Terrorism and human rights

Since the formal invocation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, much global discourse has been shaped by those principles, to the extent that one could without exaggeration describe the period as an 'age of human rights'. But will and indeed can that survive the perceived danger arising from violent acts of terrorism? Is this now an 'age of terrorism' - or at least, an 'age of counter-terrorism' - in which human rights are being accorded a secondary status? This article considers those contentions and also advocates particular roles for those who work in the human rights field. © 2007 Government and Opposition Ltd.