New York, Oct. 17 -- The misuse of terrorism laws during conflict situations often leads to an "unmitigated calamity" on the ground, an independent UN expert has warned.

Fionnuala Ni Aolain, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, told the General Assembly on Thursday that what are being billed by some governments as counter-terrorism measures, are being applied frequently to address domestic strife and in complex humanitarian settings.

In these cases, they can have a catastrophic impact on civilian populations, she said, which are being "squeezed by broadly framed terrorism laws and practices with little or no recourse, when misuse occurs".

Protecting rights, enforcing norms

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