Counter-extremism programmes, including those employed in the United Kingdom and the United States, are contributing to human rights violations a UN expert has said, according to Middle East Eye.
A report submitted to the Human Rights Council on Wednesday said religious groups, minorities and civil society actors in particular have been victims of rights violations and are targeted under the guise of countering “extremism.”
Special rapporteur Fionnuala Nà Aolain said any programme that relies on teachers, social workers and health-care staff to report signs of radicalisation should be scrapped.
“The negative impact cannot be overstated,” her report read. Such measures break the “fragile trust” between communities and public services.
The report also found that many counter-extremism practices result in “overselection and overreporting” on discriminatory grounds.
Read the full report on Middle East Eye.
Related…
Human Rights and the Globalization of Counter-Extremism (Report, 2018)
