Date: 28 October 2011
Abstract
Following 11 September 2001, the United States found itself at war with the Taliban, an enemy that heavily exploits the drug trade, narrowing the divide between the war on drugs and the war on terror in both rhetoric and tactics, with dangerous implications for human rights. This paper discusses the implications of including drug offenders in the war on terror on fair trial norms, the right to liberty and security of person and the right to life, among other human rights protections. Even before the 2001 attacks on the United States, drug-related offences in countries such as Malaysia and Egypt had been included in emergency legislation meant to deal with threats to the State. Counter-terrorism legislation introduced since launching the war on terror further blurs the distinction between drug-related offences and terrorism, thus leading to the diminution of human rights protections. The war on terror has presented many challenges to international human rights law. Conflating terrorism with new subjects such as drugs therefore has the potential to do further damage to recognised human rights norms.
The article appears in the current special edition of the Essex Human Rights Review, which focuses on 'Balancing Counter-Terrorism Efforts with Human Rights a Decade After 9/11'
Citation:
Gallahue, Patrick 'Narco-Terror: Conflating the Wars on Drugs and Terror' (2011) 8 Essex Human Rights Review,
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