New York

02 October 2001

Excerpt from interview with Al Jazeera's Ghida Fakhri,

Kofi Annan, Former Secretary-General

Q: Going back to the specific Resolution [1373], the fact that it is so broad and gives countries such a wide scope of measures that they can take against so-called terrorists, does that mean that certain civil liberties could be undermined in the process? And that certain countries could use it to crack down on their own opponents?

SG: I hope that will not happen, but it is a concern. It is a concern that we should all be aware of. In times like this there is usually that tension between liberty and freedom and security and safety. How much liberty does one give up for safety and security? And if you give up liberty for safety and security do you in the end have either? And so, I think one has to be very careful. My own preference is that, whilst things may have to be done differently because of what has happened, if one has to err, I would prefer that one errs on the side of freedom and liberties.

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