Iraq war 'feeding' terrorists

Mary Robinson, former UN high commissioner for human rights, has called for a “more coordinated” approach to the war on terror.

She also says there needs to be more “effective” sharing of information among states and a definition of terrorism which is acceptable throughout the world.

Speaking in Brussels, the former Irish president was scathing of the US-led invasion of Iraq, saying President Bush’s policies were possibly “feeding” the very problem they were designed to address.

“I felt at the time that going to war in Iraq was not justified on any grounds. This has been borne out over time. It was also a war which was very badly conceived and carried through," she told the Parliament Magazine.

“This has been very unfortunate for the people of Iraq themselves. I think it will not be resolved until the external forces have been withdrawn and the people of Iraq are able to put together the best system that they can.”

Robinson, who served as high commissioner from 1997 to 2002, said there did not have to be a trade-off between security and civil liberties.

"It is extremely important to counter acts of terror and protect populations but I want to stress that human rights people are not soft on terrorism," she added.

“We are actually aware that events such as 9/11 and the Madrid bombings were terrible violations of human rights.”

Robinson, who now heads “Realising Rights,” a New York-based think tank, believes Bush and other members of coalition forces in Iraq have taken the wrong approach in tackling terror.

“One consequence of proclaiming, as happened, a ‘war on terror’ has been the erosion in the rule of law and protecting human rights," she said.

“This has happened more quickly in the US because if you are at war people accept that certain steps can be taken.”

She was particularly scathing of recent US legislation which she claims will seriously harm the rights of terror suspects and detainees.

The approach taken by the US has possibly “fed” the very problem democracies are trying to address by inadvertently encouraging those who perpetrate acts of terror, she said.

“The war in Iraq has simply complicated the problem.”

She said there was a need to "reach out" to strong allies who understand that the "undermining" of the rule of law is "very dangerous" to democracries.

"It is very striking that the American Bar Association and leading lawyers throughout the world are becoming very strong advocates of the need to reassert the rule of law and protection of human rights."

She said that security measures, however important and necessary, must be introduced in a "limited" way.

"I am very encouraged by the strength of the lobby now for reasserting rule of law which is fundamental to our democracries."

Robinson was a keynote speaker at the fourth Worldwide Security Conference, jointly organised by the Club of Madrid and the East-West Institute.

Several former heads of state, including Canada’s Kim Campbell, Petre Roman, of Romania, and Norway’s Kjell Magne Bondevik, were among the 200 participants.

• Previous article
• Next article