(STRASBOURG) - Council of Europe lawmakers Wednesday condemned the use of terrorist black lists by the UN and EU.

The council's parliamentary assembly almost unanimously backed a report by former special rapporteur Dick Marty which harshly criticised procedures used by the UN Security Council and the European Union to blacklist individuals and groups suspected of having ties to terrorism.

Not only does the practice violate human rights, the lawmakers concluded, but they are "completely arbitrary," according to a statement released by the 47-member body.

A Swiss senator and former prosecutor, Marty has published several critical reports into alleged anti-terrorist practices by states and institutions, including reported secret CIA prisons.

In his latest report, Marty claimed some 370 people worldwide have had their assets frozen and cannot travel because they have been blacklisted by the UN. Another 100 organisations also figure on the Security Council list.

Sixty groups figure on a separate EU blacklist, including the radical Palestinian group Hamas and the armed Basque separatist group ETA.

Those listed may not even be informed they have been blacklisted -- until they try to cross a border or access their bank account, according to Marty, who judged the situation "deplorable and a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms."

He highlighted the case of 78-year-old Italian Muslim businessman Youssef Nada who was mistakenly blacklisted by the UN on suspicion of helping finance the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

Nada's goods were seized and he was barred from leaving his home of 30 years in Switzerland. Nada's name remained on the UN blacklist, although law enforcement investigations found no evidence against him, according to Marty's report.

Marty has called for those figuring on the lists be notified of the fact and compensated should their rights be violated unjustifiably -- and to be delisted if they are innocent.

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