refugee Convention if the state in question knowingly tolerates what is going on or, alternatively, is either unable or unwilling to afford him effective protection against it.

I should like to open up a discussion on the parallel principle to which acts of external terorrism potentially give rise.

Of course, this requires at the least a move from "There is international protection where the state fails to protect effectively against internal terrorism" towards "There is state liability where the state fails effectively to control external terrorism", but the extraterritoriality of which for example domestic human rights legislation is capable is a pointer toward overcoming the problems of the "external" component in the formula we need: standards can be made to "bite" when intrinsically more mandatory than, if less international than, a mere "Declaration".

At the same time, the refugee situation created in Afghanistan itself essentially by the intransigence of a regime could itself in common with others like it be turned about face to an accusation of the regime and not merely a critique of its failure to afford protection, and needs to be so regarded.

These brief initial observations are by way of a comment on messages already posted, but might also form the basis of further discussion on a slightly different basis.

Responses:

1. Re: The Attack on the World Trade Centre lotte postma 03/06/02 (0)
2. Re: The Attack on the World Trade Centre sawan 01/02/02 (0)

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