ICCT Director Mark Singleton opens the Advanced Summer Programme on Countering Terrorism

On Monday 24 August, ICCT Director Mark Singleton opened the “Advanced Summer Programme: Countering Terrorism:  Legal Challenges and Dilemmas” at the T.M.C. Asser Instituut in The Hague. After welcoming the participants, he elaborated on the work of ICCT and highlighted the importance of bringing together and facilitating knowledge sharing among policy makers, practitioners and scholars in countering terrorism, as is realised with this Programme as well.

The lecturers and participants of the Summer Programme, celebrating its fifth edition in 2015, will search for and discuss long-term, effective, international rule of law-based strategies and measures in countering today’s terrorism. The focus of this year’s programme is on the legal dimension of this phenomenon. Therefore, the topics that are being discussed include the scope and limitations of armed conflict while countering terrorism, the interplay between international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as well as the use of drones and targeted killings more generally. Within this programme, ICCT also organises a public high level panel on countering terrorism through the internet on Friday 28 August at the T.M.C. Asser Instituut in The Hague.  Terrorist organisations are increasingly making use of the internet for recruitment, incitement and radicalisation purposes, but also for financing, planning and preparing terrorist attacks. While several countries are working on new legislation providing the intelligence community with far-reaching powers to crack down on communications on the internet between terrorists, EU ministers increase pressure on the social media industry to prevent the spread of radicalisation through the internet. However, these measures can have a serious impact on a range of important human rights as well, including the freedom of expression. What are some of the legal limitations and opportunities? And what’s at stake? Panellists Rob Wainwright (Director, Europol), Verity Harding (Head Security and Counter Extremism, Google Europe) and Dr. Quirine Eijkman (Researcher, Campus The Hague, Leiden University) will take a closer look at the dilemmas when countering terrorism through the internet.