TABLE OF CONTENTS

Amnesty International’s Recommendations for the Council of Europe’s Third Summit

of Heads of State and Government

The following memorandum sets out some of Amnesty International’s recommendations for the forthcoming Council of Europe Third Summit of Heads of State and Government, which is scheduled to take place in Warsaw Poland on 16-17 May 2005.

Amnesty International recognizes the leading role that the Council of Europe has played in promoting and enhancing respect for and protection of human rights. Its standards and mechanisms have not only set guiding principles for human rights protection in Europe, but also have served as models for the protection of human rights globally.

Amnesty International considers that the Third Summit of the Council of Europe presents an important opportunity for the Council of Europe to reaffirm its existing aims and mission; celebrate its accomplishments and articulate a plan of action, with measurable objectives, for its future work and functioning.

Create a Plan of Action

Amnesty International believes that key components of this plan of action should include measures to:

• familiarize the some 800 million people living in the Council of Europe region with the work of the Council of Europe;

• ensure better implementation of the standards of the Council of Europe in the Member States;

• enhance transparency of the work of the Council of Europe;

• enhance cooperation and complementarity with other international organizations, in particular the European Union with its expanded human rights agenda;

• enhance cooperation with both national institutions for the protection of human rights, and with international and national non-governmental organizations.

Organize a Treaty Ratification Event

Amnesty International considers that instrumental among the Council of Europe’s accomplishments has been the adoption, by its Member States, of some 196 treaties, of which 163 have entered into force. In addition, the work of the various bodies and mechanisms aimed at ensuring implementation of Council of Europe standards has been extremely important. These mechanisms include, among others, the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights, the Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the CPT), the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the European Committee of Social Rights, the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the Steering Committee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR), and the Venice Commission. The organization considers that these merit focus at the Council of Europe’s Third Summit.

Amnesty International urges the Committee of Ministers to call on the Member States of the Council of Europe, without delay, to take such measures as may be necessary in order to enable them to be in a position to ratify, at the Third Summit, those Council of Europe treaties to which they are not yet States Parties. In particular Amnesty International recommends that ratification of the following treaties be made a priority at the Third Summit:

• Protocols 12, 13 and 14 to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;

• the Revised European Social Charter;

• the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities;

• the Amending Protocol to the European Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism, and

• the European Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.

Amnesty International considers that having a treaty event at this Summit which focuses on the above-mentioned treaties would indeed place emphasis on particularly topical and important aims of the Council of Europe to:

• eradicate racism and other forms of discrimination which continue to plague the region;

• truly establish the Council of Europe region as a death penalty-free zone;

• bolster the functioning of the European Court of Human Rights, which the organization considers to be a jewel in the crown in the international system of human rights protection;

• affirm its commitment to the fight against terrorism in a manner that protects and respects the human rights of all persons;

• ensure enhanced protection of and respect for the human rights of trafficked persons, in view of the fact that this modern form of slavery touches most if not every country in the Council of Europe region.

In addition, Amnesty International also urges the Committee of Ministers to call on Member States to take measures necessary to enable them to use the up-coming occasion of the Third Summit to review - with a view to removing - existing reservations and derogations to Council of Europe treaties.¹ In particular we urge the Committee of Ministers to call for the withdrawal of reservations and derogations to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereafter, the European Convention on Human Rights).

Prioritize Implementation of existing Human Rights Standards

Amnesty International considers that the major challenge for the Council of Europe, and indeed the international community as a whole, lies in ensuring the implementation of existing human rights treaties, including the European Convention of Human Rights and the European Social Charter and Revised Social Charter. Regrettably, Amnesty International’s research as well as the findings of the Council of Europe’s and UN’s bodies and mechanisms, reveal that implementation of the guarantees set out in the treaties is far from realized in law and in practice throughout the 46 Council of Europe Member States.

Among other things, ill-treatment of persons deprived of their liberty remains commonplace, with such crimes, more often than not, going unpunished. The rule of law, including fundamental principles of fair trial and freedom of expression and association are being undermined by measures taken to combat terrorism. More broadly, the guarantee of fundamental rights to fair and prompt criminal and civil proceedings remain unfilled promises in many states. The absolute prohibition of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, a fundamental principle of customary international law, and the prohibition of reliance on evidence adduced as a result of such treatment have been called into question recently. Conditions in which people are deprived of their liberty remain far from the standards of decency and humane treatment set by the Council of Europe.

People living in Europe continue to be exposed to racist attacks on their persons and property. There has been a marked rise in anti-semitism and islamaphobia. Asylum-seekers and refugees are frequent targets of manifestations of xenophobia and racism, derision and attack in the public and private sectors. Discrimination in the public sphere still persists, including with respect to ensuring fundamental rights to education, health and conscientious objection to military service. The rights of people with mental and physical disabilities are regularly violated in many states. Women continue to be subjected to violence in their homes. The last 10 years has seen a tragic increase in trafficking of women, men and children into forced labour and other forms of exploitation. When the victims of this modern form of slavery come to the attention of the authorities, they are often treated as “illegal migrants” or tools of the criminal justice system, and are rapidly sent back to the countries of destination without regard to the risks that they and their families face, including that of re-trafficking.

Amnesty International therefore considers that the future work of the Council of Europe should focus on implementation of the treaties themselves, beginning with ensuring implementation of the recommendations of the Council of Europe’s bodies and mechanisms. We consider that the principle task of the organs, mechanisms and programmes of the Council of Europe should be focussed on this aim. To this end, Amnesty International recommends that, at the Third Summit, the Member States of the Council of Europe should commit themselves and the Council of Europe as a whole to ensuring effective implementation of the guarantees enshrined in the treaties of the Council of Europe.

Amnesty International considers that the Third Summit also provides an opportunity to review, and where appropriate, consider and address the need for additional resources to support and enhance the effectiveness of the work of the full range of bodies and mechanisms of the Council of Europe.

Formulate and Publicize Country and Thematic Action Strategies

Amnesty International recommends that, at the Third Summit, the Council of Europe commit itself to ensuring the articulation and publication of its action strategies aimed at better implementation of human rights standards, including the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter and Revised Social Charter, in relation to each of the 46 Council of Europe Member States. In addition, such strategies should be articulated and publicized on priority thematic work. These strategies should notably include plans for coordinated action to facilitate the implementation of the recommendations of the Council of Europe’s bodies and mechanisms. They should also identify the projects being worked on by specified Council of Europe bodies. Amnesty International considers that the articulation and publication of such strategies would provide transparent road-maps for future work to achieve clear and measurable objectives. They could facilitate the coordination of action within the Council of Europe. Such tools would also facilitate cooperation, coordination and complementarity between the Council of Europe and relevant international organizations. They would also be useful for national institutions for the protection of human rights and non-governmental organizations, who are key partners in this work. In addition, creating and publicizing such information would also serve the aim of enhancing the visibility of and knowledge about the Council of Europe for the public at large.

Enhance Cooperation and Complementarity with International Organizations

Amnesty International also recommends that, during the Third Summit, the Heads of State and Government commit the Council of Europe to working to enhance its coordination and cooperation with the other international organizations, most notably the European Union (EU), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations (UN), with the aim of achieving more effective implementation of the international human rights treaties and commitments by Council of Europe Member States. A recent example of such an initiative was an agreement to hold regular inter-agency meetings between relevant Council of Europe, EU, OSCE and UN bodies working on racism, xenophobia, anti-semitism and intolerance. At the first of these meetings, held in Vienna in September 2004 and Chaired by the Director of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the Council of Europe’s ECRI, the EU’s European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC), representatives of ODIHR and the UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination discussed their respective working methods and priorities projects for the coming year as well as identification of areas for future joint action.

In this regard, Amnesty International also notes that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has recommended the organization of a pan-European campaign against Domestic Violence. The agreement, at the Third Summit, to pursue this initiative is a commitment that Amnesty International would enthusiastically welcome.

The European Union

Amnesty International also considers that the Third Summit presents an occasion on which the Member States of Council of Europe can consider, in particular, the opportunities and challenges presented by the possible accession of the expanded European Union as a party to the European Convention on Human Rights. As you may be aware, Amnesty International has campaigned for such accession and would welcome it.

Among other things Amnesty International considers that the Third Summit provides a key opportunity for the each EU member state and the EU as a whole to commit to ensuring better implementation of the Council of Europe standards. The expansion of the EU’s human rights agenda and its possible future accession to the European Convention on Human Rights provide further impetus for the EU to ensure cooperation and complementarity of its work with that of the Council of Europe’s bodies and mechanisms.

As the recent signing of the European Union’s Constitution brings the possibility for such accession closer, the organization considers that it is vital to the future relevance of the Council of Europe that careful attention is paid to the role that the European Union, (whose members now represent the majority of the 46 Council of Europe Member States), will play in the Council of Europe’s inter-governmental bodies, including the Committee of Ministers, and functions, including the drafting and adoption of standards. Amnesty International considers it of key importance that the EU and the Council of Europe make such agreements which respect the nature of each of these organizations and ensure cooperation and complementarity of their work. We are hopeful that such efforts will ensure that the seeming clash of mandates which has arisen between the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers and the Council of the European Union in context of the negotiation of the European Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings will be avoided in the future.²

Increase Inclusion of National Institutions and NGOs

As far as non-governmental organizations are concerned, Amnesty International urges the Committee of Ministers to ensure that the Declaration adopted at the Third Summit reaffirms the Council of Europe’s recognition of the vital role played by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the promotion and protection of human rights. The Declaration of the Third Summit should also include a commitment by the Council of Europe to increasingly include and associate NGOs in its work. Amnesty International considers that ensuring the availability and accessibility of more information about the thematic and country-based work of the Council of Europe will enhance the possibilities for increased cooperation with civil society working in and on Council of Europe Member States. In addition, increasing the transparency of the full range of Council of Europe activities and the possibilities for effective input from NGOs in planning and implementing these activities, including for example through consultation about and inviting increased participation in standard-setting exercises, would be a most welcome commitment and action point arising from the Third Summit.

Consistent with the above-recommendation and recognizing the involvement of the Bureau of the International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) Liaison Committee in discussions on the Third Summit, Amnesty International urges the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to ensure: the timely availability and accessibility of more information about the upcoming Third Summit, and; the possibility of greater participation of NGOs in the planning of the Third Summit, including in the drafting of the Declaration(s) to be adopted. Amnesty International also calls on the Committee of Ministers to ensure that NGOs are given a clear and visible role at the Summit itself.

In this regard and in the light of the importance that Amnesty International attaches to ensuring a significant and successful Third Summit of the Council of Europe, Amnesty International would welcome the opportunity to participate, along with other NGOs and the Committee of Ministers, in the planning of the Summit, including in particular the drafting of the Declaration(s) to be adopted at the Summit, as well as in the Summit itself.