Parliamentary Assembly Assemblée parlementaire

Doc. 10867
29 March 2006

Need for condemnation of crimes of communist regimes

Written question No 486 to the Committee of Ministers
presented by Mr Lindblad

The Parliamentary Assembly has strongly condemned the extensive and wide-ranging human rights abuses committed by the Franco regime in Spain from 1939 to 1975. The recommendation was adopted unanimously on March 17 and calls on the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers to adopt a similar declaration at international level.

My question is whether the Committee of Ministers would address also the need for condemnation of crimes of the communist regimes as the Assembly did in its Resolution 1481 (2006).

The totalitarian communist regimes which ruled in Central and Eastern Europe in the last century, and which still are in power in several countries in the world, have been, without exception, characterised by the massive violation of human rights. The public awareness of crimes committed by totalitarian communist regimes is, however, poor. A political assessment of the crimes of communism is presented in my report to the Assembly (Doc. 10765).

Signed ¹:

LINDBLAD, Göran, Sweden, EPP/CD

¹     SOC: Socialist Group
       EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party
       ALDE: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
       EDG: European Democratic Group
       UEL: Group of the Unified European Left
       NR: not registered in a group