11.2. States must not undermine the
principle of reciprocity or commitments
to international cooperation, by
stripping a person of nationality,
expelling a person to a third country or
subjecting a person to removal
proceedings, thereby exporting the
stated security risk to a third country
and failing to take responsibility for
their own nationals.
11.3. States are obligated to take
responsibility for their own citizens and
to investigate and prosecute crimes and
threats to national security through
their national criminal justice
frameworks in accordance with
international standards.
administrative mechanisms for addressing claims of right violations
under domestic law.
UN Security Council Resolution 2178 (2014): “ … Member States
must ensure that any measures taken to counter terrorism comply
with all their obligations under international law, in
particular international human rights law, international refugee law,
and international humanitarian law, underscoring that respect for
human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law are
complementary and mutually reinforcing with effective counterterrorism measures, and are an essential part of a successful
counter-terrorism effort and notes the importance of respect for the
rule of law so as to effectively prevent and combat terrorism, and
noting that failure to comply with these and other international
obligations, including under the Charter of the United Nations, is
one of the factors contributing to increased radicalization and fosters
a sense of impunity.
190. A key principle of international law, also in view of the UN Charter, is the duty of States to
cooperate and to maintain peaceful and friendly relations and adhere to the principle of
reciprocity. As a further explication, the 1970 Declaration on Principles of International Law
Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-Operation Among States contains duty to co-operate with
other States in the maintenance of international peace and security. Successive UN Security
Council Resolutions reaffirm this duty to co-operate specifically with regards to “the fight against
terrorism 321 and “efforts to address the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters 322
191. Although a State depriving a person of nationality may argue that this is necessary for its own
security, the national security of another State may be jeopardised by this action and so too the
collective efforts of states to combat international terrorism:
“The practice of depriving of their nationality persons involved in terrorist activities (including
“foreign fighters”) or suspected of such involvement may lead to the “exporting of risks”, as
those persons may move to or remain in terrorist conflict zones outside [the country which has
deprived them of nationality]. Such a practice goes against the principle of international cooperation in combating terrorism, reaffirmed, inter alia, in United Nations Security
Council Resolution 2178 (2014) which aims at preventing foreign fighters from leaving their
State of residence or nationality, and may expose local populations to violations of
international human rights and humanitarian law. It also undermines the State’s ability to fulfil
its obligation to investigate and prosecute terrorist offences. In this context, deprivation of
321
Including UN Security Council Resolutions 1566 (8 October 2004) UN Doc S/RES/1566 (2004); 1624 (14 September 2005) UN Doc S/RES/1624
(2005).
322
Including UN Security Council Resolutions 2178 (24 September 2014) UN Doc S/RES/2178 (2014); 2396 (21 December 2017) UN Doc
S/RES/2396 (2017).
90
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