There was a worrying perception of an erosion of human rights values in the wake of the September 11th attacks on the United States, the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs Mary Robinson, told reporters at the World Economic Forum in New York on Saturday.
While combating terrorism was necessary, "it is also extremely important to maintain the standards we have built up - the rule of law, international human rights standards, international humanitarian standards, the Geneva Convention", Mrs Robinson said, replying to a question about the treatment in Guantanamo Bay of prisoners captured in Afghanistan.
The UN Human Rights Commissioner shared the press conference with Bishop Desmond Tutu, the secretary-general of Amnesty International Ms Irene Khan, and Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams.
The theme was "Viewpoints on Minority Rights".
"In times of stress and human insecurity it is all the more important to affirm these very values, otherwise in a sense the terrorists have won," Mrs Robinson said.
Combating terrorism meant deserving and holding the high moral ground.
"We are a very integrated world and repressed and frustrated minorities in one country can be the cause of not only conflict in that country but in a wider context."
Mrs Robinson made a last -minute decision to attend the forum, flying directly from Porto Allegre in Brazil where she told the rival World Social Forum that human rights had worsened since September 11th, and called for the development of "ethical globilisation".
Mr Adams said the big challenge for the New York forum was to deal with the issues raised at workshops, and said the debate on minority rights strongly affirmed that the corporate world had a responsibility to embrace minority rights, with full disclosure of the breakdown of the workforce.