GENEVA, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The fight against terrorism must be carried out with full respect for human rights, the European Union stressed here on Monday.

    "The EU firmly believes that successfully combating terrorism and respect for human rights are mutually reinforcing," said Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency.

    "The fight against terrorism must, therefore, be carried out with full respect for human rights and the rule of law," she told the first session of the UN Human Rights Council, which opened in Geneva on Monday.

    Representing the EU, Plassnik told the 47-member new rights body that it was false to treat security and human rights separately, and in the war against terror, the rule of law must be obeyed by every country.

    She also stressed that the use of torture must be absolutely prohibited.

    "In a few days, the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment will enter into force," Plassnik said.

    "This protocol will provide a comprehensive system of unannounced visits of places of detention," she added.

    The Human Rights Council was created according to a UN General Assembly resolution passed in March. It takes the place of the former 53-nation Human Rights Commission, which was discredited in recent years for becoming a pace of political confrontation.

    Plassnik expressed hope that the new rights body would redress the shortcomings of its predecessor and would effectively make a difference in promoting human rights.

    "Now, we have to seize this once in a lifetime opportunity to make a major step forward in improving the UN human rights system," she told delegates at the meeting.

    More than 100 ministers and other senior representatives will address the two-week session, expressing their views on human rights and the future work of the new body. Enditem