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The Liberty / Security Debate

> US Anti-Terrorist Laws

> Great Britain and the Identity Card

> The Role of Europe


dimarts, 28 de febrer de 2006
Most people agree that the attacks of the 11th September 2001 on New York and Washington changed the world. All of a sudden the West, and in particular the United States, discovered its own fragility, increasing the concern for security.

In western societies this concern for security (a logical one, of course) has led to the adoption of measures intended to protect citizens. But there are those who believe that some of these measures conflict with liberty and with the most basic human rights.

In relation to this, the United Nations Organisation (UN) and the European Parliament have recently called for the closure of the prison at the US military base at Guantanamo, Cuba, arguing that prisoners are being tortured there, although the US government denies it.

With the arrival of the new millennium, we have seen the revival of the liberty/security debate. We outline this debate below using two very different examples from the context of countries with a long democratic tradition: the United States and Great Britain.

US Anti-Terrorist Laws


+ The Patriot Act was passed after the attacks of September 2001.
Following the attacks of September 2001, the US government prioritised the fight against international terrorism. With this end in mind, the anti-terrorist law was passed under the name of the Patriot Act. Among other things, this law allows the FBI, the country's federal police corps, to intercept telephone conversations and search homes and companies. The Patriot Act, extended until the 10th of March, has received much criticism from individuals and groups defending civil rights.

Great Britain and the Identity Card


+ Civil rights groups say the card implies a cutback in individual liberties.
In Great Britain, liberty is held in very high esteem. It is not surprising that the British have no identity card for identification purposes. However this could soon change. The British Parliament has just approved the introduction of a personal identity document as of 2008, in a close-run vote that saw 310 votes in favour and 279 against. The government of Tony Blair, who is driving this initiative, says that the identity card is a useful tool in the fight against terrorism, fraud, organised crime and illegal immigration. On the other hand, those who oppose this government initiative maintain that the card implies a cutback in individual liberties.

The Role of Europe


+ Map of Europe.
Since 2001, many voices have been asking the West to get more involved in the issues facing the world, instead of being obsessed with security and acting out of fear. More specifically, some experts have asked Europe to take on more responsibility, because historically it is the continent that has enriched itself with what it has taken from other cultures, other peoples and other ways of seeing the world; being open to the outside world is considered the best way to make humankind more free and more secure at the same time.

MATERIALS

QUE HO SABIES?

  • Identity cards existed in Great Britain in the last century. They were introduced at the beginning of the World War Two (1939-1945) and removed in 1952, considered unnecessary in times of peace.
  • It should also be pointed out that this type of identity document, strictly speaking, does not exist in certain other countries either, such as Japan and the United States.

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> Preguntes i respostes sobre els plans del govern britànic d'introduir el carnet d'identitat.
> El document d'identificació personal, en alguns estats.
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