AA13CR03ADD1
AS (2013) CR 03
Addendum 1
2014 ORDINARY SESSION
________________________
(First part)
REPORT
Third sitting
Tuesday, 28 January 2014 at 10 a.m.
Free debate
The following texts were submitted for inclusion in the official report by members who were present in the Chamber but were prevented by lack of time from delivering them.
Mr BADEA (Romania) - I would like to draw your attention to the situation of Romanians from Transnistria who are denied access to education in their mother tongue, by different means and in a stubborn way, by the so-called authorities of Tiraspol.
I express my sadness regarding the acts of harassment that are happening on the left bank of the River Dniester. The freezing of the bank accounts of a Romanian high school and the inquisition of its headquarters by the Transnistrian Prosecution Office, as well as the cutting off of the supply of utilities to Romanian education institutions, are eloquent examples in that respect.
The declaration made at the end of last year by the so-called President of Transnistria Evgenyi Shevchuk was more than worrying: he said it was a matter of time before the last eight Romanian schools in Transnistria closed down. He argues that Romanian education institutions do not respect the Transnistrian curriculum, according to which the Romanian language should be taught using the Cyrillic alphabet as was the case during the time of the Soviet Union.
As you well know, there is a European Court of Human Rights decision from 2012 against the Russian Federation, which, if it were to be implemented, would have permitted the reopening of dozens of Romanian schools that have closed down since 1992.
I also express my disappointment at the inaction of the European bodies in respect of this serious issue of education in the mother tongue of Romanians living in Transnistria, and I call upon the international community to react as quickly as possible.
Mr PINTADO (Spain) - The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly expresses its support for the draft Bill on the protection of the conceived child’s life and pregnant women’s rights, which has been adopted by the Spanish Government, given that this initiative reflects the established doctrine of the Spanish constitutional court in relation to rulings on the one hand, on the protection of the "unborn child", and on the other, the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognising the right to life as a fundamental right.
The alleged abortion right is not recognised by any international convention, or any international court jurisprudence. The European Court of Human Rights expressed itself unequivocally in that way, on 16 December 2010, in relation to the case A.B. and C. versus Ireland.
Similarly, the European Union Court of Justice, in the case Brüstle / Greenpeace V., laid down, on 18 October 2011, that the human embryo should be legally protected on the basis of respect for human dignity and the right to physical integrity.
The Spanish initiative only allows the decriminalisation of abortion in the following cases: rape, permanent and duly accredited cases of serious risk to the mother’s life, or in cases of risk to the mother’s physical or mental health. Eugenic abortion is excluded, as it is established by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In fact, the existence of special cases based on disability is discrimination against disabled people and infringes their dignity.
Moreover, it is well worth noting the right of conscientious objection to abortion by health professionals in relation to taking part or collaborating in the practice of abortion. This approach was included in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe resolution, on 7 February 2010, based on the McCaffert report.
The experience in Poland and Chile, countries that changed their laws on abortion in 1993 and 1989, has shown that the legal protection of the right to life has effective results in reducing: the number of abortions; deaths caused by pregnancy, birth and postpartum; the number of pregnancies in young women; child mortality; the number of spontaneous abortions; and the number of cases of infanticide.
The Parliamentary Assembly underlines the growing support among European men and women in favor of the right to life. That has been seen not only in the European citizens' initiative "One of Us", signed by over 1 900 000 people, but also in the recent changes in the regulation on abortion, adopted or proposed, in countries such as Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Norway, the United Kingdom, Russia, Switzerland and Turkey. These initiatives demonstrate the increasing rejection by Europeans of the irreparable aggression against human ecology that abortion causes.
Ms GAFAROVA (Azerbaijan) - Yesterday one of the issues discussed was the presidential elections in my country, Azerbaijan. Different opinions were voiced here.
I would like to say that I support all the words and opinions which were expressed here by my colleagues from Azerbaijan yesterday. I would also like very briefly to share my thoughts about this very important issue for Azerbaijani people, and to focus on just some of the points.
First of all, over 1 300 international observers from over 100 countries and 50 international and non-governmental organisations observed the election. International observers have noted the elections as being well organised and efficient. Ten registered candidates for the presidency had been fully facilitated and provided with equal opportunities to deliver their platforms to voters freely after the start of elections, and the facilities were used freely without any obstacles during the election campaign. The pre-election atmosphere was free and met modern requirements. Secondly, the election was marked by high voter turnout with over 70% of registered voters participating in the election.
The last point I would like to make is that Azerbaijani people are not only Azerbaijanis; our society is a multicultural society. It is one of the countries where a mosque, a church and a synagogue co-exist in peace. Azerbaijan is the country that is home to many ethnic groups. They have been living in Azerbaijani lands in harmony for hundreds of years. In Azerbaijan, Jews, Russians, Georgians, Ukrainians and others enjoy equal rights. These people actively took part in the elections and freely voted for their candidates. The reality is that these elections demonstrate the will of the people of Azerbaijan and have once more proved that Ilham Aliev is the President of the people of Azerbaijan.
I can proudly point out that in Azerbaijan, in a young democratic country, presidential elections have been widely recognized as democratic and fair. I remind you that delegations of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament have characterised the elections, in a joint statement, as “free, fair, and transparent”.
I would like to answer Ms Zohrabyan. The reality is that 20% of Azerbaijani lands are under the occupation of Armenia, and that there are 1 million Azerbaijanis – refugees and internally displaced persons – from Armenia and Azerbaijani occupied territory. Armenia and Azerbaijan have signed a ceasefire agreement, but that has not settled the conflict. Because of Armenia’s destructive manipulation of the peace process, the conflict remains unsettled. Despite international appeals, the Yerevan administration will not act constructively. In September 2013 the Assembly witnessed how the President of Armenia interprets in his own way Resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884 of the United Nations Security Council on the unconditional and immediate withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
Ms PASHAYEVA (Azerbaijan) - First of all I would like to congratulate Mr Mignon on his successful activities during the two years he presided over the Assembly and to wish him success in his future activities. I also congratulate the new President of the Assembly, Ms Brasseur, and wish her success in her future activities. I hope that, regardless of the tension and difficulties in the world, the Assembly will be more active under her leadership and will resolve the issues that have arisen.
Dear Colleagues, is it not high time that serious action was taken to resolve the destiny of hundreds of thousands of people? Twenty one years have already passed but the Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons cannot return to their native homes. Every year 100 people pass away from longing to return to their homes. Is there any other tragedy like this? We have only to imagine their situation for a moment to realise that we, as a Parliamentary Assembly, have a number of mechanisms to help them.
Dear colleagues, the Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons expect more from you. It is simply not enough to hold discussions and to adopt documents. These people appeal to you to exert serious control over the implementation of the resolutions and documents adopted by you, to implement more effective mechanisms to protect their violated rights and to conduct discussions on this issue.
I would like to bring the appeal of hundreds of thousands of the Azerbaijan refugees and internally displaced persons to your notice. These people call on you not to forget them. They urge the Assembly to increase its activities, impact and pressure on Armenia for the implementation of Resolution 1416.
Today, approximately half the refugees and internally displaced persons in the Council of Europe area live in Azerbaijan. I urge our Assembly to conduct special discussions on the situation of internally displaced persons in the South Caucasus in the near future. Whatever their location, we should pay serious attention to the situation of refugees and internally displaced persons and provide them with assistance. The European Council should not ignore such situations or the implementation of the resolutions adopted by it. I urge the respected Assembly to take these people seriously and to accelerate its impact and its pressure mechanisms to implement its Resolution 1416.
Mr CONNARTY (United Kingdom) - I wish to call the attention of the Assembly to the link between poor quality governance in sport and the abuse of human rights.
For two years I have been Chair of the Sub-Committee for Sport of the Assembly’s Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media. In that capacity I have initiated and participated in an investigation into governance and corruption in football. I could try to catch colleagues’ attention by talking in detail about the €14 million of The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) funds that were mysteriously diverted in the ISL scandal; or the questions raised by the two gold watches in the possession of the European Clubs Association chairman when he returned to Germany from Qatar; or the questions raised by the admission by the president of The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that his son has a company based in Qatar with World Cup contracts; or the question raised by the allocation of television recording rights for the Brazil World Cup 2014 to the company owned by the grandson of the president of FIFA.
Much more important are the human rights questions that are raised by the decision of FIFA to allocate the 2022 World Cup venue to Qatar. Alongside that are serious questions for Council of Europe countries who voted as part of UEFA for Qatar.
Qatar is a country that is in permanent breach of the United Nations Palermo Convention (2000) on the trafficking of humans. It is also in breach of the Council of Europe Moscow Convention (2005) on Trafficking. In the United Kingdom Parliament, I sit on a Committee scrutinising a draft anti-slavery Bill. It has become obvious that by the definitions under the Palermo and Moscow Conventions, Qatar is a State based on modern-day slavery.
The Convention definitions are based on “control” of humans for the purpose of “exploitation”. Employees in Qatar, including those currently working on the building of football stadiums, have their passports taken, which is against their human rights. They are controlled. No overseas worker can leave Qatar without the written permission of their employer – they are modern-day slaves. In particular the workers building the stadiums are being forced to work in temperatures up to 40°C for up to 12 hours per day. When we raised this issue with FIFA, 50 workers had already died; by today 184 workers have died.
Both FIFA and UEFA were resistant to the idea we put to them, which was that they should take into account the human rights performance and commitment of the countries who apply to host the European or World Cup. These are serious questions for every elected politician in a Council of Europe country, and double questions for those whose football associations voted for Qatar as the venue for the 2022 World Cup. Why did they do it? What benefit did either the individuals or countries involved gain from voting Qatar? Why do they think football, or any other sport, is above adherence to Human Rights Conventions when dealing with their sport?
Mr G. DAVIES (United Kingdom) - In Britain today, infants and toddlers are being subjected to physical punishment by parents who intentionally and systematically inflict pain on their own children; parents who are explicitly protected by government from charges of common assault and child cruelty by the legal defence of ‘reasonable chastisement’. The law in the United Kingdom still protects fully grown adults and was used successfully eight times against charges of common assault and four of child cruelty in two years and thus continued the misguided, harmful and counter-productive violence against impressionable young children.
Yet the research for children under 10 shows that physical punishment creates more aggressive children who strike out against parents, brothers and sisters, friends and future partners, as confirmed by the 2013 survey of academic studies, in the journal of the American Academy of Paediatrics. Therefore, the conscious practice of smacking young children leads to an inter-generational transfer of violence against children and domestic violence itself.
How can it be necessary to hit a young child to change their behaviour when such beating is banned in schools and, thanks to my own Bill on the regulation of child minders, banned for child minders? It clearly is not necessary. Why should parents be given a special defence for common assault against their own children? They shouldn’t. So I’m bringing in a Private Bill to remove the defence of ‘reasonable chastisement’ so children have the same protection as adults against common assault. It is simply not acceptable for children to be subjected to pain, humiliation and lasting psychological damage from a regime of systematic beating.
I appreciate that politicians who follow public opinion instead of leading it will fear taking action, but 23 member States of the Council of Europe have already abolished corporal punishment with another seven planning to follow. Germany, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Sweden, Cyprus, Denmark and Finland already cope without resorting to beating their children and so should the United Kingdom.
German research showed that children who were smacked were more likely to become violent and engage in anti-social behaviour in the future, so banning smacking became part of the plan to reduce youth crime. Yes we need to help parents to raise their children and resolve conflict without violence. And yes, if “reasonable chastisement” is not a defence, smacking will still occur, but over time better behaviour will evolve.
In Sweden, corporal punishment was banned 35 years ago to safeguard children from domestic violence. It is high time that the same happened for children in the United Kingdom, whether it is in England first or in Wales, where the Welsh Government now have the power to protect their children. The Children's Commissioners for Wales and for England are against corporal punishment and so is the European Social Charter. It is time for more light and less heat, more loving and less hurting, and for the United Kingdom to treat its children with the respect they deserve.
Ms PALIHOVICI (Republic of Moldova) - As a Moldovan and a member of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development, I feel obliged to draw your attention to a troubling development. For over two decades, some have been trying to separate the Transnistria region from Moldova. The struggle is not news to you, but what is new is the troubling trend of Transdneister’s separatist authorities to become less and less co-operative in negotiations. While these leaders wage this fight for political purposes, it is the people and especially the children living in the Transnistria region who are suffering. These children do not have access to basic rights like modern health care and especially quality education.
Right now, Moldovan parents in the Transnistria region worry about putting their children’s safety at risk by simply allowing them to learn to read the Latin alphabet, a skill that could unlock new opportunities and avenues for their future success. The eight Moldovan schools in the Transnistria region, where some 2,000 Moldovan children attend classes, have been subjected to increasing and unprecedented pressure in recent weeks. This pressure includes tariffs for utilities that other schools do not face, with increases of more than 200% in some cases in recent months.
The Lucian Blaga Lyceum in Tiraspol, one of the major Moldovan schools, has had its rent increased by 130% since 2012. Also, requests for teaching staff to pay 15% ”income tax”, which, in fact, represents a double taxation policy for these teachers, have been identified. According to the school staff, non-payment of this “income tax” might result in prosecution of teachers by the separatist Transnistrian structures. The Government of the Republic of Moldova has repeatedly called on Tiraspol to refrain from any unilateral action against these schools, their teaching staff, pupils and parents.
This is nothing less than a deliberate war on children. National delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the conscience of Europe, should raise their voices in criticism of such actions and in solidarity with children whose rights to quality education are being infringed.
Last November, Moldova initialled the Association Agreement with the European Union, and God willing, we shall sign the Agreement this year. Moldova is moving forward down its path towards Europe and a brighter future, but as Moldova moves forward, the families and children living in the Transnistrian region are being held back.
Of course, things are not perfect in Moldova. We still have a long way to go – corruption and poverty are still too common – but Moldova has come a long way. It is unconscionable that as we move forward, the families and children of Transdneister are sadly being left behind.
I ask the Parliamentary Assembly to help bring our Transdneistrian brothers and sisters hope for a brighter future. Negotiations between Moldova and this separatist region are not moving fast enough. With your support, it may be possible for the families and children of Transneister to share in renewed hope at the dawn of this new year.
Mr AXELSSON (Sweden) - “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” This is stipulated in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948.
In many countries around the world, these principles have also been converted into practical policies. But this is far from being the case in all countries, and sometimes developments have even gone in the wrong direction.
For many people, equal living conditions are still no more than a far-off dream. This may be because of class, or it could be because of gender, but often it is because they are afflicted by a functional disability.
Sixty years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 3 May 2008 was an important date in relation to improving conditions for people with disabilities in our societies. That is when the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities came into force. Non-discrimination and equal treatment are two of the fundamental principles. Much remains to be done if the articles of the Convention are to be realised. We have to start by changing the way we see people and understanding what it means to recognise equal human dignity for all people.
By 2015, the United Nations Millennium Development Goals should have been reached. Extreme poverty and hunger in the world are still to be eliminated. All children are yet to have the opportunity to go to school, and equality between women and men is yet to be assured, along with several other urgent matters. Each and every one of us can feel disappointed that so many societies are still so far from these goals. But we must look ahead and the work with post-2015 must continue.
At this point, it may be valuable to remember some words from the Chair of the International Disability Alliance from July last year: "Now it's time to mainstream disabilities in Post 2015. Over a billion people, 15 per cent, in the world, have a disability. Leave no one behind!”
For those of us who are deeply involved in questions relating to disabilities, developments in our societies are often really disheartening. But with determined efforts to realise the Convention and with a clear disability focus in the new post-2015 goals, the chances should be good for positive developments in the future.