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Sydney Law School professor named as UN special rapporteur
A law professor from the University of Sydney has been appointed as special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism to the United Nations.
Jerome Doraisamy
Professor Ben Saul, who is the Challis chair of international law at the Sydney Law School and an elected Fellow of the university senate, has been named as a UN special rapporteur, bringing extensive experience and decades of work involving some of the world’s most challenging conflicts to his new role.
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The appointment takes effect on 1 November and will see Professor Saul focus on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.
The title “special rapporteur” is given to independent experts who are called upon by the UN to report or advise on human rights. In this role, Professor Saul will assist in the continued effort to address and ensure countries abide by the rules of human rights law.
Professor Saul brings to this position decades of experience in academia, research, international relations, and diplomacy, including advising the UN, governments, police, militaries, intelligence services and NGOs.
He has taught counter-terrorism law at Harvard Law School in the US and has long taught terrorism-related courses to postgraduates and undergraduates at USyd.
Speaking about the appointment, Professor Saul said: “I am honoured to be entrusted by the international community to help all countries uphold human rights when countering terrorism and protecting its victims.
“Excessive terrorism laws and practices can obviously affect the basic rights of terror suspects, whether through extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, torture, unfair trial, or even war crimes by state forces.
“But they can also harm the completely innocent, by invading the privacy of citizens, shutting down legitimate democratic protest, restricting NGOs and civil society, criminalising political opposition or dissent, or attacking the media.
“All of us have a stake in ensuring governments everywhere respect human rights. I am pleased the research environment at the University of Sydney has enabled me to acquire the expertise and global recognition to attain this appointment, and to support my work on this mandate over the coming years.”
University of Sydney head of school and dean of law Professor Simon Bronitt added: “Professor Ben Saul’s appointment as UN special rapporteur at this time of crisis in the world is both deserving and much needed. As we know from the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland to 9/11 attacks in the US, ‘Wars on Terror’ place significant strain upon human rights and the rule of law.
“Ben brings his extensive expertise in international terrorism law to a role that exists to ensure that nations, caught in the thick of fighting terrorism, never abandon their fundamental duties to respect human rights.”
