UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTHERN CARIBBEAN

P.O. BOX 175, PORT OF SPAIN

Research Paper

An Assignment

Presented in Partial Fulfilment

Of the Requirements for the Course

CRMB313: Human Rights and Ethics

INSTRUCTOR: Mrs.Anne Akpaka

By

Kadijah Emmanuel

Date

8th February 2020

Approval……………….
 Terrorism: Terror and its implications for human rights in the Caribbean .

The U.S. Department of State defines terrorism as a “premeditated, politically motivated

violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine state

agents according to the U.S. Department of State (1996). Whilst “Human rights are universal

values and legal guarantees that protect individuals and groups against actions and omissions

primarily by State agents that interfere with fundamental freedoms, entitlements and human

dignity” according to the Centre for Human Rights. (2008). “There has been no structured

discourse on the definitional issue in the Caribbean. Perhaps this is so having regard to the

perceived lower threat scenario in the region, and thus the attitude has been to be a follower as

far as this matter is concerned”(Bishop,2004). “Although the Caribbean region has continued to

be relatively peaceful, the region has witnessed isolated acts of terrorism or events in which

terrorist tactics have been used” (Bishop,2004).Terrorism in the Caribbean has impacted several

human rights such as the right to life, , Freedom of expression and Economic, social and cultural

rights.

Right to life

As a citizen of a country each person has the human right to life as measures are put in place by

each country to protect this right. However “acts of terrorism have themselves posed grave

challenges to the right to life”.In the United States of America “ states have adopted a “Shoot to

Kill” law enforcement policies in response to perceived terrorist threats” according to the (Centre

for Human Rights,2008).According to the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial ,summary of

arbitrary executions ,”the rhetoric of shoot to kill as its equivalents poses a deep and enduring

threat to human –rights based law enforcement approaches” according to the (Centre for Human

Rights,2008).This human right to life was violated during the 1990 attempted coup in Trinidad
where “Twenty-four people died - including an MP, Leo Des Vignes - and many more were

injured” (BBC news, 2010) .

Freedom of expression

“The right to freedom of association, like the right to freedom of expression, is a platform for the

exercise and defence of other rights, such as political participation rights and cultural rights”

according to the (Centre for Human Rights,2008). “These include ensuring that the principle of

legality is respected in the definition of terrorism, terrorist acts and terrorist groups” according

to the (Centre for Human Rights,2008). “Too wide or vague a definition may lead to the

criminalization of groups whose aim is to peacefully protect, inter alia, labour, minority or

human rights. With regard to human rights defenders, the Special Representative of the

Secretary-General on human rights defenders has made clear that “any organization has the right

to defend human rights; that it is the vocation of human rights defenders to examine Government

action critically; and that criticism of Government action, and the freedom to express these

criticisms, is an essential component of a democracy and must be legitimized in law and

practice” according to the (Centre for Human Rights,2008).For example in “Trinidad and

Tobago, unexpectedly, a disaffected group stormed the national Parliament chamber and bombed

the police headquarters in Port of Spain on July 27, 1990” (Bishop,2004).The leader of the

insurrection Yasin Abu-Bakr was labelled a terrorist ,however “Published in an article on March

3, 2019, reporter Colin Freeman interviewed Bakr, referring to him as a 'respected religious

leader' and 'tireless community worker” according to (Doodnath, 2019).

Economic, social and cultural rights.

“Efforts to address the human rights implications of terrorism and counterterrorism measures

have tended to focus on the protection of civil and political rights, with little attention paid to

their impact on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights” according to the (Centre

for Human Rights,2008). “Conversely, the diversion of resources normally allocated to social

and economic programmes and sectors (such as education, health, water and sanitation),

development assistance and poverty reduction, in favour of security and counter-terrorism

programming may have serious consequences for the affected countries and communities”

according to the (Centre for Human Rights,2008).For example in Grenada budget the “Ministry

of National Security, Public Administration, Youth Development, Home Affairs, ICT & Disaster

Management was allocated EC$73.3 million” according to the (Government of Grenada,2021)

compared to the ministry of the Ministry of Housing, Social Services, and Community

Empowerment which was allocated EC$60.2 million according to the (Government of

Grenada,2021).

“The adoption of specific counter-terrorism measures may also have a direct impact on the

enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights” according to the (Centre for Human

Rights,2008). . “For example, targeted sanctions against individuals suspected of involvement in

terrorist activity, such as freezing their financial assets or imposing travel restrictions on them”

according to the (Centre for Human Rights,2008). “Targeted sanctions which result in freezing

assets, imposing travel bans and other restrictions may also have serious consequences for the

ability of the affected individuals and their families to enjoy economic and social rights, as their

access to education and employment may be severely restricted”. “The fact that Caribbean

countries depend significantly on trade and investment from the United States has heightened

concerns about the possibility of attacks”.” Warnings of attacks on oil, gas and electricity
infrastructure in the United States have thus been extended to countries, such as Trinidad and

Tobago(Bishop,2004).For example the embargo placed on Cuba had adverse effects on the

weight of new-born babies. “The proportion of new-borns weighing under 2500 g rose 23%,

from 7.3% in 1989 to 9.0% in 1993,29 reversing 10 years of gradual progress” according to

(Garfield, & Santana, 1997).This was due to the fact that “about half of all protein and calories

intended for human consumption were imported by Cuba in the 1980s. Importation of foodstuffs

declined by about 50% from 1989 to 1993” according to (Garfield, & Santana, 1997).

In conclusion although the Caribbean has seen few terrorist acts the threat to human rights does

exist. Terrorism affects the human right to life as policies such as “shoot to kill” are in place

when the shooting occurs and questions are asked later. Additionally terrorism also affects the

human right of freedom of expression as persons has the right to express their dissatisfaction and

labelling persons as terrorist because of their views and support of an organization violates

freedom of expression. Lastly economic, social and cultural rights can also be impacted by

terrorism as the diversion of resources normally allocated to social and economic programmes

and sectors are now shifted to focus on national security.

 References

Albanese, J. S. (2016). Professional ethics in criminal justice: Being ethical when no one is

looking. Boston: Pearson.

BBC news. (2010, July 27). Trinidad marks 1990 coup attempt.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-10774647.

Bishop, C., & Khan, O. (2004). Chapter 16: The Anti-terrorism Capacity of Caribbean Security

Forces. In Caribbean Security in the Age of Terror by Ivelaw Griffith (pp. 391–412)

Centre for Human Rights. (2008). Human rights: human rights, terrorism and counter-terrorism.

Garfield,, R., & Santana, S. (1997). The Impact of the Economic Crisis and the US Embargo on

Health in Cuba. American Journal of Public Health, 87(1).

Doodnath, A. (2019, March 3). BBC looks at Abu Bakr's 1990 terrorist coup. Home.

https://www.looptt.com/content/bbc-looks-abu-bakrs-1990-terrorist-coup.

Government of Grenada. (2021).2021 Budget Report .retrieved from

https://www.finance.gd/docs/BudgetStatement2021.pdf

U.S. Department of State (1996). Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1995. Washington, D.C.: U.S.

Department of State