UN: Human Rights Committee Urges Belgium to Refine its Definition of Terrorism

In its concluding observations on Belgium, the Human Rights Committee expressed its concern at that country’s anti-terrorist legislation. The Committee said that Belgian laws give a definition of terrorism which, in referring to the degree of severity of offences and the perpetrators’ intended purpose, does not entirely satisfy the principle that offences and penalties must be clearly set out in law. The Committee urged Belgium to produce a more precise definition of terrorist offences.