As countries around the globe contend with the threat of terrorism, the challenges to civil liberties and civil society have never been greater. Acknowledging the threat posed by violent actors in many parts of the world is not a carte blanche to crackdowns on legitimate dissent, on protest, on the freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. A critical cause of this kind of abuse of exceptional powers are the vague and ill-defined definitions of terrorism that abound in national legislation. Precisely because of the lack of agreed global treaty definition of terrorism, and varying definitions in policy and guidance from UN organs, states have been given extraordinary latitude to define terrorism as they please. Read more here.
Source: Just Security