We present the report “Don’t Call Me a Terrorist When I’m Not” at the Third Edition of the “United Nations Counter-Terrorism Week”
The Novact Institute of Nonviolence presents the report "Don't Call Me a Terrorist When I'm Not," authored by journalist and political scientist Ricard Gonzalez, during the Third Edition of the "United Nations Counter-Terrorism Week" in New York.
Picture: Xavi Ariza
The objective is to understand how false accusations of terrorism by states and media outlets contribute to the rise of authoritarianism by suppressing pro-democracy and human rights advocacy movements in the Euro-Mediterranean region.
The report assesses the extent to which unjust accusations of terrorism by state actors are widespread, analyzing cases in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Iraq, Palestine, Tunisia, Turkey, Spain, and a category that includes other EU countries besides Spain. It also includes a set of policy recommendations to address this issue.
The objective is to understand how false accusations of terrorism by states and media outlets contribute to the rise of authoritarianism by suppressing pro-democracy and human rights advocacy movements in the Euro-Mediterranean region.
Governments around the world have adopted new legislative frameworks that have expanded the state’s capacity to control, implement intrusive surveillance measures, and restrict the freedoms of their populations. This trend has even intensified in some countries in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. This force is used to persecute and suppress social movements, dissidents, political parties, or civil society organizations seeking radical change or even those openly critical of government policies.
Since there is no internationally agreed-upon definition of terrorism, “terrorism” has become a word used as a tool against “enemies of the state,” whether or not they use violent methods, in order to delegitimize them in the eyes of public opinion.