28 June 2011, Berlin

Ten Years After 9/11: Looking Back, Moving Forward

Berlin
28 June 2011, 12:00 am

The events of 11 September 2001 enabled western states to radically transform their counterterrorism practices.  This conference aims to critically engage with this transformation; to map how the ‘war on terror’ is changing and shaping new areas of our everyday lives and identify the challenges ahead for those fighting for human rights and social justice across the security field.


The conference brings together leading human rights lawyers, experts and academics from around the world to address key questions related to emergent security practices, including: What has been achieved in the years of challenge and struggle since 9/11? Whilst some aspects of the ‘war on terror’ have been rendered spectacularly visible, other elements (such as the expansion of intelligence and the rise of pre-emptive security techniques) have remained largely unnoticed. How can strategic litigation and political resistance be recalibrated to effectively challenge the powers that have been created?


Whilst a great deal has been achieved through human rights advocacy over the last 10 years, much still needs to be done. European complicity in rendition and torture still remains largely uninvestigated. Blacklisting regimes continue to proliferate in direct violation of fundamental rights. Targeted killing techniques are rapidly expanding with no transparency as to who can be killed. How can we organise to overcome these problems and render these practices open to challenge and broader public debate?


What does the security landscape for the next 10 years actually look like? Are liberal principles (such as the rule of law and fundamental rights) adequate to the task of challenging the illiberal practices of contemporary counterterrorism?

These are some of the questions and debates that this conference aims to foster and provoke, whilst giving shape to possible strategies that can we develop for the years ahead. All are welcome to be part of the process moving forward.

Current

Archive (250)