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OAS Policy Roundtable Discussed the Rights of Victims of Terrorism

"The Rights of Victims of Terrorism" was the theme of the 63rd Policy Roundtable of the Organization of American States (OAS), held on Monday afternoon at the headquarters of the hemispheric institution in Washington, DC.

The Secretary General of the OAS, José Miguel Insulza, who opened the event, said that terrorism is a serious threat to peace and security in the region, which "puts in jeopardy the rule of law, and even threatens democracy and people’s development." He added that “it is one of the main problems for human rights and fundamental freedoms, as it affects the right to life, liberty, and the physical and mental integrity of direct and indirect victims.”

Secretary General Insulza recalled that the Inter-American Convention Against Terrorism was not approved as a reaction to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 against New York and Washington, DC, but that the approval process began seven years before, following the vicious attack against the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) in Buenos Aires in 1994.

The Secretary General noted that internationally there is no clear guidance on the meaning and scope of the concept of victims of terrorism. "In Europe, there have been increased efforts to make victims visible, mobilizing government sectors and civil society, while in Latin America the various norms still seem closely tied to criminal and procedural rules on the matter, but do not address the consequence of terrorist acts from the perspective of the victims, which we believe is essential," he said. In this regard, he emphasized the leadership role that Spain has played with the adoption in 1999 of the Act of Solidarity with the Victims of Terrorism, up to the current law recognizing victims passed in 2011.

The Permanent Representative of Peru to the OAS, Juan Jimenez, said that one of the problems of reparations in terrorism cases is the difficulty of opening spaces for solutions that include peace and reconciliation. He mentioned as an effective model the creation of truth commissions that establish the status of victims without lengthy litigation, and physical spaces that preserve the memory of the victims and allow for reflection.

On the issue of reparations, Ambassador Jimenez explained that Peru chose both individual and collective indemnization, covering members of the armed forces, police, civilian self-defense committees and civil authorities. "We have a system of individual and collective reparations that allow restoring rights to groups, segments of society that were affected by the violence," he said, adding that they consist of projects that communities themselves choose and that the state finances. "The fact that there is a high level political will to carry out reparations is great news for everyone. We are beginning, it is a complex issue in which agreeing is always the hardest, but there is political will to continue on this issue," concluded the Peruvian diplomat.

The Director of the Office of Justice for Victims of Overseas Terrorism of the United States Department of Justice, Heather Cartwright, who has worked with, among other cases, victims of the bombings in Oklahoma City in 1995 and the attacks in Washington and New York in 2001, said many victims of terrorism suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Director Cartwright argued that in the case of terrorist attacks, victims are not an objective in themselves, but because they are a representative symbol "of a government, a country, a political or ethnic group."

The U.S. official said that in her experience, the expectations of victims of terrorist acts being assisted by the government are often “higher than in other types of crimes." In this regard, she said victims are targeted by terrorists because they are trying “to send a message to a wider group, not just persons they injured.” She also said it is very important that the victims of terrorism have the support of their governments, because it is a way to weaken the message that terrorists want to send and it make clear that society will not abandon their victims and will support them.

The Director General of Support for Victims of Terrorism of the Interior Ministry of Spain, Sonia Ramos, focused her speech on the importance of recognizing that those affected by terrorism are victims of violations of human rights, noting that this is the premise permeating the whole Spanish system. "One of the main pillars rests on the right to justice. We understand that the justice system should be penal, that it should pursue the offender and pass judgment," she said, adding that from there, support for the victims and their families can involve health issues, mental health and reintegration and working conditions, among others.

"The victims of terrorism, unlike other types of violence, have a political significance, as they were the subject of the attack because of an attempt to destabilize the system of law. For this they should receive special treatment," said the General Director of Support of Victims of Terrorism of the Interior Ministry of Spain.

Ambassador Javier Rupérez, who was the first Executive Director of the Committee against Terrorism of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, and who suffered a kidnapping in 1979 by ETA, said that although there is no formal definition of terrorism at the UN, it is clear what it is. "The fact that there is no precise and agreed definition of what terrorism is, does not mean we do not know what it means," he said. "It is enough to check the acts of terrorism to know what we are talking about," he added.
Ambassador Rupérez said that despite this, the UN General Assembly has approved more than 25 international agreements on terrorism, "with such precision that there is virtually no act of terrorism that has not been covered by these agreements." Also, he noted that the UN Security Council, especially since the late 90s, has shown a determination to combat all terrorist acts. "The decisions of the UN said it very clearly, there is never a justification for acts of terrorism, no ideological or political racial or justifications could justify the use of violence," he added.

The panel was moderated by the Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE) of the OAS, Neil Klopfenstein, who said that "national and international terrorism constitutes a deliberate violation of the rights of individuals" as well as an assault on democracy itself.

Klopfenstein said the terrorist attacks in Washington and New York (2001),in Madrid (2004) and elsewhere, have shown that terrorism has no borders and assured that it is not only necessary to condemn acts of terrorism, but to "have honor, dignity and compassion for the victims of terrorism." The Executive Secretary of CICTE said in addition to preventing and combating terrorism, it is necessary to "protect the rights of victims of terrorism and their families."

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Permanent Observer of Spain to the OAS, Jorge Hevia, noted the evidence that this issue still has complications to resolve, which in the case of his country were overcome, and reviewed the main ideas of the panelists about the need to maintain memory, that the victims suffer violation of human rights and are symbols of a whole society that has been attacked.

"I am deeply convinced that the strength, dignity and ethics and moral stature of a democratic and free society in our day are measured by the degree of care and protection that the victims of terrorism receive from this society. That is why material and moral support is so important for this group so severely punished, for helping victims and their families, keeping their memory alive, we are working to strengthen our democratic system, working to build a more just, more free and more dignified society," said Ambassador Hevia.

The 63rd Roundtable was organized by the OAS Secretariat for External Relations, CICTE and the Observer Mission of Spain to the OAS. After the Roundtable, the photo exhibition "En pie de Foto, Victimas del Terrorismo" was opened at the Art Museum of the Americas, which is located in Annex to the OAS headquarters in Washington, DC.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

The B-Roll of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-484/14