1. Introduction
1. Resolution
1115 (1997) on the setting up of the Monitoring Committee, as modified
by
Resolutions 1431 (2005),
1515 (2006),
1710 (2010) and
1936
(2013), constitutes the basis for the Parliamentary Assembly’s monitoring
procedure, defines the mandate of the Committee on the Honouring
of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of
Europe (Monitoring Committee) and entrusts it with the task of “verifying
the fulfilment of obligations assumed by the member States under
the terms of the Statute of the Council of Europe (ETS No. 1), the
European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5, “the Convention”)
and all other Council of Europe conventions to which they are parties,
as well as honouring of commitments entered into by the authorities
of member States upon their accession to the Council of Europe”.
2. In accordance with
Resolution
1115 (1997), the Monitoring Committee is obliged to report to the Parliamentary
Assembly once a year on the general progress of the monitoring procedures.
The present report fulfils this obligation for the period between
June 2012 and August 2013. Following established practice, as Chair
of the committee elected to the post in January 2012, I have been
entrusted, for the second consecutive year, with the task of being
rapporteur on the committee’s activities.
3. Readers familiar with previous progress reports emanating
from the Monitoring Committee will notice the different approach
I have used for the present report. As a result of the discussions
in the committee (to which I refer in more detail in the chapter
entitled “Prospects for the development of the monitoring procedure”)
and with a view to addressing criticism about alleged unequal treatment
of countries and double standards with regard to monitoring, I have
decided to broaden the scope of my report.
4. In accordance with opinions expressed by some members, and
building on the ideas contained in my report of last year, which
won the support of the Assembly (see
Resolution 1895 (2012)), I have not limited myself to giving an account of the
committee’s activities concerning the countries under the monitoring procedure
and post-monitoring dialogue, but I have also attempted to give
a more substantial and analytical overview of the compliance with
statutory obligations by the remaining 33 member States which are
not under the country-specific procedure.
5. This approach marks a clear difference compared to all earlier
progress reports, in which member States not subject to the country-specific
procedure did not undergo this kind of analytical scrutiny. In previous
years, we attached in extenso findings
of other Council of Europe monitoring mechanisms without further
analysis, assessment or drawing of conclusions. We also divided
the 33 countries into three groups and looked at only one group
each year, which did not allow for a more general comparative overview.
As a result, we were faced with a vast amount of raw data, difficult
to read and compare, with no assessment or conclusions. The almost non-existent
impact of this part of a progress report (presented as an addendum
to the main document) was well illustrated by the very limited discussions
it raised.
6. The present report contains a more analytical evaluation of
the 33 countries. As in previous years, I have based myself on the
findings of the other Council of Europe monitoring mechanisms, but
this time I have attempted to critically analyse and process them,
and instead of flooding the report with extensive data, I have attempted
to identify the most serious concerns in each country with a view
to providing readers with sufficient information for possible further
action if they deem it useful.
7. This first attempt at introducing a more balanced approach
in the treatment of all member States does not prejudge future developments
of the monitoring procedure and does not prevent us from trying
to improve this exercise. In Chapter 3, I have reflected on different
ideas and proposals with regard to the development of the monitoring
procedure, taking into account the discussions in the Monitoring
Committee and between the President of the Assembly and the Heads
of national delegations. I have also formulated concrete proposals for
the future.
8. In accordance with established practice, in chapter 2 of this
report I have limited myself to references to relevant texts adopted
by the Assembly, reports or other public documents prepared by our
committee’s co-rapporteurs who follow the situation in the respective
countries. Where appropriate, I have also used the reports drawn
up by the ad hoc committees of the Bureau of the Assembly on election
observation in these countries, since this exercise is closely linked
to the work carried out by our committee. I have also referred to the
conclusions of the European Commission for Democracy through Law
(Venice Commission) and other Council of Europe monitoring mechanisms
which have been used by committee co-rapporteurs in the preparation
of their fact-finding visits.
9. In the draft resolution, following the pattern established
in previous progress reports by the Monitoring Committee, I have
addressed the recurrent issues and concerns related to the compliance
with obligations and commitments by member States. The difference
as compared to the past years is that more attention has been drawn
to problems identified by the Council of Europe monitoring mechanisms
in the 33 States which are not under the country-specific monitoring
procedure. I hope that this will satisfy those members who are anxious to
ensure equal treatment and better compliance by all member States
with their obligations and commitments.
10. As in previous years, I have also appended a chart of ratifications
and signatures of the main Council of Europe conventions with a
monitoring mechanism.
2. Overview
of the committee’s activities
2.1. General remarks
11. During the reporting period, ten countries
remained
under the monitoring procedure and four
were engaged
in a post-monitoring dialogue. Since June 2012, the committee has
produced full monitoring reports on Montenegro, the Russian Federation,
Azerbaijan and reports on post-monitoring dialogue on Bulgaria, Turkey
and “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”. The committee approved
a preliminary draft report on the honouring of obligations and commitments
by the Republic of Moldova and a preliminary draft report on the
post-monitoring dialogue with Monaco; both were transmitted to the
respective authorities for comments which were subsequently considered
by the committee. Draft resolutions on the Republic of Moldova and Bosnia
and Herzegovina were adopted by the committee in September 2013.
12. With regard to specific files, the committee produced an opinion
on the request for the opening of a monitoring procedure in respect
of Hungary; in compliance with the Rules of Procedure, it was transmitted
to the Bureau and debated in the Assembly. The committee also prepared,
discussed and declassified an information note on the consequences
of the war between Georgia and Russia.
13. The respective rapporteurs carried out fact-finding visits
to: Albania, Azerbaijan (3 visits), Bosnia-Herzegovina (2 visits),
Georgia (2 visits), Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation (2 visits),
Ukraine, Bulgaria, Monaco, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”,
Turkey (2 visits), Montenegro and Hungary. The rapporteur on Bulgaria
and the co-rapporteurs on Hungary paid visits to the European Commission
in Brussels. The committee’s delegation, composed of the co-rapporteurs
on Russia, the co-rapporteurs on Georgia, and led by the Chair of
the committee, visited Moscow and Tbilisi. The (co-)rapporteurs
also participated in the pre-electoral and/or electoral missions
to the following countries: Armenia, Georgia, Montenegro, Ukraine,
Bulgaria and Monaco.
14. The respective (co)rapporteurs also submitted information
notes on Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia; both were declassified
by the committee.
15. During the reporting period, the committee requested the legal
expertise of the Venice Commission with regard to legal acts in
Azerbaijan, Hungary, Georgia, Monaco, “the former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia”, Ukraine and the Russian Federation. In June 2012,
it held an exchange of views with the President of the Venice Commission,
Mr Gianni Buquicchio, and the Director, Mr Thomas Markert.
16. In September 2012, the committee organised an exchange of
views with Ms Ursula Gacek, Chair of the Committee of Ministers’
Group of Rapporteurs on Democracy (GR-DEM) on possible ways to enhance
co-operation. Reflection on this subject continued in subsequent
meetings.
17. In January 2013, the committee held an exchange of views with
the participation of Mr Štefan Füle, European Commissioner on European
Union Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy.
18. The committee organised a hearing on frozen conflicts in the
framework of its external meeting held in Tallinn in May 2013, conceived
as a follow-up to the hearing held in Berlin in 2007, with the participation
of experts on Abkhazia and South Ossetia, on Nagorno-Karabakh and
on Transnistria, including Ms Jane Morrice, former deputy leader
of the Women’s Coalition and Senior Negotiator in the peace process
in Northern Ireland, Mr Vladimir Socor, Senior Research Fellow,
Jamestown Foundation, Mr Svante Cornell, Research Director, Central
Asia-Caucasus Institute, Mr Dennis Sammut, Executive Director of
the London Information Network on Conflicts and State Building (LINKS),
Ms Sabine Freizer, European Program Director, International Crisis
Group, Mr James Sherr, Fellow, Advanced Research and Assessment
Group, Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, and Mr Kamil Calus,
Centre for Eastern Studies, Poland. The minutes of the hearing were
published.
19. The committee also held an exchange of views with Mr Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of
the Council of Europe, in June 2012.
2.2. Overview of the
country-specific monitoring over the reporting period
2.2.1. Albania
20. The co-rapporteurs visited Tirana in April 2013.
They presented to the committee an information note which was declassified
in June 2013.
Parliamentary elections were held
in the country on 23 June 2013; the Assembly was represented by
the ad hoc committee on the observation of elections, in which the
co-rapporteurs participated
ex officio.
The report on the observation will be presented to the Assembly
during the 4th part session (September-October 2013).
21. The political climate in Albania has changed considerably
since the presentation of the last progress report in June 2012,
and while tension between the two major political forces is still
present, political stalemate has considerably lessened and the opposition
has ended its boycott of the work of the parliament. The improved
co-operation between the Socialist Party and the Democratic Party
has allowed for a number of important laws and reforms that needed
a two-thirds majority to be passed in parliament.
22. This positive development is to a large extent a result of
the clearly expressed wish of all parties to receive European Union
candidate status. A key priority that dominates the political agenda
in Albania is its membership application to the European Union,
and the authorities have been implementing far-reaching reforms
which have been largely consensual and have addressed a number of
outstanding accession commitments to the Council of Europe.
23. A number of concerns still persist, including ineffective
delivery of justice, discrimination against minorities and the social
exclusion of Roma, as well as corruption and money laundering based
on organised crime. The politicisation of the events of 21 January
2011, when four protesters were fatally shot by the police during
a demonstration in front of the Prime Minister’s Office that had
turned violent, has negatively affected the institutional independence
of the judiciary and the prosecution. The acquittal by the court
of the policemen charged with the fatal shootings was widely criticised
in Albanian society.
24. Albania’s parliamentary elections on 23 June 2013 were assessed
by the Assembly observers as competitive and respectful of fundamental
freedoms. Extensive amendments to the electoral code, adopted in July
2012, had largely contributed to the improvement of the electoral
framework, which generally provided a sound basis for the conduct
of democratic elections. However, the atmosphere of mistrust between
the two main political forces tainted the electoral environment
and undercut the work of the election administration. The boycott
of the Central Election Commission by opposition parties following
the controversial dismissal of one of its members meant that it
conducted the remainder of its work without the quorum necessary
to make key decisions.
2.2.2. Armenia
25. There were no visits by the co-rapporteurs in the
framework of the monitoring procedure during the reporting period
due to the ongoing election cycle in Armenia as well as a change
in one co-rapporteurship. Unfortunately, the co-rapporteurs were
unable to take part in the ad hoc committee which observed the presidential
election of 18 February 2013, or take part in the Assembly’s pre-electoral
mission in January 2013. The report on the observation of the election
was submitted to the Assembly during the 2nd part of 2013 session
in April 2013.
26. According to the observers’ assessment, the presidential election
was generally well-administered and fundamental freedoms, including
those of assembly and expression, were respected. Although some
key concerns were identified, including misuse of administrative
resources and the lack of impartiality on the part of the public
administration, the observers concluded that there had been clear
improvements in the electoral process since the previous presidential
election, in particular in the media environment and the legal framework.
2.2.3. Azerbaijan
27. The co-rapporteurs visited the country in June and
November 2012, and in June 2013.
Resolution 1917 (2013) on the honouring of obligations and commitments was
adopted by the Assembly in January 2013.
28. In
Resolution 1917
(2013), while recognising the progress made by Azerbaijan with
regard to the establishment of the legislative framework in some
areas, the Assembly expressed its concern over restrictive application
or violations of some laws crucial for the functioning of democratic
institutions, the rule of law and respect for human rights.
29. The lack of independence of the judiciary was identified as
a concern and the situation with regard to basic freedoms, including
freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of association,
was considered to be preoccupying. The reports by human rights defenders
and domestic and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
about the alleged use of so-called fabricated charges against activists
and journalists, as well as the combination of the restrictive implementation
of freedoms, with unfair trials and undue influence of the executive,
resulting in the existence of alleged political prisoners, were
considered as most worrying. Alleged cases of torture and other
forms of ill-treatment at police stations, as well as impunity of perpetrators,
raised major concerns. Corruption also remained a concern.
30. In the statement made following their last visit, the co-rapporteurs
expressed concern at the adoption of recent legislative acts, including
the Law of Criminalisation of Defamation on the Internet, and the
amendments to the Law on NGOs and to the Code of Administrative
Offences. They called on the authorities to ensure freedom of expression
and to investigate all cases of beatings and harassment reported
by some journalists and bring the perpetrators to justice. They
raised some cases of detained journalists and activists, and drew the
authorities’ attention to alleged deficiencies in the judicial procedure.
They also raised other concerns with regard to the independence
of justice.
31. In the light of the forthcoming presidential election in October
2013, the co-rapporteurs stressed the need for the creation of conditions
which would allow for a fair electoral campaign in compliance with
democratic standards. The Bureau of the Assembly has already set
up an ad hoc committee for the observation of the presidential election;
a pre-electoral mission is scheduled for September 2013 and the
co-rapporteurs will take part in it.
2.2.4. Bosnia and Herzegovina
32. The co-rapporteurs visited the country in June 2012
and in June 2013. In September 2012 they submitted an information
note
to the committee. In their oral report
to the committee following the latter visit, they proposed holding
a debate in the Assembly on the functioning of democratic institutions
in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 4th part of the 2013 session.
The committee approved a report in September 2013.
33. The co-rapporteurs stressed that substantial constitutional
reform, at both federal and entity levels, was urgently needed in
order to turn Bosnia and Herzegovina into a fully functioning democracy.
In this context, they pointed to the lack of progress in implementation
of the Sejdić and Finci judgment
of the European Court of Human Rights (“the Court”), and, more generally,
in the road map to a credible European Union membership application.
34. Furthermore, they underlined the need for reform of the public
administration and its financial sustainability, and they expressed
concern about the high level of corruption.
35. They called for an inclusive constitutional process involving
all the parties and communities of the country, and they insisted
that a population census must take place and must not be politicised.
2.2.5. Georgia
36. The co-rapporteurs visited the country in December
2012 and in April 2013. In January 2013, they submitted to the committee
an information note.
Parliamentary elections took place
in October 2012; the co-rapporteurs participated
ex officio in the pre-electoral
and electoral observation missions. The report on the observation
was presented to the Assembly in January 2013.
37. The political environment has changed dramatically as a result
of the change of power during the last elections, which were considered
by international observers as competitive and conducted in a democratic manner
in line with European standards and Council of Europe commitments
despite a polarised and tense election campaign in which serious
shortcomings were observed.
38. The formation of the new government was smooth and efficient,
but its cohabitation with the President has been difficult and at
times acrimonious. Regrettably, the polarisation and rhetoric that
characterised the election campaign has not been overcome. This
difficult cohabitation is, to an extent, mirrored in the work of the
parliament and hinders the normalisation of the political environment.
Following the visit in December, the co-rapporteurs called on both
the political majority and opposition to fully respect each other’s
constitutional roles.
39. Since the elections, a number of arrests of leading members
of the opposition and ministerial officials for alleged crimes committed
under their responsibility during their tenure in office gave rise
to allegations of selective and politically motivated justice. The
co-rapporteurs expressed their concern about these arrests on several
occasions, including in May 2013, when they made a statement in
which they called on the Georgian authorities to ensure that the
legal proceedings against the former Prime Minister and the former
Minister of Health are conducted transparently and in compliance
with Georgia’s obligations under Articles 5 and 6 of the European
Convention on Human Rights.
40. Another concern was raised by a controversial resolution adopted
by the parliament in December 2012 in which it recognised 190 persons
as political prisoners and another 25 as “political exiles”.
41. Despite important reforms initiated by the previous government,
the independence of the judiciary and the administration of justice
continue to be of great concern to the Assembly. In that respect,
recent reforms of the judiciary, with a view to enhancing its independence,
were welcomed by the co-rapporteurs. The abuse of prisoners scandal
that erupted in September 2012 was an alarm that brought to light
systemic deficiencies in the human rights situation in prisons and
detention centres.
42. The presidential election in the country is scheduled for
October 2013.
2.2.6. Republic of Moldova
43. The co-rapporteurs visited the country in October
2012. They submitted to the committee a preliminary draft report
which was considered and transmitted to the authorities of the Republic
of Moldova for comments in January 2013. The comments and a revised
draft report were then examined by the committee in April 2013. The
report was adopted by the committee in September 2013.
44. In the statement at the end of their visit in October 2012,
the co-rapporteurs praised the political will of the authorities
to fulfil the countries’ commitments and obligations towards the
Council of Europe. The election of the President in March 2012,
which put an end to a three-year political deadlock, strengthened
political stability in the country.
45. However, a number of concrete reforms, including the revision
of Article 78 of the Constitution, have to be addressed by the parliament
in order to avoid repeated political deadlocks in the future. The
fight against corruption, the reform of the Prosecutor’s Office
and the police, and the independence of the judiciary are other priority
areas for action and a precondition for the social and economic
development of the country.
2.2.7. Montenegro
46. During the reporting period, the co-rapporteurs presented
to the Assembly, on behalf of the committee, a report on the honouring
of obligations and commitments by Montenegro.
Resolution 1890 (2012) was adopted on that occasion.
47. The co-rapporteurs noted the substantial progress made by
Montenegro since the presentation of the last report in 2010, towards
the fulfilment of its remaining obligations and commitments towards
the Council of Europe. In particular, by 2012, Montenegro had ratified
83 conventions and adopted many laws in the fields of the rule of
law, democracy and human rights. In particular, the progress made
by the country in aligning its legislation on elections and citizenship
with the Constitution should be commended. It has also taken a leading role
in combating discrimination and continues to play a positive role
in the stabilisation in the region.
48. While welcoming the efforts to comply with Council of Europe
standards, the co-rapporteurs pointed out that the authorities need
to make further progress in five key areas, namely the judiciary,
minority rights, the fight against corruption and organised crime,
the media and the situation of internally displaced persons and refugees.
49. The co-rapporteurs visited the country in July 2013. In their
subsequent statement, they encouraged Montenegro to amend its Constitution
and legislation to improve its judicial system and build trust in
the electoral system. They also expressed concern over the legal
status of a large number of internally displaced persons (IDPs)
and refugees, who need to obtain identity documents by the end of
2013.
2.2.8. Russian Federation
50. The co-rapporteurs visited the country in July 2012
and in July 2013. The report on the honouring of obligations and
commitments
and
Resolution 1896 (2012) were adopted by the Assembly in October 2012.
51. The report, which covered the last seven years, welcomed some
positive steps, such as amendments to the law on political parties,
changes in the electoral law and the reintroduction of direct elections
of governors as well as a number of reforms in the field of the
judiciary and the penitentiary system.
52. However, other measures, such as the law on the constitutional
court and four laws adopted by the Duma in June and July 2012 (on
the criminalisation of defamation and on the Internet, and amendments
to the law on assemblies (the so-called “protest law”) and on non-governmental
organisations (the so-called “law on foreign agents”) raised serious
concern. Furthermore, deficiencies in and restrictive implementation
of other laws crucial for the functioning of democratic institutions
and the political environment have led to a deterioration of the
conditions for genuine political pluralism.
53. In particular, the implementation of the law “on foreign agents”,
launched at the beginning of March 2013, leads to ambiguity and
has too broad a scope for interpretation, creating a real threat
to the freedom of expression and association.
54. The adoption, in July 2013, of the law on the “propaganda
of homosexuality to minors” also gave rise to criticism by the international
community and is likely to increase discrimination against the lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
55. The continuous pre-trial detention of a number of protesters
from the “Bolotnaya Square rally” of 6 May 2012 on charges of “mass
rioting” has been publicly questioned by human rights defenders,
including the members of the Presidential Council on Civil Society
Development and Human Rights.
56. Following the announcement in July 2013 of the Court’s decision
to jail Mr Alexei Navalny, a Russian protest leader, for five years
on charges of embezzlement, the co-rapporteurs expressed their deep
concern and observed that the judicial procedures had features of
a political process and reinforced doubts about the independence
of the judiciary in Russia.
57. In a statement made in July 2013, one of the co-rapporteurs,
who is also rapporteur of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human
Rights on “Refusing impunity for the killers of Sergei Magnitsky”,
expressed his disappointment at the guilty verdicts against the
late Mr Magnitsky pronounced by a Moscow court.
2.2.9. Serbia
58. There were no visits by the co-rapporteurs to Serbia
during the reporting period.
59. The co-rapporteurs continue to monitor the situation, which
is characterised by the ongoing reform process and positive developments
on the European Union membership agenda. Serbia is heading in the
right direction, adopting new laws and implementing strategic reforms,
in particular in the areas of the judicial system and the fight
against corruption and organised crime, including trafficking in
human beings and firearms.
2.2.10. Ukraine
60. The co-rapporteurs visited the country in April 2013.
The parliamentary elections took place in October 2012; the co-rapporteurs
participated
ex officio in
the Assembly’s pre-electoral and electoral observation missions.
The report on the observation
was presented to the Assembly in
November 2012.
61. In their final report, the observers concluded that Ukraine’s
parliamentary elections were “marred by a tilted playing field”
which contributed to the dominance of the major economic and financial
groups. They pointed to the misuse of administrative resources and
a lack of transparency in campaign and party financing, as well
as imbalance in media coverage. Serious irregularities were noted
in at least 13 constituencies, in five of which the election results
were cancelled. The observers expressed “grave concern” at this
and said these irregularities were “liable to vitiate the whole
electoral process”. They made a number of recommendations to resolve
the problems noted.
62. In the statement made at the end of their visit in April 2013,
the co-rapporteurs welcomed the continuing efforts displayed by
the Ukrainian authorities to reform the judiciary, but stressed
that the implementation of newly adopted laws and strategies is
now essential to ensure an independent and impartial judiciary that
fully respects the principles of the rule of law. They welcomed
the news that the opposition had decided to return to parliament.
63. The co-rapporteurs also welcomed the release of Yuriy Lutsenko
following a presidential pardon, pointing to this development as
an important step forward in resolving a situation that has regrettably dominated
relations with the European institutions, including the Parliamentary
Assembly, and which has hampered Ukraine's further European integration.
They expressed the hope that his release would be followed by further
steps to satisfactorily resolve the issue of other imprisoned former
government officials.
64. Addressing the deficiencies in the judicial system noted in
Assembly
Resolution 1862
(2012) is crucial if the country is to meet its obligations
to the Council of Europe, as well as for the completion of the Association Agreement
with the European Union. The co-rapporteurs have stated on several
occasions that the conviction of Ms Yulia Timoshenko in the “gas
case” amounts to the criminalisation of normal political decision-making. Furthermore,
many questions have been raised with regard to the judicial procedure.
65. In December 2012, the committee, on a proposal by the rapporteurs,
agreed to request an opinion of the Venice Commission on the draft
law on referenda. This draft law is important in the context of
the ongoing work by the authorities to amend the Constitution.
2.3. Countries engaged
in a post-monitoring dialogue
2.3.1. Bulgaria
66. The rapporteur visited the country in September 2012.
He also paid a visit to the European Commission in Brussels in November
2012. In January 2013, he presented, on behalf of the committee,
a report on the post-monitoring dialogue with Bulgaria.
The Assembly adopted on that occasion
Resolution 1915 (2013). Early parliamentary elections took place in Bulgaria
in May 2013. The rapporteur participated
ex
officio in the Assembly’s pre-electoral and electoral
observation missions. The report on the observation was presented
to the Assembly in June 2013.
67. The observation mission concluded that the elections were
held in a competitive environment, fundamental freedoms were respected
and the administration of the elections was well managed, although
the campaign was overshadowed by a number of incidents that diminished
trust in State institutions and the process was negatively affected
by pervasive allegations of vote-buying.
68. The Assembly’s
Resolution
1915 (2013), while welcoming the substantial progress made by Bulgaria towards
the fulfilment of its remaining obligations, decided to continue
the current post-monitoring dialogue with the Bulgarian authorities.
However, it considered that some steps still need to be taken in
a number of key areas, notably with regard to the independence of
the judiciary, which has “not always been fully respected”, and
the fight against corruption and organised crime, with a “lack of
results in terms of final court rulings with regard to high profile
corruption cases”.
2.3.2. Monaco
69. During the reporting period, there were no visits
by the rapporteur to Monaco. In October 2012, the committee considered
the authorities’ comments on the preliminary draft report transmitted
to them earlier that year and decided to ask the Venice Commission
to examine in particular the compatibility with democratic standards
of the constitutional provisions concerning the National Council,
taking into account the specificities of Monaco. The opinion of
the Venice Commission was adopted in 13 June 2013 and discussed
in the committee at its June 2013 meeting. The draft report remains
confidential until its adoption by the committee.
70. Parliamentary elections were held in February 2013, and the
rapporteur took part
ex officio in
the Assembly’s electoral observation mission. The report on the
observation
was presented to the Assembly in April
2013. The observers concluded that the elections were fair and free.
A high turnout (74.55%) proved the attachment of Monegasques to
representative democracy in the Principality of Monaco. The administration
of elections was efficient and transparent. Overall media coverage
of the election campaign was balanced, taking into account that
Monaco has only one daily newspaper. All candidates’ lists had equal
access to the media. The observers also underlined the importance
of new rules on the financing of the election campaign, which reinforced
the transparency and fairness of the electoral process.
71. However, the election campaign was tarnished by verbal violence,
slander and homophobic insults, as well as a physical assault, personal
attacks and scandals. Moreover, the Assembly observers regretted
that during the campaign, the role and the aim of the Council of
Europe were misinterpreted in a way which was exploited during the
campaign. This was all the more regrettable in view of the efficient
and constructive relations between the Organisation and Monaco since
the accession of the Principality to the Council of Europe in 2004.
72. The rapporteur noted that many reforms still remain to be
drawn up so as to meet the recommendations formulated by the Assembly
in 2009. She stressed that the Council of Europe was fully aware
of the specific features of the Principality of Monaco. However,
suitable legal solutions, which take account of these specific features
while ensuring compliance with Monaco’s commitments and obligations,
should be identified. In this context, the need to elaborate the
law on the functioning of the National Council is of particular
importance.
2.3.3. “The former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia”
73. The rapporteur visited the country in November 2012
and accompanied the President of the Assembly on his official visit
in June 2013. He prepared a report
which was discussed by the Assembly
in June 2013.
Resolution
1949 (2013) and
Recommendation
2022 (2013) were adopted on that occasion.
74. In his report, the rapporteur acknowledged that the country
is committed to progress towards fulfilling all the remaining obligations
and commitments and adopting the necessary legal framework. The
country remains highly divided across both political and ethnic
lines and the implementation of laws remains problematic. The authorities
should continue to implement the Ohrid Framework Agreement, launch
new inclusive policies, pursue decentralisation and further promote
the cultural and linguistic rights of minorities. The rapporteur welcomed
the legal reforms but urged for further efforts to ensure the impartiality
and independence of the judicial system. He also expressed concern
at the controversial Lustration Law and called for improved freedom
of the media. The country’s efforts to reduce corruption, combat
discrimination, end ill-treatment and integrate refugees should
continue.
75. The rapporteur regretted that the name issue continues to
delay the opening of accession negotiations with the European Union,
as well as the attempts of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”
to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), and expressed
the hope that Greece would adopt a more flexible approach.
2.3.4. Turkey
76. The rapporteur visited the country in June and in
November 2012. In January 2013, the Monitoring Committee adopted
a declaration on Turkey to welcome the resumption of talks by the
Turkish authorities with a view to finding a political solution
to the Kurdish issue. In April 2013, the rapporteur presented to
the Assembly on behalf of the committee a report on the post-monitoring
dialogue.
The Assembly adopted on this occasion
Resolution 1925 (2013).
77. In her report, the rapporteur recognised that a process of
major reform was taking place in Turkey against a complex background
of political transition involving the judiciary and the army, the
Kurdish question and regional instability, not least in neighbouring
Syria. She welcomed Turkey’s progress in bringing its legislation
into line with the European Convention on Human Rights, promoting
the cultural and linguistic rights of the Kurds, stepping up dialogue
with religious communities and establishing the institution of ombudsman.
78. However, she also pointed to the need to take other steps
with a view to completing the reform programme, such as further
reform of the Constitution and continuing revision of the Criminal
Code as well as progress on freedom of expression, pre-trial detentions,
local and regional decentralisation and resolving the Kurdish question.
The report’s overall conclusion was that legislative reform and
institutional change in Turkey is ongoing but incomplete.
2.4. Other issues concerning
the fulfilment of obligations and commitments
2.4.1. Request for the
opening of a monitoring procedure in respect of Hungary
79. Following the tabling of a motion for a resolution
on “Serious setbacks in the field of the rule of law and human rights
in Hungary”, the committee was seized by the Bureau, in March 2011,
for the preparation of a written opinion on the subject in accordance
with paragraphs 3 and 4 of the terms of reference of the Monitoring Committee.
During the reporting period, the co-rapporteurs visited the country
in February 2013. The committee adopted an opinion
, submitted by the co-rapporteurs
in April 2013 (one of the co-rapporteurs resigned after having tabled
the report, which I personally consider as regrettable and hope
will not set a precedent for the future work of the committee);
it was then declassified and submitted to the Bureau which, in turn,
adopted an opinion in May 2013. The debate in the Assembly took
place in June 2013 and
Resolution 1941
(2013) was adopted.
80. In their report, the co-rapporteurs concluded that the erosion
of democratic checks and balances as a result of the new constitutional
framework in Hungary raised serious concern. This new framework
had excessively concentrated powers, increased discretion and reduced
the accountability and legal oversight of numerous government institutions
and regulatory bodies in Hungary. In addition, they expressed concern about
the curtailing of the powers and competences of the Constitutional
Court and the willingness of the authorities to use the two-thirds
majority in the parliament to circumvent Constitutional Court decisions.
This also raised questions with regard to respect for the principle
of the rule of law. They therefore concluded that when acceding
to the Council of Europe Hungary voluntarily committed itself to
upholding the highest possible standards in relation to the functioning
of democratic institutions, the protection of human rights and respect
for the rule of law. Regrettably, the above-mentioned developments
raise serious and sustained concerns about the extent to which the
country is still complying with these obligations.
81. Contrary to the co-rapporteurs’ and committee’s recommendation,
the Assembly did not decide to open a monitoring procedure in respect
of Hungary but resolved to closely follow the situation and to take
stock of the progress achieved in the implementation of
Resolution 1941 (2013).
2.4.2. Consequences of
the war between Georgia and Russia
82. In January 2011, the committee approved the proposal
of the then Chair, based on an agreement with the Georgian and Russian
delegations to the Assembly, on the manner in which it should continue
its work on the consequences of the war between Georgia and Russia
and on the implementation of the Assembly’s relevant recommendations.
It was agreed that the issue should be followed by the respective
co-rapporteurs on Russia and Georgia, that a joint information note
under the responsibility of the Chair would be presented to the
committee on an annual basis and that it would be discussed at a
specific sitting.
83. The fact-finding visit by the delegation, led by the Chair
and composed of the co-rapporteurs on Russia and the co-rapporteurs
on Georgia, took place in May 2013 and, contrary to the delegation’s
intention, was limited to Moscow and Tbilisi. The original draft
programme included meetings in Tskhinvali and Sukhumi, and contacts
had been established at the level of the Secretariat through the
intermediary of the Russian delegation with the de facto authorities on the spot,
who regrettably refused to receive the delegation.
84. The meetings in Moscow and Tbilisi focused on the main concerns
outlined in
Resolutions
1683 (2009),
1633 (2008) and
1647
(2009) which can be divided into four main areas: status of
the breakaway regions and implementation of the agreement of 12
August 2008; access to the breakaway regions; return of IDPs and humanitarian
questions; investigation into the allegations of war crimes and
violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. The
findings of the visit were included in a Joint Information Note
presented
to the committee and declassified in June 2013.
85. The committee decided to continue to closely follow the developments
with regard to the consequences of the war. It was also agreed that
if there were signals that the de facto authorities
wished to start an unconditional dialogue, the delegation would
carry out the next visit not only to Moscow and Tbilisi but also
to Sukhumi and Tskhinvali. But, until then, the file will be included
in the respective monitoring files on Georgia and Russia, and the
fulfilment of specific recommendations in this respect will be followed
in the framework of the periodical monitoring reports.
3. Overview of the
member States which are not under the monitoring procedure or involved
in the post-monitoring dialogue
3.1. General remarks
86. Resolution
1515 (2006) conferred on the Monitoring Committee the task of preparing
periodic reports on all 33 member States which are not the subject
of a monitoring procedure or involved in a post-monitoring dialogue.
Such periodic reports were appended to an annual progress report,
each country being reported on every three years. Between 2006 and
2012, the committee completed two full cycles of reporting, which
meant that it reported twice on each State in question. This procedure
was supposed to ensure a similar frequency of reporting as for the
countries under specific monitoring.
87. It has been widely acknowledged that the impact of the periodic
reports was limited; the reasons for this state of affairs are easy
to understand. It can hardly be expected from a single rapporteur
to follow closely and carry out substantial analysis of the situation
in 33 States on a regular basis. Not least because the limited human
resources in the secretariat of the committee would not allow for
systematic research and assistance in this respect. Consequently,
the reports were included in a separate addendum – lengthy and difficult
to read – composed of the findings of different Council of Europe
monitoring mechanisms.
88. Last year, following the discussions in the Monitoring Committee,
and with the agreement of its members, I introduced some changes
and new elements, which, according to the feedback I received, improved
the situation. I abandoned the lengthy descriptions of the state
of implementation of the different Council of Europe conventions
by monitoring mechanisms attached to these conventions. These findings,
in their entirety, may be easily consulted on the Council of Europe
website on a country-by-country basis. Instead, I adopted a more
analytical approach and focused my conclusions on the concerns identified
by each mechanism in the countries concerned. This new method contributed
to giving a better overview of the concerns raised in comparable
terms.
89. This year, again with the agreement of the committee, I decided
to go a little further in the same direction, always keeping in
mind the ultimate objective of this exercise: a global picture.
In the present report, all the 33 countries not under a specific
monitoring procedure are reported on in a unified manner, allowing
for a clearer comparison of the concerns and their scale, in each
of them. I have increased a little the level of analysis, namely
a more advanced analysis, aimed at selection, focus and conclusion.
This, again, facilitates reading and comparison. It gives a quick
overview and allows for further research for those who are interested,
thanks to scrupulous reference to the sources. It is not designed
to report in detail, as we do for countries under specific monitoring,
but to draw attention to any problems or trends which might require
closer consideration.
90. This new approach replies, at least in part, to those who
claim that some countries are not monitored at all. All countries
are monitored with respect to their statutory obligations, and this
report provides evidence of this. I hope that after having read
this report, the reader will have a better overview of the concerns
identified by the different monitoring mechanisms in each of the
33 countries.
91. Having said that, I have to admit that there are indeed some
methodological difficulties in drawing full advantage from this
exercise. Firstly, in order to allow for monitoring, the State concerned
must sign and ratify a convention to which the monitoring mechanism
is attached. In the past, we have always attached to the progress
report a table indicating the state of ratifications and/or signatures
by member States of the main Council of Europe instruments which
provide for a specialised monitoring mechanism, and we called on
the authorities of the countries which had failed to sign/ratify
some of the core conventions to do so. However, if this has not
been done, the country is not monitored under that specific convention,
which, in the framework of this report, may give the false impression
that there are no concerns in this specific area in a given country.
In contrast, the countries which have fulfilled the obligation to
sign and ratify all the main conventions may have the feeling of
unfairness by being criticised for problems which may go unnoticed
in some other countries.
92. Secondly, given the differences in timelines of cycles and
in monitoring procedures of the various convention mechanisms of
the Council of Europe, it is impossible to draw, at any given moment,
a full picture including the recent findings of all the monitoring
bodies for each country concerned. I had to establish the criteria
for selection, and I decided that the most practical way to proceed
would be to take into account the findings of Council of Europe
monitoring mechanisms which had been published over the reporting
period, namely between June 2012 and September 2013.
93. This method runs the risk of giving a false impression that
some countries, which by coincidence were subject to more monitoring
reports during my reporting period than the others, have more problems
than those countries on which, in accordance with specific cycles,
the majority of reports was presented before June 2012 or will be
presented next year. This apparent “injustice” is partly remedied
by the fact that should any urgent concerns appear in any country
on which a monitoring report is not being prepared or has not been
recently published, the monitoring mechanisms usually publish statements,
which I have fully taken into account in the present report. I have
also systematically indicated in brackets the year of the publication
of the most recent monitoring text adopted by the monitoring mechanism
in respect of a given country if it was not during my reporting
period. I am convinced that these two measures ensure more “balance”
in the overall picture.
94. Last but not least, we have to be very careful when we compare
findings of specific monitoring mechanisms in respect to different
countries. Each country has its own specificities and features,
and size is only one of them. Furthermore, we cannot forget that
there are no perfect democracies and in each area of functioning
of the democratic institutions, there is always room for improvement.
That does not necessarily mean that the weight of concerns in different
countries is of the same nature, even if a specific monitoring mechanism
formulates the same number of recommendations to each of them. I
have systematically included all the major problems identified by
the monitoring mechanisms with respect to particular countries,
being fully aware that their scale is sometimes very different,
and the meaning of “major” is relative. I call on the reader to be
careful with comparisons.
95. In the light of this year’s experience of the preparation
of this part of the progress report and in the framework of a more
general reflection on the future of the monitoring procedure, in
the next section I will submit for consideration some proposals
concerning possible changes in the monitoring procedure with respect
to the 33 countries, which would further increase its efficiency
and impact.
3.2. Countries not under
specific monitoring procedure
3.2.1. Andorra
96. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were two concerning
Andorra: one judgment finding at least one violation and one judgment
finding no violation. The Court judgment concerns a case of unfair
court proceedings.
In February 2013, the Andorran Government submitted
to the Committee of Ministers information on the action plan of
measures foreseen to implement the judgment.
97. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) published a report on
Andorra in November 2012. It was globally positive; the CPT had received
no complaints about alleged ill-treatment, the places visited were
well maintained. The recommendations included an increase in the
number of activities for prisoners, including outdoors, separation of
juveniles from adults in detention and the improvement in access
of prisoners to medical assistance and to family visits.
98. The European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI)
report on Andorra, published in 2012, noted some areas of concern,
such as incidents of direct and indirect discrimination in employment based
on citizenship and the government’s reluctance to enact comprehensive
legislation against racism and discrimination. ECRI made a number
of recommendations to the authorities, among which the following
three require priority implementation and will be revisited by ECRI
in two years: application of the principle of sharing the burden
of proof when discrimination complaints are brought before civil/administrative
courts; training of judges, prosecutors and lawyers on racism and
racial discrimination, including on relevant criminal legislation; reliance
on the work of the National Equality Commission to devise and co-ordinate
an integration policy.
99. In
Resolution 1938
(2013) on promoting alternatives to imprisonment,
adopted
in May 2013, Andorra is praised as one of the group of countries
which have imprisonment rates around half the European average or
less.
100. In
Resolution 1898
(2012) on political parties and women’s political representation,
adopted
in October 2012, Andorra is praised as one of the group of countries
in which women’s representation in parliament exceeds 40%.
101. There were no reports on Andorra by the Group of States Against
Corruption (GRECO) (2011) and the Group of Experts on the Evaluation
of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL)
(2012) in the reporting period; the Council of Europe Commissioner
for Human Rights did not issue any statement on the situation in
the country; there has been no report or visit by ECRI since May
2012.
102. To date, Andorra has not signed and/or ratified a number of
important instruments, including the Civil Law Convention on Corruption
(ETS No. 174): signed in 2001 but not ratified; the Additional Protocol
to the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption (ETS No. 191): signed
but not ratified; the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering,
Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and
on the Financing of Terrorism (revised) (CETS No. 198): neither
signed nor ratified; the Framework Convention for the Protection of
National Minorities (ETS No. 157): neither signed nor ratified;
the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ETS No.
148): neither signed nor ratified; the Additional Protocol to the
European Social Charter Providing for a System of Collective Complaints
(ETS No. 158): neither signed nor ratified.
3.2.2. Austria
103. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were 23 concerning
Austria, 10 of which found at least one violation. Out of a total
of 128 100 pending cases on 31 December 2012, 407
concerned Austria. Resolutions
adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2012:
7.
The noteworthy
Court judgments against Austria concern the excessive length of
administrative proceedings,
freedom of expression
and legislative shortcomings regarding
protection of private and family life, notably related to family
relations outside of the traditional setting of marriage.
104. In June 2012, GRECO published an addendum to the joint first
and second round compliance report aimed to appraise the implementation
of the outstanding recommendations made to the Austrian authorities
in 2008. It concluded that out of the 24 recommendations, in total
16 had been implemented. However, in some areas the progress achieved
was only partial and more determined action was needed to carry
through the reforms planned or initiated, for example the Co-ordinating
Body on Combating Corruption still lacks a precise mandate and adequate
resources, the increase in human resources available to economic
crime units of the police and the regime of parliamentary immunity.
105. The Commissioner for Human Rights visited Austria in June
2012, and in September 2012 he published a report on the country.
Whereas Austria was commended for its well-established human rights
system, some concerns with regard to the right of asylum-seekers,
women and people with disabilities were identified. Noting that
the basic needs of asylum-seekers were satisfied, the Commissioner
encouraged the authorities to ensure adequate living conditions
throughout the entire country. Increased attention should also be
paid to the needs of unaccompanied and separated asylum-seeking
children. The authorities should also further develop the system
of inclusive education of persons with disabilities, reinforce measures
for securing independent living and inclusion in the community as
well as provide access to the built environment and general services. Despite
measures taken to achieve gender equality, progress appears to be
rather slow. Women are still under-represented in politics and earn
about 25% less than men. Lack of quality full-time childcare and
gender stereotypes remain major barriers to gender equality. These
obstacles should be removed.
106. The last ECRI report on Austria was published in 2010. In
February 2013, ECRI published conclusions on the implementation
of its priority recommendations in respect of Austria in which it
assessed that recommendations had been followed up.
107. In June 2012, the Committee of Ministers adopted a resolution
(3rd cycle) on the implementation by Austria of the Framework Convention
for the Protection of National Minorities. While commending Austria
for a generally positive approach towards the convention, the resolution
identified a number of concerns on which it recommends immediate
action. They include the need to take resolute steps towards amending
the national minority legislation with a view to ensuring consistent
and inclusive protection of national minority rights throughout
Austria; ensuring comprehensive and effective consultation with
national minority representatives before adopting any amendments
to the relevant legislation; ensuring effective and consistent enjoyment throughout
Austria of the linguistic rights of persons belonging to national
minorities, in line with Articles 10 and 11 of the Framework Convention
and relevant Constitutional Court decisions; ensuring that due flexibility
is introduced when applying thresholds in relevant national legislation
to avoid arbitrary distinctions being made; and reviewing the current
system for the appointment and composition of the advisory councils
for national minorities to ensure that they are representative of
the views and concerns of persons belonging to national minorities;
substantially broadening the competencies of the councils and ensuring
that they are effectively consulted on all issues that affect them
and have an impact on the relevant decision-making.
108. In November 2012, the Committee of Ministers adopted a recommendation
on the application by Austria of the European Charter for Regional
or Minority Languages. The authorities were urged, inter alia, to adopt a structured
policy for the protection and promotion of all Part II languages,
especially in Vienna, and to create favourable conditions for their
use in public life; to include in the general curricula an adequate
presentation of the history and the culture reflected by the regional
or minority languages in Austria; to ensure that the increasing
demand for education in or teaching of Burgenland-Croatian, Slovenian
and Hungarian is met with an adequate number of qualified teachers;
ensure that the Burgenland-Croatian, Slovenian and Hungarian languages
are used before the relevant judicial and administrative authorities
in practice; secure adequate funding for newspapers in Burgenland-Croatian,
Slovenian and Hungarian; and to clarify the status of the Romani
language outside Burgenland.
109. Austria is not a member of MONEYVAL. There was no report by
the CPT (2010) or the Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking
in Human Beings (GRETA) (2011) during the reporting period. Austria
was not mentioned in the context of its compliance with the Council
of Europe obligations or commitments in any Assembly document.
110. To date, Austria has not signed and/or ratified a number of
legal instruments, in particular the above-mentioned Criminal Law
Convention on Corruption (ETS No. 173): signed in 2000 but not ratified
and its Additional Protocol: neither signed nor ratified; the Council
of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation
of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (revised):
signed in 2005 but not ratified; the Additional Protocol to the
European Social Charter Providing for a System of Collective Complaints:
signed in 1999 but not ratified.
3.2.3. Belgium
111. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were six concerning
Belgium, all of them finding at least one violation of the Convention.
Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31 December 2012, 359
concerned Belgium. Resolutions
adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2012:
11.
The
noteworthy Court judgments against Belgium include different problems
relating to expulsion of aliens, in particular lack of an effective
remedy,
a
structural problem of inadequate care for persons with mental disabilities
in Belgian prisons,
and
the length of civil and criminal proceedings.
112. In June 2012, the Venice Commission delivered, at the request
of the Assembly, an opinion on the revision of the Constitution
of Belgium. It concluded that the procedure did not violate the
Belgian Constitution or international standards.
113. The last report of the Commissioner for Human Rights dates
back to 2009, but in a statement made in December 2012 on the restrictions
on defenders of migrants’ rights, Belgium was mentioned as one of
the countries in which the work of defenders working with migrants
and their rights are being criminalised, and there have been cases
when they had been detained, prosecuted and fined.
114. The last visit of the CPT took place in April 2012, and was
aimed at reviewing some concerns identified in earlier reports,
including poor material conditions of detention, lack of activities
for prisoners and low staff/inmate ratio. The CPT also raised the
question of prison overcrowding, which has steadily worsened in
Belgium over recent years.
115. In
Recommendation
2010 (2013) on migration and asylum: mounting tensions in the eastern Mediterranean,
Belgium is one the countries
encouraged to continue the moratorium on returning asylum seekers
to Greece under the so-called “Dublin Regulation”, in the light
of the judgment of the Court in the case of
M.S.S
v. Belgium and Greece.
116. Belgium is not a member of MONEYVAL. There were no reports
by GRECO (2012), GRETA (no report to date; only one visit in October
2012) or ECRI (2009) during the reporting period.
117. Belgium signed the Framework Convention for the Protection
of National Minorities in 2001 but has not yet ratified it; it has
neither signed nor ratified the European Charter for Regional or
Minority Languages.
3.2.4. Croatia
118. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were 22 judgments
concerning Croatia and, in addition, one judgment in which Croatia
was among other defending States.
In
19 of the 22 judgments, the Court found at least one violation of
the Convention. Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31 December
2012, 1 232
concerned Croatia.
Resolutions adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2012: 8. The
noteworthy Court judgments concern the lack of effective and independent
investigation into crimes committed during the war 1991-1995.
119. There was no report on Croatia by the Commissioner for Human
Rights during the reporting period (2010) but in April 2013 he made
public letters addressed to the relevant Croatian authorities encouraging
them to bring their legislation in the field of gender recognition
into line with European standards.
120. The last ECRI report on Croatia was published in September
2012. Despite positive developments, there were issues of concern,
such as the impact on inter-ethnic relations of the under-representation
of persons belonging to national minorities in the public administration
and the courts, and in particular the low number of Serbs in the
police at local level, and the fact that many Roma still do not
have personal identity or citizenship documents. ECRI made a number
of recommendations to the Croatian authorities, among which the
following three require priority implementation and will be revisited
by ECRI in two years’ time: ensure appropriate training to the judiciary
and police on applying the new Criminal Code provisions on combating
racism and racial discrimination as well as the Anti-Discrimination
Act; improve the law on free legal aid so that vulnerable groups
are not denied access to justice; adopt a comprehensive strategy
for migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees, paying particular attention
to unaccompanied minors.
121. In its
Resolution
1920 (2013) on the state of media freedom in Europe,
the Assembly welcomed the fact that
the murderers of Ivo Pukanic and Niko Franjic had been arrested
and adjudicated by national courts; it pointed out, however, that
it is still necessary to further investigate the personal environment
of the murderers in order to find possible collaborators and to
combat effectively those environments which are hostile to media freedom.
122. The report on human rights and family courts,
submitted by the Assembly’s Committee
on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, pointed to Croatia as one of
the countries which raise concern about certain cases in which children
have been withdrawn from their families against the wishes of their
biological parents.
123. There were no reports by GRECO (2011), GRETA (2012), the CPT
(2008), the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the
Protection of National Minorities (2011) or the Committee of Experts
of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (2010)
during the reporting period.
124. Croatia has ratified all of the major Council of Europe legal
instruments, except for the European Social Charter (revised) (ETS
No. 163), which it signed in 2009.
3.2.5. Cyprus
125. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there was none concerning
Cyprus. Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31 December 2012,
190
concerned Cyprus. Resolutions
adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2012: 1. The
noteworthy Court judgments concern
the lack of effective investigation and arbitrary detentions are
the most frequent violations.
126. GRECO published its 3rd round compliance report on Cyprus
in March 2013. It concluded that Cyprus had implemented two of the
eight recommendations contained in the 3rd round evaluation report.
In so far as incriminations were concerned, more steps were needed
to create a coherent and robust legal framework free from inconsistencies,
preferably through gathering all corruption crimes in a single legal
instrument. The coexistence of legal instruments with different
personal and material scope breeds legal uncertainty, including through
lack of practical application of the two laws ratifying the Council
of Europe anti-corruption standards. As regards the transparency
of political financing, the remaining weaknesses, in respect of
political parties, include the lack of a consistent format for political
parties’ accounts, the absence of an external supervision of incomes
and expenditures in connection specifically with election campaigns,
as well as the lack of publication of the parties’ accounts and
individual donations above a certain threshold. With respect to
election candidates, the relevant law remains unchanged and still
fails to provide adequate external supervision and effective, proportionate
and dissuasive sanctions for violations of the legislation concerning
the submission of financial statements.
127. In June 2013, MONEYVAL published its report “Special Assessment
of the Effectiveness of the Customer Due Diligence Measures in the
Banking Sector in Cyprus”. The report concluded that the supervision of
lawyers and accountants needs strengthening and that the supervision
of trust and corporate service providers has not yet been effectively
implemented. A number of recommendations were made in the report
to ensure that the banking sector in Cyprus takes targeted and expedited
action. The Cypriot authorities were invited to report on progress
on the implementation of these recommendations within MONEYVAL’s
follow-up processes.
128. In December 2012, the CPT published a report on Cyprus. In
the report, it expresses concern about the risk of ill-treatment
by the police, both at the time of apprehension and during the subsequent
period of custody and questioning. The report also highlighted the
need to tackle the problem of overcrowding at Nicosia Central Prison
and to ensure a satisfactory level of health-care provision for
inmates in the establishment. In its response, published on the
same date, the Cypriot Government provided details of measures being
taken to address the issues raised in the report.
129. In its
Resolution
1948 (2013) on tackling discrimination on the grounds of sexual
orientation and gender identity,
adopted
in June 2013, the Assembly called on the authorities that exercise
de facto control in the northern
part of Cyprus to give full execution to the judgment of the European
Court of Human Rights in the case of
Modinos
v. Cyprus and ensure the decriminalisation of consensual
same-sex relations between adults, as is the case in the government-controlled
areas of the Republic of Cyprus.
130. In its
Resolution
1938 (2013) on promoting alternatives to imprisonment,
the Assembly included Cyprus in the list
of 21 member States which have serious problems of prison overcrowding
and have more than 100 prisoners per 100 places of detention. According
to the Council of Europe’s Annual Penal Statistics, Cyprus is one
of the six countries where the situation is worst: there 151 prisoners
per 100 places.
131. In
Resolution 1898
(2012) on political parties and women’s political representation,
adopted
in October 2012, the Assembly included Cyprus in the list of countries
in which women represent under 20% of members of national parliaments.
132. There were no reports by the Commissioner for Human Rights
(2008), GRETA (2011), the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention
for the Protection of National Minorities (2011), the Committee
of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
(2011) or ECRI (2011) during the reporting period.
133. Cyprus has signed and ratified all the major Council of Europe
conventions embodying a monitoring mechanism.
3.2.6. Czech Republic
134. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were 15 concerning
the Czech Republic, 10 of which found at least one violation of
the European Convention of Human Rights. Out of a total of 128 100
pending cases on 31 December 2012, 961 concerned
the Czech Republic. Resolutions adopted by the Committee of Ministers
in 2012: 6. The noteworthy Court judgments concern discriminatory
assignment of Roma children to schools for pupils with mental disabilities,
which seems to be a structural problem.
135. In March 2013, GRECO published its 3rd round compliance report
on the Czech Republic. It concluded that the Czech Republic had
implemented satisfactorily only one of the 13 recommendations contained
in the third round evaluation report. With respect to incriminations,
GRECO regretted that clarification was still needed to ensure that
bribery of all categories of employees, including those carrying
out ancillary functions, in the public sector were covered by the
Criminal Code. Furthermore, GRECO urged the authorities to conclude the
ratification process of the Additional Protocol to the Criminal
Law Convention on Corruption, as soon as possible. In so far as
the transparency of political funding is concerned, GRECO particularly
regretted the reluctance of the government to establish an independent
central administrative mechanism for the monitoring of the funding
of political parties/movements and election campaigns, which is
crucial for ensuring the effective and objective implementation
of rules on political funding. Moreover, GRECO had serious concerns
about the pace of reform in this area particularly as promising
projects in this respect had been abandoned and a process of drafting
legal amendments had only been reinitiated by the government in
January 2013. In the light of the foregoing, GRECO urged the Czech
authorities to speed up the legislation process as much as possible
and to take into account, during this process, the requirements
of Recommendation Rec(2003)4 on common rules against corruption
in the funding of political parties and election campaigns. In view
of the above, and despite the progress noted in respect of Theme
I, GRECO concluded that the total lack of compliance with any of
the recommendations under Theme II makes the overall response to
the recommendations “globally unsatisfactory” within the meaning
of Rule 31, paragraph 8.3 of the Rules of Procedure. GRECO therefore decided
to apply Rule 32 concerning members found not to be in compliance
with the recommendations contained in the mutual evaluation report,
and asked the Head of the Czech delegation to provide a report on the
progress in implementing the recommendations by September 2013.
136. Following his visit in November 2012 to the Czech Republic,
the Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern over the Roma
segregation. He considered that the so-called “practical schools”
perpetuate segregation of Roma children, inequality and racism;
they should be phased out and replaced by mainstream schools that
need to be properly prepared to host and provide support to all
pupils, irrespective of their ethnic origin. The Commissioner also
identified a clear need to overhaul and transform psychiatric care.
137. In December 2012, the Committee of Ministers adopted the 3rd
cycle resolution on the implementation by the Czech Republic of
the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.
It identified a number of outstanding concerns, including negative
attitudes and prejudice against Roma, anti-Roma rhetoric used even
by public figures, and tolerance on the part of the authorities
for inflammatory anti-Roma statements. Roma children still face
serious difficulties in the education system. A disproportionately
large number of Roma children attend “practical schools” which have
replaced “special schools”. Measures taken to implement the ruling
of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of D.H. and others v. the Czech Republic are
still to yield significant results. The resolution urges the authorities
to increase efforts to combat all forms of intolerance, racism,
and xenophobia; take further legislative measures and develop policies
to combat racist manifestations, in particular against Roma, including
in the media and the political arena, in conformity also with Committee
of Ministers Recommendation Rec(97)20 on “Hate speech” and to eliminate,
without further delay, practices that lead to the placement of a
disproportionately large number of Roma children in “practical schools”;
strengthen efforts to remedy shortcomings faced by Roma children
in the field of education;
138. In January 2013, the Committee of Ministers adopted Recommendation
CM/RecChL(2013)1 on the application of the European Charter for
Regional or Minority Languages by the Czech Republic. It urged the authorities
to continue the efforts to promote awareness and tolerance vis-à-vis
all the regional or minority languages and the cultures they represent
as an integral part of the cultural heritage of the Czech Republic, both
in the general curriculum at all stages of education and in the
media; and to adopt a structured policy for the protection and promotion
of German and Romani, and create favourable conditions for their
use in public life.
139. In May 2012, ECRI published conclusions on the implementation
of its priority recommendations with respect to the Czech Republic,
contained in its last country report published in 2009. The conclusions
observed that little progress had been made towards improving the
situation of the Roma, who face segregation in schools and housing
and discrimination in employment. The issue of forced sterilisations
of Roma women had still not been adequately addressed. The situation
of the victims of discrimination as regards access to legal aid
had not changed. ECRI was not in a position to conclude that its
recommendation to transfer substantial numbers of Roma children
from specialised primary schools to ordinary education, based on
clear and ambitious yearly targets, had been fulfilled. It expressed
deep concern at the situation with regard to housing of socially
excluded persons, most of whom are Roma.
140. In the report on the state of media freedom in Europe,
submitted by the Committee on Culture, Science,
Education and Media, the rapporteur noted with concern that the
Czech Republic is one of three countries which had negotiated an
opt-out protocol to the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, which
seems to exclude the application of Article 11 by the European Union
Court of Justice for those countries. Therefore, uniform application
of Article 11 throughout the European Union may not be ensured, except
indirectly through the application of the standards under Article
10 of the European Convention on Human Rights by the European Court
of Human Rights.
141. The report on human rights and family courts,
submitted by the Committee on Legal
Affairs and Human Rights pointed to the Czech Republic as one of
the countries which raise concern about certain cases in which children
have been withdrawn from their families against the wishes of their
biological parents.
142. There were no reports by MONEYVAL (2011) or the CPT (2010)
during the reporting period.
143. The Czech Republic has not signed and/or ratified a number
of major Council of Europe legal instruments, including the Additional
Protocol to the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption: neither signed
nor ratified; the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search,
Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing
of Terrorism (revised): neither signed nor ratified; Protocol No.
12 (ETS No. 177) to the European Convention on Human Rights: signed
in 2000 but not ratified; the Council of Europe Convention against
Trafficking in Human Beings (CETS No. 197): neither signed nor ratified;
the European Social Charter (revised): signed in 2000 but not ratified.
3.2.7. Denmark
144. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there was one judgment concerning
Denmark (there was a friendly settlement). Out of a total of 128
100 pending cases on 31 December 2012, 27 concerned Denmark. Resolutions
adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2012: 2.
145. In June 2012, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers
adopted Resolution CM/ResCMN(2012)8 on the implementation of the
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities by
Denmark. It identified a number of concerns: the Board for Equal
Treatment and the Danish Institute for Human Rights are suffering
from a lack of visibility among the population and do not have sufficient
human and financial resources to carry out their tasks. Persons
belonging to the groups most at risk of becoming victims of discrimination
are not adequately informed about the remedies available. The police
sometimes fail to take into account the racist nature of acts of
violence, which discourages victims from lodging complaints. Some
media continue to spread a distorted and discriminatory image of
the Roma and of Muslims, despite the existence of ethical guidelines and
a supervisory mechanism implemented by the Press Council. Hostile
and racist statements made by certain political leaders have apparently
also been disseminated by some media and on the Internet. It urged the
authorities to take immediate action in order to: raise general
public awareness of the Act on Ethnic Equal Treatment of 2003 and
of the work of the Board for Equal Treatment; ensure that the funding
of the Board for Equal Treatment and the Danish Institute for Human
Rights is appropriate to their needs; adopt the necessary measures
in order to ensure that persons belonging to the German minority
maintain print media in their own language; in particular, ensure
adequate funding of the German-language newspaper; and adopt additional measures
to raise awareness of the Framework Convention and ensure its effective
implementation at the local and regional levels in South Jutland.
146. In a country report published in May 2012, ECRI pointed to
a number of persisting concerns, such as discrimination in employment,
education and housing or strict rules for spousal reunification.
ECRI urged the authorities to ensure sufficient funding for civil
society actors working on issues relating to groups of concern to
ECRI and strengthen their co-operation with the authorities; review
the spousal reunification rules in order to remove any elements
which amount to discrimination against non-ethnic Danes; and to
intensify efforts in recruiting members of ethnic minorities to
the police.
147. In
Resolution 1938
(2013) on promoting alternatives to imprisonment,
Denmark is praised as one of the group
of countries which have imprisonment rates around half the European
average or less.
148. In its
Resolution
1920 (2013) on the state of media freedom in Europe,
the Assembly welcomed the fact that
a group of Islamist criminals who had planned a major assault on
the Copenhagen office of the Jyllands-Posten had been arrested and
adjudicated.
149. No reports by GRECO (2011), the Commissioner for Human Rights
(2007), the CPT (2008), GRETA (2011) or the Committee of Experts
of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (2011)
were published during the reporting period. Denmark is not a member
of MONEYVAL.
150. Denmark has so far not signed and/or ratified the following
major Council of Europe legal instruments: European Social Charter
(revised): signed on 3 May 1996 but not ratified; the Additional
Protocol to the European Social Charter Providing for a System of
Collective Complaints: signed on 9 November 1995 but not ratified;
Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights: neither
signed nor ratified.
151. On the positive side, Denmark signed the Council of Europe
Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the
Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (revised)
in September 2012. It has still to be ratified.
3.2.8. Estonia
152. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were four concerning
Estonia two of which found at least one violation of the Convention.
Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31 December 2012, 639
concerned Estonia. Resolutions
adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2012: 1. The
noteworthy Court judgments concern
inhuman and degrading treatment on account of confinement to a restraint
bed in prison
and
the excessive length of proceedings before civil courts and lack
of an effective remedy.
153. In May 2012, GRECO published its second 3rd round compliance
report with respect to Estonia. It concluded that Estonia had implemented
satisfactorily, or dealt with in a satisfactory manner, nine of
the 17 recommendations contained in the third round evaluation report.
Concerning incriminations, Estonia had not made any progress since
the adoption of the compliance report. On the contrary, the draft
legislation aimed at amending the Penal Code, which had been taken
into account in the compliance report and which was relevant to
the majority of the recommendations, was withdrawn from legislative
proceedings due to the parliamentary elections of 6 March 2011.
Although new draft legislation to amend the Penal Code was being
prepared by the Ministry of Justice, GRECO could only conclude that
there had been a step backwards compared to the situation at the
time of adoption of the compliance report. In so far as the transparency
of political funding was concerned, Estonia had shown remarkable
progress since the adoption of the evaluation report. GRECO was very
pleased that the substantial reform process, already welcomed in
the compliance report, had been completed by Estonia through the
enactment of significant amendments to the Political Parties Act,
which positively respond to the requirements of almost all the recommendations
issued in the evaluation report. GRECO acknowledged that a solid
legal framework for political financing – both regular party financing
and election campaign financing – had thus been established and
that improvements to the transparency regulations, the establishment
of a new monitoring mechanism and the further development of the
regime of sanctions had been accomplished. Given the far-reaching
changes introduced by the 2010 reform, GRECO encouraged the authorities
to ensure that the new regulations and mechanisms were fully operational
and effective in practice and to keep their functioning under review
in order to further perfect the system in the future.
154. In January 2013, GRECO published a report in which, while
acknowledging that Estonia remained one of the least corrupt countries
in Europe, it urged the authorities to sharpen corruption prevention
policy concerning members of parliament, judges and prosecutors.
155. In a report published in June 2013, the Commissioner for Human
Rights expressed serious concern with regard to the issue of 1 200
stateless children. He called on the authorities to remedy this
situation urgently. Instead of requiring parents to apply for citizenship
on behalf of the children, Estonia should grant citizenship automatically
at birth to children who otherwise would be stateless.
156. In June 2012, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers
adopted Resolution CM/ResCMN(2012)9 on the implementation of the
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities by
Estonia. The unemployment rate among non-Estonians is still disproportionately
high compared with that of ethnic Estonians, and the number of stateless
persons remains at around 100 000. The non-availability of free Estonian
language classes to prepare for the citizenship examination is cited
as an important reason for the decrease in naturalisations among
the adult minority community since 2005. Among the issues requiring immediate
action, there were: ensuring the rights of persons belonging to
national minorities to speak and use their languages in public,
also in relations with local authorities; ensuring that the ongoing
transfer to Estonian as the main language of instruction in Russian-language
schools is implemented gradually and with due regard to the quality
of education offered in Estonian as well as Russian language; expanding
the availability of relevant teacher training courses, including
as regards bilingual and multicultural education; creating effective consultative
mechanisms for persons belonging to national minorities beyond the
cultural sphere; ensuring that minority representatives are involved
in and have a substantial impact on all relevant processes of decision-making
affecting them.
157. In February 2013, ECRI published conclusions on the implementation
of its priority recommendations in respect of Estonia. Among the
outstanding concerns it included: the high number of stateless persons
and a naturalisation process hampered by too stringent language
and other requirements; too limited contacts between the Russian-speaking
minorities and Estonians and the multicultural component of education,
which did not bridge the gap between these communities. The unemployment
rate among minority groups remained twice as high as for Estonians.
There was still no adequate monitoring of the Language Inspectorate’s
powers to assess employees’ language competence in the public and
private employment sectors. Roma were particularly vulnerable to
discrimination, stereotypes and prejudice. In the field of education,
Roma pupils were far more likely to drop out of school and they
continue to be overrepresented in schools for mentally disabled children.
There is no independent body to investigate allegations of ill-treatment
by the police.
158. There were no reports by MONEYVAL (2011), or the CPT (2011)
during the reporting period.
159. In
Resolution 1898
(2012) on political parties and women’s political representation,
the
Assembly included Estonia in the list of countries in which women
represent under 20% of members of national parliaments.
160. Estonia has not signed and/or ratified the following major
Council of Europe legal instruments: Additional Protocol to the
Criminal Law Convention on Corruption: neither signed nor ratified;
Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights: signed
in 2000 but not ratified; the Convention on the European Charter
for Regional or Minority Languages: neither signed nor ratified;
the European Social Charter of 1961 (ETS No. 35): neither signed
nor ratified; the Additional Protocol to the European Social Charter
Providing for a System of Collective Complaints, which has been
neither signed nor ratified; Council of Europe Convention on Action
against trafficking in human beings: signed in 2010 but not ratified.
161. On the positive side, Estonia signed the Council of Europe
Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the
Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (revised)
in March 2013. It has still to be ratified.
3.2.9. Finland
162. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were five concerning
Finland, out of which two found at least one violation of the Convention
on Human Rights. Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31 December
2012, 188
concerned Finland.
Resolutions adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2012: 5. The
noteworthy Court judgments concern mainly family rights, in particular
custody rights and establishing paternity
as well as unlawful
deprivation of liberty in a psychiatric hospital and freedom of
the press.
163. In March 2013, GRECO published a 4th round evaluation report
in respect to Finland. It concluded that there was room for improvement
– particularly with regard to conflicts of interest among parliamentarians. GRECO
stressed that the authorities should not underestimate the risks
of corruption resulting from conflicts of interest. It recommended
drawing up a code of conduct for parliamentarians, as well as clarify
exactly what is meant by “conflict of interest” and tightening up
rules on gifts and the disclosure of outside links.
164. In June 2012, the Commissioner for Human Rights published
a report in which he recommended that protection against discrimination
should be strengthened in Finland. The report concluded that it
was crucial to ensure accessibility of the protection framework
to all victims of discrimination and avoid unnecessary fragmentation
of equality bodies. The new National Action Plan on Fundamental
and Human Rights lacked measures for human rights education. A gender
pay gap of 17.9% still remained and violence against women continued
to be a serious problem. The authorities should improve co-ordination
in their responses to violence against women and extend the network
of emergency shelters. There were concerns about racist hate speech, also
coming from certain politicians, and the extreme marginalisation
of young Somali persons. Further efforts were needed to address
the discrimination experienced by Roma, Russian-speakers and Somalis
who faced considerable obstacles in many fields of life, including
employment. Finland should recognise Sami rights to land and support
reindeer herding in the traditional manner.
165. In July 2013, ECRI published a report on Finland in which
it regretted that a number of concerns persisted. For example, immigrants
still suffer discrimination in various fields including employment
and the Aliens’ Act contains discriminatory provisions. ECRI made
a number of recommendations among which the following three require
priority implementation to be evaluated in two years’ time: to expand
the Ombudsman for Minorities’ field of activity to combat discrimination
on grounds of colour, religion or “race”; to extent the scope of
the National Discrimination Tribunal’s mandate in immigration matters
and multiple discrimination; and to improve monitoring of racist
acts.
166. There were no reports by the CPT (2009), GRETA (Finland only
joined in May 2012, no report so far), the Advisory Committee on
the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
(2012) or the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional
or Minority Languages (2012) during the reporting period. Finland
is not a member of MONEYVAL.
167. In
Resolution 1898
(2012) on political parties and women’s political representation,
Finland
is praised as one of the group of countries in which women’s representation
in parliament exceeds 40%.
168. In
Resolution 1938
(2013) on promoting alternatives to imprisonment,
Finland
is praised as one of the group of countries which have imprisonment
rates around half the European average or less.
169. Finland has not yet ratified the Council of Europe Convention
on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds
from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (revised), which it
signed on 16 December 2005.
3.2.10. France
170. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were 29 concerning
France, out of which 19 found at least one violation of the Convention.
Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31 December 2012, 1 539
concerned France. Resolutions
adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2012: 30.
The
noteworthy
Court judgments concern the lack of effective remedy against removal of
foreign nationals,
arrest without judicial control,
lack of judicial remedy
and
detention conditions.
171. The last report of the Commissioner for Human Rights with
respect to France dates back to 2008, but in the statement made
in December 2012 on the restrictions on defenders of migrants’ rights,
France was mentioned as one of the countries in which the work of
defenders working with migrants is restricted and may be even criminalised.
Legal provisions corresponding to the so-called délit de solidarité (the offence
of solidarity) concretely result in law enforcement bodies pressurising
and punishing human rights defenders providing assistance to irregular
migrants. Persons standing up for the rights of migrants have been
detained, prosecuted and/or fined.
172. In another statement in November 2012, the Commissioner expressed
his concern about the situation of Roma in several European countries.
He pointed out that in France close to 5 000 Roma had reportedly
been evicted from their settlements between July and September 2012.
The inter-ministerial circular released in August 2012, requesting
that authorities provide the evicted persons with adequate alternative
housing had in most cases not brought any relief to the families
concerned, who were often left to sleep rough in Paris, Marseilles
and other French cities.
173. In a report published in January 2013, GRETA urged the French
authorities to take a number of steps to improve the country’s fight
against trafficking in human beings and, in particular to launch
a co-ordinated national action plan on trafficking as a matter of
priority. The expert group also recommended that a nation-wide referral
mechanism be set up to formally identify victims of trafficking
and ensure that they were helped and protected. The report underlined
difficulties in identifying emerging trends – especially with regard
to labour exploitation. Nevertheless, there were indications that
there may be several thousand victims every year. The number of
child victims of trafficking was also thought to be increasing,
notably with regard to children of Roma origin trafficked from south-east
Europe to take part in forced begging and theft. GRETA urged the
French authorities to ensure that their approach to trafficking
was based on protecting the human rights of victims. Identification
and access to support should not depend upon their willingness to
co-operate with the authorities, and protection of victims and witnesses
during investigations and trials should be strengthened to prevent
them facing intimidation or retaliation.
174. In its
Resolution
1938 (2013) on promoting alternatives to imprisonment,
the Assembly included France in the list
of 21 member States which have serious problems of prison overcrowding
and have more than 100 prisoners per 100 places of detention. According
to the Council of Europe’s Annual Penal Statistics, France is one
of the six countries where the situation is among the worst: there
are 108 prisoners per 100 places.
175. In its report on Roma migrants in Europe,
submitted to the Assembly by the
Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons in June 2012,
France is pointed to as one of the member States with expulsion
policies which may violate the provisions of the revised European
Social Charter of which the country is a signatory.
176. In July 2013, ECRI published conclusions on the implementation
of the recommendations made in a 2010 report in respect of France.
The recommendations included concrete measures to be taken in order
to support the High Authority against Discrimination and For Equality;
to combat forms of racist expression propagated via the Internet
and to ensure effective, ongoing schooling of itinerant or semi-itinerant
Traveller children. According to the conclusions, the first two
recommendations have been partly implemented and the third one has
not yet been implemented.
177. No reports by GRECO (2011) and the CPT (2012) were published
during the reporting period.
178. France has neither signed nor ratified the Framework Convention
for the Protection of National Minorities. France has neither signed
nor ratified Protocol No. 12. Apart from the legal instruments mentioned above,
France has not signed and/or ratified the following major Council
of Europe legal instruments: the Convention on Laundering, Search,
Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of
Terrorism (revised): signed in 2011 but not ratified; the European
Charter for Regional or Minority Languages: signed in 1999 but not
ratified.
3.2.11. Germany
179. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were 23 concerning
Germany out of which 11 found at least one violation of the Convention.
Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31 December 2012, 2 013
concerned Germany. Resolutions
adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2012: 2. The
noteworthy Court judgments concern
the unjustified extension or ordering of preventive detention; violation
of the prohibition of retroactive application of criminal law; restrictive
family law – rights of the legal or biological fathers of children
born out of wedlock or within the mother’s marriage with another
man
and the excessive length of proceedings
and lack of an effective remedy in this respect.
180. In October 2012, GRECO presented its 3rd evaluation round
interim compliance report on Germany. It concluded that Germany
had implemented satisfactorily or dealt with in a satisfactory manner
only four of the 20 recommendations contained in the third round
evaluation report. The shortcomings identified in German bribery
law needed to be addressed, such as the limited criminalisation
of bribery of parliamentarians and other members of domestic assemblies,
coupled with the absence of trading in influence offences, and furthermore, certain
limits in the criminalisation of bribery of foreign and international
officials and of private sector bribery. The transparency of political
financing needed to be enhanced, inter
alia, by introducing a system for the timely publication
of election campaign accounts, enhancing the transparency of direct
donations to parliamentarians and election candidates who are members
of political parties. Furthermore, the resources available to the President
of the Bundestag for supervising party funding needed to be strengthened.
In its interim compliance report, GRECO concluded that since the
3rd round compliance report no tangible progress had been achieved by
Germany. In view of this result, GRECO categorised the very low
level of compliance with the recommendations as “globally unsatisfactory”
within the meaning of Rule 31, paragraph 8.3 of the Rules of Procedure.
GRECO therefore decided to apply Rule 32 concerning members found
not to be in compliance with the recommendations contained in the
evaluation report and asked the Head of the German delegation to provide
a report on the progress in implementing the outstanding recommendations.
181. The CPT published its last report with respect to Germany
in February 2012. Restrictions regarding visits and access to the
telephone imposed on detainees and allegations of inter-prisoner
violence were among the concerns identified.
182. In May 2012, ECRI published its conclusions on the implementation
of its priority recommendations in respect of Germany. ECRI strongly
recommended that the German authorities take a more proactive role
in raising awareness of the legal framework now in force against
racial discrimination, notably among groups who were especially
vulnerable to this phenomenon, targeted at potential victims of
racial discrimination. Further efforts were needed to improve the
education results of pupils with migrant backgrounds. Urgent steps
were needed to implement targeted teacher training programmes to
ensure that all teachers can assess objectively the skills of students
due to enter the secondary school system. ECRI strongly recommended
that, as part of their ongoing efforts towards creating a workplace
free of racism, the German authorities launch an awareness-raising
campaign aimed specifically at changing employers’ attitudes towards
persons with an immigrant background. Authorities had a key role
to play in ensuring that all companies promoted diversity and in
raising the awareness of employers as to their obligations regarding
equal treatment.
183. The Assembly report on the human rights and family courts,
submitted by the Committee on Legal Affairs
and Human Rights, pointed to the Germany as one of the countries
which raise concern about certain cases in which children have been
withdrawn from their families against the wishes of their biological
parents.
184. In the report on Roma migrants in Europe,
submitted to the Assembly by the
Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons in June 2012,
Germany is pointed to as one of the member States in which expulsion,
and in particular forced repatriation to Kosovo,*
raise concern.
185. There were no reports by the Commissioner for Human Rights
(2006), GRETA (Convention only ratified in 2012, not yet evaluated),
the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection
of National Minorities (2011) or the Committee of Experts of the
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (2013, not available
at the time of drafting) published during the reporting period.
186. Germany has not signed and/or ratified a number of important
Council of Europe instruments, including the Civil Law Convention
on Corruption: signed in 1999 but not ratified; the Criminal Law
Convention on Corruption: signed in 1999 but not ratified, the Additional
Protocol: signed in 2003 but not ratified; the European Social Charter
(revised): signed in 2007 but not ratified; the Additional Protocol
to the European Social Charter Providing for a System of Collective
Complaints, which has been neither signed nor ratified; Protocol
No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights: signed in 2000
but not ratified.
187. On the positive side, Germany ratified the Council of Europe
Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings in December
2012.
3.2.12. Greece
188. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were 56 concerning
Greece, out of which 52 found at least one violation of the Convention.
Out of 128 100 pending cases on 31 December 2012, 1 078
concerned Greece. Resolutions
adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2012: 13. The noteworthy
Court judgments concern the excessively
lengthy proceedings before criminal, civil and administrative courts;
absence of an effective remedy;
shortcomings in the examination of
asylum requests, including of the risks involved in case of direct
or indirect return to the country of origin; poor detention conditions
of asylum-seekers and absence of adequate support when not detained;
absence of an effective remedy;
inhuman and degrading
treatment on account of poor conditions of detention in prison,
and in pre-trial detention,
and Ill-treatment by police forces;
treatment by coastguards amounting to an act of torture; absence
of effective investigations and failure to investigate whether or
not racist motives on the part of the police may have played a role
in some cases.
189. In June 2012, GRECO published a 3rd evaluation round compliance
report on Greece in which it assessed that Greece’s implementation
of all recommendations issued was still in its initial stages. The
report said that the almost complete lack of concrete results may
be understandable given the difficult situation in Greece. However,
a number of issues have to be addressed: the legal framework on
bribery and trading in influence needed to be simplified and consolidated
and the substantive and procedural shortcomings identified by GRECO
have to be addressed. The efficiency of the corruption-related legal
provisions had not been assessed. It should include those pertaining
to confiscation and seizure of corruption proceeds, arrangements concerning
conflicts of interest and incompatibilities as well as whistle-blower
protection. An effective supervisory mechanism needed to be established
regarding the funding of political parties and election campaigns,
while also ensuring an adequate and impartial enforcement of the
relevant rules. Financial information on political parties’ income,
expenditure, assets and debts was not publicly disclosed in an appropriate
level of detail. The current very low level of compliance with the
recommendations was “globally unsatisfactory”.
190. In a statement on the restrictions on defenders of migrants’
rights, issued in December 2012, the Commissioner for Human Rights
pointed out that the situation in Greece was particularly worrisome
as migrants had become targets of unacceptable, extreme violence,
notably by members, including MPs, of the far right political party,
Golden Dawn. Human rights defenders of migrants were under threat.
There had been several instances of lawyers being threatened and
physically attacked in Athens as they were assisting migrants in
the course of asylum and other legal procedures.
191. The Commissioner for Human Rights published his last report
in respect of Greece in February 2013. He stressed that democracy
in Greece was seriously threatened by the upsurge of hate crime
and the weak State response. The steep increase in hate crimes in
Greece, primarily targeting migrants, was an issue of grave concern.
Domestic and international anti-racism law had been used inadequately,
or not at all. The authorities must give effect to binding international
standards and domestic anti-racism law and accelerate the adoption
of the bill concerning racism and xenophobia through criminal law,
pending since 2011. There was a need to urgently address the chronic
shortcomings of Greece’s justice system concerning in particular excessively
lengthy proceedings, lack of an effective remedy and costly court
fees. Another issue of deep concern was the persistent reports of
ill-treatment, including torture, committed by law enforcement officials, notably
against migrants and Roma. The authorities must eliminate the institutional
culture of impunity. While welcoming the steps taken by the authorities
aimed at rebuilding the national asylum system, the Commissioner
urged Greece to remedy certain serious, long-standing gaps which
were adversely affecting the human rights of migrants, including
asylum-seekers and refugees, and making them easy targets for racist violence.
192. In June 2013, the Commissioner requested the Greek authorities
to provide him, without further delay, with information on the follow-up
given to his recommendations.
193. In July 2012, the Chairs of the Assembly Committees on Migration,
Refugees and Displaced Persons and on Equality and Non-Discrimination
expressed grave concern at an increasing number of incidents of
State violence against migrants and refugees. They stressed, inter alia, that attacks against
migrants and refugees were of increasing concern, including in Greece,
where there were a worrying number of allegations of police brutality
and failures by them to investigate racist attacks on migrants and
refugees. They urged the authorities to ensure that all cases of
State violence were investigated and stamped out.
194. In October 2012, the Chair of the Committee on Social Affairs,
Health and Sustainable Development called on the Greek authorities
to modify two 2010 reforms to Greek labour law recently judged illegal
by the European Committee of Social Rights. She said that the decision
to extend to one year the “trial period” during which workers can
be dismissed without notice, and the decision to cut the minimum
salary for workers under 25 to two thirds of the national minimum
wage, should be reviewed.
195. In the report on the state of media in Europe,
the rapporteur expressed grave concern
about deadly attacks against journalists, including in Greece on
19 July 2010 when Sokratis Giolia, Director of the radio station
Thema 98.9 FM and Manager of the popular political blog Troktiko,
was shot several times by unidentified men outside his Athens home.
The authorities cast suspicion on an extremist revolutionary sect. Colleagues
of Giolia reportedly stated their belief that he was killed because
of his investigative journalistic work. Furthermore, the rapporteur
expressed concern about an event which took place in Greece in April
2012, when police deliberately attacked a number of journalists
and photographers during street protests in Athens, causing injuries.
One of them, the head of the Greek Photojournalists’ Association,
Mario Lolos, suffered a fractured skull when he was beaten by riot
police in the centre of Athens. Several journalists were beaten
and suffered injuries during earlier street protests in central
Athens during 2011.
196. In January 2013, the President of the Assembly, together with
an Assembly sub-committee visiting Greece, urged greater European
solidarity to help Greece deal with large numbers of irregular migrants
and asylum-seekers entering the country. Their statement pointed
out that Greece was confronted with a major problem of irregular
migration at the very moment when it must also try to deal with
an unprecedented economic crisis, but it could not be expected to
accept all the misery of the world on its own. Only greater European
solidarity, be it financial or in terms of receiving refugees and
asylum-seekers, could really contribute to solving this problem.
A shared migration policy was even more essential at a time when
the region was facing major instability. The delegation expressed
its deep concern at the systematic use of detention as a means of deterring
migrants from entering or staying in Greece
197. In January 2013, the credentials of one member of the Greek
delegation to the Assembly were challenged on procedural grounds
at the opening of the first 2013 part-session. The explanation for
the challenge was that the member in question belonged to a political
party which was “racist and anti-Semitic” and that the values of
this party was in conflict with the Council of Europe’s ideals and
principles, as referred to in Article 3 of its Statute and in Rule
7.1 of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure. The challenge was supported
by at least 10 members of the Assembly present in the Chamber, belonging
to at least five different national delegations. The Assembly’s
Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs,
to which the question was referred, said in an opinion, that the
“strict criteria” laid down in the Assembly’s rules “did not make
it possible to challenge the credentials of individual members in
an effective manner, so as to sanction the actions or words where
these seriously and persistently violate the principles and values
defended by the Council of Europe”. It added: “The committee wishes
to state, in the strongest terms, that this decision must not be
interpreted as an expression of support or recognition, albeit indirect,
of activities, beliefs, actions or political positions that the
Parliamentary Assembly has constantly denounced throughout its 63
years of existence.” The credentials of the member in question were
ratified by the Assembly.
198. In
Resolution 1914
(2013) on ensuring the viability of the Strasbourg Court: structural
deficiencies in States Parties,
the Assembly confirmed, as underlined
in
Resolution 1787 (2011), that, a number of countries, including Greece, face
major structural problems which lead to delays in the execution
of the Court's judgments.
199. In its
Resolution
1938 (2013) on promoting alternatives to imprisonment,
the Assembly included Greece in the list
of 21 member States which have serious problems of prison overcrowding
and have more than 100 prisoners per 100 places of detention. According
to the Council of Europe’s Annual Penal Statistics, Greece is one
of the six countries where the situation is the worst: there were
123 prisoners per 100 places.
200. In June 2013, the Chair of the Assembly’s Sub-Committee on
Media expressed her concern about the closure of the public broadcasting
service in Greece. She observed that it was worrying that such a
serious decision was implemented practically instantaneously, and
expressed her concern about the possible harmful consequences in
the shorter and the longer term of the simultaneous withdrawal of
all public media.
201. In
Resolution 1946
(2013) on equal access to health care,
the Assembly noted with
concern the impact which the economic crisis and austerity measures
have had on the accessibility of care in several member countries,
including Greece, which was now faced with a health, and even humanitarian
crisis and an increase in xenophobic and racist acts against refugees
and migrants.
202. In
Resolution 1949
(2013) on the post-monitoring dialogue with “the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia”,
the Assembly regrets that the name
issue continues to delay the opening of accession negotiations with
the European Union, as repeatedly recommended by the European Commission
since 2009, as well as the attempts of “the former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia” to join NATO, despite the ruling of the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) of 5 December 2011. The Assembly hopes that
Greece will adopt a more flexible approach to this issue.
203. No reports were published by the CPT (2012) or GRETA (not
yet a member) in the reporting period. Greece is not a member of
MONEYVAL.
204. Greece signed the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering,
Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and
on the Financing of Terrorism (revised) in 2006, but has not ratified
it. Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights was
signed in 2000 but not ratified. The Convention on Action against
trafficking in human beings was signed in 2005 but not ratified.
The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
was signed in 1997 but not ratified. The European Charter for Regional
or Minority Languages has been neither signed nor ratified.
3.2.13. Hungary
205. See item 2.4.1. above.
3.2.14. Iceland
206. Out of a total of 1 678. judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were two concerning
Iceland, both of them finding at least one violation of the Convention.
Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31 December 2012, 13
concerned Iceland. The
noteworthy Court judgments concern
the lack of a fair hearing before the Supreme Court,
unjustified restriction on the right
not to join an association,
and restriction of freedom of the
press on account of civil proceedings for defamation against journalists.
207. In March 2013, the Venice Commission adopted an opinion on
the draft new Constitution of Iceland at the request of the Chair
of the Constitutional and Supervisory Committee of the Parliament
of Iceland. This willingness to seek the Venice Commission’s expertise
and advice in the legislative process is to be commended.
208. In March 2013, GRECO published an evaluation report in respect
of Iceland. It stressed that further steps are needed to fully acknowledge
and address anti-corruption measures in parliament, and to increase
public confidence in the institution. The report also noted that
the regulations to prevent conflict of interest among the judiciary
could be broadened in scope. Steps could also be taken to increase
the independence of prosecution services.
209. In May 2013, in a report on “Keeping political and criminal
responsibility separate”,
the Committee on Legal Affairs and
Human Rights criticised the criminalisation of the former Icelandic
Prime Minister for his political acts.
210. In
Resolution 1938
(2013) on promoting alternatives to imprisonment,
Iceland is praised as one of the group
of countries which have imprisonment rates around half the European
average or less.
211. Iceland is not a member of MONEYVAL. There were no reports
by the Commissioner for Human Rights (2012), ECRI (2012) or the
CPT (the last visit to the country was in September 2012 but the
report is not yet available) during the reporting period.
212. Iceland signed the European Social Charter (revised) in 1998
but has not yet ratified it; the Additional Protocol to the European
Social Charter Providing for a System of Collective Complaints has
been neither signed nor ratified; Protocol No. 12 to the European
Convention on Human Rights was signed in 2000 but not ratified;
the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
was signed in 1995 but not ratified; the European Charter for Regional
or Minority Languages was signed in 1999 but not ratified.
213. On the positive side, in March 2013, Iceland ratified the
Additional Protocol to the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption,
and in February 2012, it ratified the Convention on Action against
trafficking in human beings.
3.2.15. Ireland
214. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were two concerning
Ireland, both of them finding at least one violation of the Convention
on Human rights. Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31 December
2012, 25 concerned Ireland.
The Court judgments relate to the lack of any legislative or regulatory
implementation regime providing an accessible and effective procedure to
establish possibilities for lawful abortion where there is a risk
to the mother’s life.
215. In December 2012, the Commissioner for Human Rights addressed
letters to the relevant Irish authorities on concerns regarding
transgender, mental disabilities and asylum procedures. The Commissioner welcomed
the measures being taken and underway, and called for a clear timeline
for further improvements. The last report on Ireland dates back
to 2011.
216. In February 2013, ECRI published its fourth report on Ireland,
in which it regretted that a number of concerns persisted. For example,
the single protection determination procedure for persons in need
of a protection status had not been adopted in Ireland and asylum-seekers
may not engage in paid employment. Irish legislation does not proscribe
racial profiling by the Garda Siochána (police) and other law enforcement agencies,
although in 2011 the High Court struck down as unconstitutional
legislation requiring non-Irish nationals to produce identity documents
upon the demand of law enforcement personnel, which had a discriminatory
effect on the basis of an individual’s colour. ECRI made three priority
recommendations: to draft and adopt as soon as possible the Immigration,
Residence and Protection Bill so as to put in place a procedure for
dealing with applications for asylum and subsidiary protection,
to introduce a long-term residence status and procedures for the
registration of non-national minors under 16; to rationalise the
various procedures for dealing with complaints on employment and
ensure that there is a non-judicial independent authority competent
to deal with cases of discrimination in the provision of goods and
services; to ensure foreseeability in the application of the habitual
residence requirement by setting out clear rules and publishing,
in addition to the guidelines, the decisions of the authorities
on appeals against negative decisions.
217. In April 2013, the Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee
Convention on National Minorities published a report in respect
of Ireland. It states that Travellers continue to face discrimination
and difficulties in many areas of life including education, employment
and housing. It subsequently calls on Ireland to develop “genuine and
realistic” programmes to tackle this issue.
218. In November 2012, following the death in Ireland of a woman
who was denied a termination of pregnancy in spite of serious complications,
the Chairperson of the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination, expressed
her profound indignation and stressed that the Irish abortion law
had to be changed in order to protect women’s rights and dignity.
219. There were no reports by GRECO (2011), the CPT (2010) or GRETA
(Convention only ratified in 2010, no report yet). Ireland is not
a member of MONEYVAL.
220. The Civil Law Convention on Corruption was signed on 4 November
1999 but not ratified; the Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure
and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing
of Terrorism (revised) was neither signed nor ratified; Protocol
No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights: signed in 2000
but not ratified, European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages:
neither signed nor ratified.
3.2.16. Italy
221. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were 63 concerning
Italy out of which 36 judgments found at least one violation of
the Convention. Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31 December
2012, 14 188
concerned Italy.
Resolutions adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2012: 2. The
noteworthy Court judgments concern
mainly the longstanding problem of the excessive length of civil,
criminal and administrative proceedings;
inhuman and degrading treatment on account
of overcrowding in prisons;
the prolonged inability
of the authorities to ensure proper waste collection; lack of an
effective remedy.
222. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council
of Europe adopted, in March 2013,
Recommendation 337 (2013) on the monitoring report on the implementation of the
European Charter on Local Self-Government (ETS No. 122). The Congress
noted concerns as regards the competences, the independence and
finances of local authorities in general and encouraged the Italian
authorities to complete the reform project launched over a decade
ago. Other recommendations call on the Italian authorities to ensure the
democratic value of direct elections; to review the scale and effect
of shifting responsibilities from municipalities to consortia; and
to ensure the sensitive application of austerity measures, especially
concerning arbitrary staff cuts and inadequate funding of local
and regional authorities. Lastly, the Congress encouraged the Italian
authorities to sign and ratify the Additional Protocol to the European
Charter of Local Self-Government on the right to participate in
the affairs of a local authority (CETS No. 207) in the near future.
223. In September 2012, the Commissioner for Human Rights published
a report in respect of Italy in which he stressed that lengthy judicial
proceedings and the treatment of Roma and migrants in Italy raised
serious human rights concerns. The policies of segregated camps
and forced evictions should be once and for all discontinued. There
was also a continuing need to work against anti-Gypsyism, which
remained rampant in political discourse and in the media. The Commissioner
stressed that the near absence of an integration framework for refugees
and other beneficiaries of international protection clashed with
Italy’s human rights obligations.
224. In a statement in November 2012, the Commissioner expressed
his concern about the situation of Roma in several European countries.
He pointed out that in Italy, forced evictions continued, despite
the government’s commitment to stopping the “nomad emergency” policy.
As recently as September 2012, in Rome, 250 persons were evicted
without being offered any alternative other than moving to ethnically
segregated settlements.
225. In July 2013, GRECO published the addendum to its joint first
and second evaluation rounds report in respect of Italy in which
it stated that out of 22 recommendations issued to Italy, 17 recommendations
have been implemented in a satisfactory manner, three recommendations
have been partly implemented and two recommendations have not been
implemented. GRECO urges the Italian authorities to put in place
a comprehensive plan to address the excessive length of judicial
proceedings and the expiration of the relevant time limit as well
as to keep under review the issue of corruption in the private sector,
including by strengthening accounting and auditing requirements.
226. In July 2012, the Committee of Ministers adopted Resolution
CM/ResCMN(2012)10 on the implementation of the Framework Convention
for the Protection of National Minorities by Italy in which it urged the
Italian authorities to adopt specific legislative framework at national
level for the protection of the Roma and Sinti living in Italy and
to eliminate shortcomings as regards that actual implementation
of the existing legislative framework for minority protection. In
particular, there is an increasing gap between the existing needs
within the linguistic minorities and the resources made available
by the central and local government.
227. In
Resolution 1920
(2013) on the state of media freedom in Europe,
submitted by the Committee on Culture,
Science, Education and Media, referring to the recent 14-month prison
sentence imposed on Alessandro Sallusti in Italy, the Assembly asked
the Venice Commission to prepare an opinion on whether the Italian
laws on defamation were in line with Article 10 of the European
Convention on Human Rights. It also noted with concern recent reports
about political pressure on public service broadcasters in a number
of countries, including Italy, and invited the European Broadcasting
Union to co-operate with the Council of Europe in this regard.
228. In
Resolution 1914
(2013) on ensuring the viability of the Strasbourg Court: structural
deficiencies in States Parties,
submitted by the Committee on Legal
Affairs and Human Rights, the Assembly confirmed, as underlined
in
Resolution 1787 (2011), that, a number of countries, including Italy, face
major structural problems which lead to delays in the execution
of the Court's judgments.
229. In its
Resolution
1938 (2013) on promoting alternatives to imprisonment,
the Assembly included Italy in the list
of 21 member States which have serious problems of prison overcrowding
and have more than 100 prisoners per 100 places of detention. According
to the Council of Europe’s Annual Penal Statistics, Italy is one of
the six countries where the situation is worst: there 153 prisoners
per 100 places.
230. There were no reports by the CPT (2009) or ECRI (2012) during
the reporting period. Italy is not a member of MONEYVAL.
231. Italy signed the Civil Law Convention on Corruption and the
Criminal Law Convention on Corruption in 1999 and ratified them
on 13 June 2013; it signed its Additional Protocol in 2003, but
has not ratified it. It signed the Council of Europe Convention
on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds
from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (revised) but has not
ratified it; the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
was signed in 2000 but not ratified. Protocol No. 12 to the European
Convention on Human Rights was signed in 2000 but not ratified.
3.2.17. Latvia
232. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were 14 concerning
Latvia out of which 10 judgments found at least one violation of
the Convention. Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31 December
2012, 532
concerned Latvia.
Resolutions adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2012: 2. The
noteworthy Court judgments concern inhuman or degrading treatment on
account of conditions of detention;
discrimination of a “permanently
resident non-citizen” on account of the refusal to benefit from
State pension rights;
issues related to pre-trial detention;
lawfulness, length, delays in release, and detention of asylum-seekers.
233. In December 2012, GRECO published a 4th evaluation round report
with respect to Latvia. GRECO encouraged parliamentarians, judges
and prosecutors, to step up their own capacity to self-regulate,
to address real and potential conflicts of interests and to sanction
those who fall short of acceptable standards of ethical conduct.
There was a need to abolish the system of administrative immunities.
This would help dispel any idea that parliamentarians, judges and
prosecutors are above the law and help strengthen the confidence of
Latvian citizens in their parliament and judiciary. There was also
a need to strengthen the independence of the body entrusted with
supervision of party funding rules (KNAB).
234. In November 2012, MONEYVAL published a report evaluating measures
to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in Latvia. MONEYVAL
concluded that Latvia has a comprehensive legal structure to combat
money laundering and terrorist financing, and has taken significant
legislative steps to remedy many of the deficiencies identified
in the previous evaluation, particularly on prevention. The report
also identified a number of deficiencies in the regime of freezing
terrorist assets under the United Nations Security Council resolutions,
and the need to clarify the regime for reporting suspicious transactions
involving financing of terrorism. The evaluators had some concerns
about the effectiveness of the supervision of financial institutions other
than banks. MONEYVAL found some gaps in the systems of monitoring
and ensuring compliance with Customer Due Diligence requirements
across most of the designated non-financial business and professional sector.
MONEYVAL would continue to monitor implementation of the recommendations
by Latvia through its regular procedures, which require the country
to submit a follow-up report by July 2014.
235. In January 2013, GRETA published a report on Latvia in which
it warned that official figures may underestimate the scale of trafficking
in Latvia. GRETA also urged the Latvian authorities to take further
steps to prevent human trafficking, especially among vulnerable
groups. The group of experts stated that the Latvian authorities
should step up their efforts to prevent trafficking among vulnerable
groups, such as children, in State institutions or those living
in deprived areas. Furthermore, GRETA noted that the investigation
of trafficking-related offences did not often lead to successful
trials and effective penalties. The report urged the authorities to
strengthen investigation and prosecution procedures and to raise
awareness of human trafficking among relevant professionals – including
judges, lawyers and investigators.
236. In June 2013, the Advisory Committee of the Framework Convention
for the Protection of National Minorities adopted an opinion in
respect of Latvia. At the time of drafting it was still restricted.
237. In August 2013, the CPT published the report in respect of
Latvia in which it concludes that persons in police custody continue
to face a certain degree of risk of being subjected to ill-treatment
and calls on the Latvian authorities to exercise constant vigilance
in this area. As regards conditions of detention in police establishments,
the CPT emphasises that the conditions in some of the detention
facilities visited were so poor that they could be considered as
amounting to inhuman or degrading treatment. In their response,
the Latvian authorities provided the information on the measures
they have taken or intend to take in order to address the recommendation
made by the CPT on the issues described above.
238. There were no reports by the Commissioner for Human Rights
(2007) or ECRI (2012) during the reporting period and no specific
text concerning Latvia from the Assembly.
239. Of the major Council of Europe legal instruments, Latvia has
neither signed nor ratified the European Charter for Regional or
Minority Languages.
3.2.18. Liechtenstein
240. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were none concerning
Liechtenstein. Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31 December
2012, 14 concerned Liechtenstein.
241. In October 2012, GRECO published its first report with respect
to Liechtenstein, which only joined it in 2010. It noted that the
country was in the early stages of implementing effective anti-corruption
measures. Its limited size was thought to prevent corruption but
in a context of closer social relationships, there was a clear need
to improve awareness of potential problems posed by situations that
give rise to conflicts of interest. Also the current approach did
not take into account the broad variety of forms of bribery, such
as favours and gratuities, beyond strictly material bribes. Building
a modern judiciary in a country the size of Liechtenstein was always
a challenge. New measures adopted in 2009 limit at present risks
of interference in the prosecutors’ work but the Prince retains
in principle the power to block and terminate any investigation
or prosecution. It was suggested to keep under review the appointment
process concerning judges. Certain types of legal persons were still
exposed to risks of misuse for criminal purposes and the supervision
of trustees and similar professions needed strengthening. GRECO
would assess the action taken by Liechtenstein in response to the report
in the second half of 2013.
242. In February 2013, ECRI published its 4th report on Liechtenstein.
According to the evaluators, some issues of concern remain, including
the legislation on foreigners and the absence of a comprehensive
civil and administrative legal framework aimed at combating racial
discrimination in all fields of life. There were worries that the
administrative reform plan providing for the disbanding of the Equal
Opportunities Office would greatly compromise the effective handling
of complaints and the provision of advice in an independent manner.
There were consistent reports of discrimination in employment and
in access to housing, particularly against women of Muslim faith
wearing a headscarf. The Law on Foreigners had clear discriminatory
implications with respect to non EU-nationals’ access to public
services. The report recommended that the responsibilities of the
new Office for Social Affairs and of the Ombudsman’s Office should
be specified. The latter should be designated as the national specialised
body for combating racism and racial discrimination; a number of
provisions of the Law on Foreigners should be abrogated, notably:
Article 49; Article 69 (2) (e); and Article 27 (3) and (4). These had
discriminatory implications and run counter to one of the stated
aims of the government’s 2007 integration policy concerning equal
access to social welfare; issues relating to the integration of
non-nationals should be addressed by the social agencies, with a
clear allocation of responsibility. The fulfilment of these recommendations
would be assessed in two years.
243. There were no reports by the Commissioner for Human Rights
(2005), MONEYVAL (2010), the Advisory Committee on the Framework
Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (2010), the
CPT (2008) or the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for
Regional or Minority Languages (2011) and no specific Assembly texts
concerning Liechtenstein.
244. In
Resolution 1938
(2013) on promoting alternatives to imprisonment,
Liechtenstein is praised as one of the
group of countries which have imprisonment rates around half the
European average or less.
245. Liechtenstein has neither signed nor ratified the Civil Law
Convention on Corruption; it signed the Criminal Law Convention
on Corruption and signed its Additional Protocol in 2009 but has
not ratified them so far; it has neither signed nor ratified the
Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation
of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (revised);
it has neither signed nor ratified the Convention on action against
trafficking in human beings (GRETA); the European Charter for Regional
or Minority Languages was signed in 1992 and ratified in 1997; Protocol
No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights was signed in
2000 but not ratified.
3.2.19. Lithuania
246. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were 12 concerning
Lithuania, out of which seven judgments found at least one violation
of the Convention. Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31
December 2012, 246
concerned
Lithuania. The noteworthy Court judgments concern the excessive
length of civil and criminal proceedings and lack of an effective
remedy,
various aspects
of the lack of access to courts and a fair hearing,
gaps in the relevant legislation
preventing undergoing gender reassignment surgery and changing gender
identification in official documents.
247. In
Resolution 1898
(2012) on political parties and women’s political representation,
the
Assembly included Lithuania in the list of countries in which women
represent under 20% of members of national parliaments.
248. In June 2013, GRECO published a Second Compliance Report on
Lithuania in which it concluded that Lithuania had implemented satisfactorily
20 of the 21 recommendations and has shown remarkable progress since
the adoption of the Evaluation Report in 2010.
249. In April 2013, MONEYVAL published a report on Lithuania in
which it underlines that results both in terms of money laundering
convictions and confiscation of proceeds of crime remain modest,
especially when considering the high incidence of proceeds-generating
crime in the country. MONEYVAL has called on Lithuania to address
deficiencies and take further measures to bring it into line with
international standards.
250. There were no reports by the Commissioner for Human Rights
(2007), the CPT (2011), GRETA (recent ratification, no report yet),
the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection
of National Minorities (2011) or ECRI (2011).
251. Lithuania has neither signed nor ratified the Convention on
Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from
Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (revised); nor has it signed
or ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
252. On the positive side, Lithuania ratified the Convention on
action against trafficking in human beings in July 2012.
3.2.20. Luxembourg
253. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were two concerning
Luxembourg out of which one judgment found at least one violation
of the Convention. Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31
December 2012, 7 concerned Luxembourg. Resolutions adopted by the
Committee of Ministers in 2012: 7. The
Court
judgments pending implementation concern mainly the excessive length
of criminal and civil proceedings, and lack of an effective remedy.
254. In June 2012, GRECO published in the 3rd Evaluation Round
a second compliance report on Luxembourg. Regarding party funding,
Luxembourg still has to refine the existing mechanism in order to
ensure a satisfactory level of transparency vis-à-vis the other
political formations and candidate lists participating in the elections,
because at present the overall measures only apply to parties and
candidates wishing or able to receive public grants, and the arrangements
are in any case still far from perfect when it comes to transparency and
supervision of election campaign financing. GRECO encouraged conferring
legal personality on political parties because the question of the
responsibility and full financial transparency of political parties
was currently still wide open. The adoption of the second compliance
report completed the compliance procedure for the Third Evaluation
Round on Luxembourg.
255. Luxembourg is not a member of MONEYVAL. There were no reports
by the Commissioner for Human Rights (2012), the CPT (2010), GRETA
(no report yet) or ECRI (2012) during the reporting period. There
were no Assembly texts specifically on Luxembourg.
256. Luxembourg signed the Civil Law Convention on Corruption in
1999 but has not ratified it; it signed the Council of Europe Convention
on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds
from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (revised) in 2005,
but has not ratified it; it signed the Framework Convention for
the Protection of National Minorities in 1995 but has not ratified
it.
3.2.21. Malta
257. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were three judgments
concerning Malta, out of which one found at least one violation
of the Convention. Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31
December 2012, 37
concerned
Malta. The
noteworthy Court
judgments concern mainly family life – parental care, lack of access
to court.
258. In January 2013, GRETA published its first evaluation report
on Malta. The report states that only 25 people in Malta were found
to be victims of human trafficking between 2003 and 2011, all of
whom were foreign nationals trafficked for sexual exploitation.
However, GRETA considered that these figures may not reflect the true
situation, given the lack of a formal procedure for identifying
victims. The report also noted that most of the criminal cases which
had been launched since 2006 were still pending. GRETA urged the
Maltese authorities to ensure that offences linked to human trafficking
were investigated and prosecuted promptly and effectively. Furthermore,
GRETA called on the Maltese authorities to adopt a clear framework
for the repatriation and return of trafficking victims, and to ensure
that all victims were able to access the support and compensation which
they were entitled to.
259. In July 2013, the CPT published the report with respect of
Malta in which it expressed concern about material conditions of
detention centres. It also expressed concern about the frequency
and the seriousness of allegations received from foreign nationals
about the force used by soldiers and police officers in the context of
disturbances which had occurred in August 2011 at the Safi Detention
Centre. The Maltese authorities provided information on the action
taken to address the recommendations made by the Committee on the issues
described above.
260. In July 2012, the Chairs of the Assembly’s Committees on Migration,
Refugees and Displaced Persons and on Equality and Discrimination
expressed grave concern at an increasing number of incidents of
state violence against migrants and refugees. In a joint statement,
they said: “The recent alleged beating to death of an asylum seeker
in Malta while being detained by two soldiers last Saturday is an
extremely serious incident. Attacks against migrants and refugees
are of increasing concern, including in Malta, where there are a
worrying number of allegations of police brutality, and failures
by them to investigate racist attacks on migrants and refugees.”
261. In
Resolution 1898
(2012) on political parties and women’s political representation,
the
Assembly included Malta in the list of countries in which women
represent under 10% of members of national parliaments.
262. There were no reports on Malta by GRECO (2011), MONEYVAL (2012),
the Commissioner for Human Rights (2011), the Advisory Committee
on the Framework Convention for the protection of national minorities (2012)
or ECRI (2008) during the reporting period.
263. Malta ratified the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption and
signed its Additional Protocol in 2003 but has not ratified the
latter so far; it has neither signed nor ratified Protocol No. 12
to the European Convention on Human Rights; the European Charter
for Regional or Minority Languages was signed in 1992 but has not been
ratified.
3.2.22. The Netherlands
264. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were seven concerning
the Netherlands out of which five judgments found at least one violation
of the European Convention of Human Rights. Out of a total of 128
100 pending cases on 31 December 2012, 1 062
concerned Netherlands.
Resolutions adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2012: 4. The
noteworthy Court judgments concern
mainly excessive delay in admission to a custodial psychiatric clinic
while holding in pre-placement detention,
expulsion under the risk of ill-treatment,
restrictions on
freedom of the press due to compulsory disclosure of journalistic
sources.
265. In June 2012, GRECO published in the 3rd Evaluation Round,
a second compliance report with respect to the Netherlands. As regards
thresholds for registering donations, GRECO was concerned that these
had been increased, alongside the ceiling for acceptable anonymous
donations (1 000 euros), whereas the legal regime governing the
registration of anonymous donations below this amount remained unclear.
Donations to local and regional/provincial units of political parties
were not regulated by the new WFPP and there was no requirement
to consolidate the accounts of parties to include the accounts of
local and regional/provincial units. As regards supervision, GRECO
had serious misgivings about the preservation of the Minister of
the Interior as the authority in charge of monitoring compliance
by political parties and their affiliated institutions with the political
funding rules. An independent supervision of political financing,
including election campaigns needed to be established. GRECO considered
the situation as “globally unsatisfactory”.
266. In August 2012, the CPT published a report in respect of the
Netherlands containing overall positive conclusions. There were,
however, some remarks concerning access to natural light in some
cells, and frequency of strip searches in prisons and medical examination
of deportees.
267. In October 2012, the Committee of Ministers adopted a 4th
cycle recommendation on the monitoring of the European Charter for
Regional and Minority Languages with respect to the Netherlands.
268. In
Resolution 1938
(2013) on promoting alternatives to imprisonment,
the Netherlands is praised as one of
the group of countries which have imprisonment rates around half
the European average or less.
269. In
Resolution 1898
(2012) on political parties and women’s political representation,
the
Netherlands is praised as one of the group of countries in which
women’s representation in parliament exceeds 40%.
270. In
Recommendation
2003 (2012) on Roma migrants in Europe,
the Netherlands was included in the list
of countries where the situation of stateless Roma is particularly
precarious.
271. There were no reports by the Commissioner for Human Rights
(2009), GRETA (no report yet), the Advisory Committee on the Framework
Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (2012) or ECRI (2008)
during the reporting period. The Netherlands is not a member of
MONEYVAL;
272. The Netherlands has signed and ratified all the major Council
of Europe legal instruments.
3.2.23. Norway
273. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were three concerning
Norway, out of which two judgments found at least one violation
of the Convention. Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31
December 2012, 61
concerned
Norway. The
Court judgments
concern the restriction of the right to respect for family life
in the event of expulsion of foreigners.
274. In March 2013, GRECO published a 3rd round second compliance
report on Norway. It concluded that Norway had implemented satisfactorily
all of the eight recommendations contained in the third round evaluation report
with regard to party funding.
275. In 2013, GRETA published a report with respect to Norway.
A number of important challenges were identified, including the
need to adopt clear procedures and criteria for identifying victims
of trafficking and improving identification procedures so that victims
of trafficking were not prosecuted for immigration-related offences.
The legal definition of human trafficking was not fully in line
with the Convention and penalties to help deter traffickers needed
to be increased. There was no proactive approach to identify child
victims of trafficking, including Roma children. The involvement
of NGOs in planning and monitoring anti-trafficking measures was not
satisfactory,
276. In July 2012, the Committee of Ministers adopted Resolution
CM/ResCMN(2012)11 on the implementation of the Framework Convention
for the Protection of National Minorities by Norway. It identified some
issues of concern. Persons belonging to the Roma and Romani/Taters
minorities, who consider themselves victims of discriminatory acts,
hesitate to approach the Ombudsperson either because they have insufficient
knowledge of the legislation in force and of the possible remedies,
or because they consider the Ombudsperson’s means of action unsuited
to their needs and their itinerant lifestyle. In this context, the
current resources available for the Ombudsperson’s Office are insufficient
to enable it to carry out its mission effectively. Representatives
of civil society state that the frequency of expressions of hostility
towards immigrants in political and public debate has increased
in the last few years. Hostile and discriminatory attitudes on the
part of the police force have been reported against persons belonging
to the Roma and Romani/Taters minorities, who complain of not being
able to rely on the support of the police when they encounter problems
regarding access to commercial camping sites during their seasonal
travel. Some difficulties continue to be reported by Romani/Taters
who have been victims of past policies of assimilation and who are
unable to prove their cultural origin due to the lack of judicial
decisions on placement in foster families, or other convincing evidence.
The national radio only broadcasts one weekly programme in the Finnish
and Kven languages lasting 12 minutes directed at persons belonging
to the Kven minority. The situation of the Kven language is still
precarious and more determined action is needed to create an environment
more likely to encourage the use of this minority language. Among
issues for immediate action, the recommendations included: taking
more resolute measures to promote tolerance, mutual respect and
social cohesion in Norwegian society, taking effective measures
to enable persons belonging to the Roma and Romani/Taters minorities
who were victims of the forced assimilation policy in the past to
exercise their rights; continuing efforts to revitalise the Kven
language.
277. There were no reports by the Commissioner for Human Rights
(2006), the CPT (2011), the Committee of Experts of the European
Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (2012) or ECRI (2009)
on Norway during the reporting period. Norway is not a member of
MONEYVAL. There were no Assembly texts specifically on Norway during
the reporting period.
278. In
Resolution 1938
(2013) on promoting alternatives to imprisonment,
Norway is praised as one of the group
of countries which have imprisonment rates around half the European
average or less.
279. Norway has neither signed nor ratified the Council of Europe
Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the
Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (revised);
Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights was signed
in 2003 but not ratified.
3.2.24. Poland
280. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were 74 concerning
Poland out of which 56 judgments found at least one violation of
the Convention. Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31 December
2012, 3 106
concerned Poland.
Resolutions adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2012: 7. The
noteworthy Court judgments concern
mainly the excessive length of civil, criminal and administrative
proceedings;
inhuman and degrading treatment in
different detention facilities (police custody, remand centres and
prisons), mainly due to the lack of adequate medical care and poor
detention conditions;
practical problems with access to
lawful abortion; and the conscientious clause.
281. In December 2012, GRECO published a third evaluation second
compliance report on Poland. It concluded that efforts in preventing
corruption in the parliament and the judiciary should be pursued.
Pertinent legal provisions were too general to provide clear guidance
in specific situations. Recommendations included greater transparency
and a more in-depth monitoring of the political financing accounts,
in particular as regards political parties’ activities outside election
campaigns; in respect of Sejm deputies
and senators, ethical standards and rules on conflicts of interest
need to be further developed, and training and confidential counselling
on such issues should be provided; Judges and
prosecutors lacked proper guidance with regard to conflicts of interest
and related areas, training and confidential counselling on such
issues was needed.
282. In 2013, GRETA published a report on Poland in which it pointed
to the significant gap between the number of identified victims
of trafficking and the number of successful prosecutions and convictions.
There was need for improving the knowledge and sensitivity of judges,
prosecutors, investigators and other professionals about human trafficking
and the rights of victims. Further steps were necessary to ensure
that all victims of trafficking were properly identified (in particular
trafficking for labour exploitation, which was on the rise). Lack
of a nation-wide procedure for the identification of child victims
of trafficking and for providing them effectively with assistance
tailored to their needs. There was also a need to guarantee access
to compensation for victims of trafficking. Despite the existence
of legal possibilities, very few – if any – victims of trafficking
had received compensation.
283. In November 2012, the Committee of Ministers adopted Resolution
CM/ResCMN(2012)20 on the implementation of the Framework Convention
for the Protection of National Minorities by Poland. It pointed
to an increase in the number of racially-motivated offences in recent
years; the Polish authorities had not taken adequate measures to
combat racist incidents related to sporting events. The situation
of Roma was still a cause for concern. There was insufficient representation
of national minorities in the public radio and television programming
councils. The authorities were recommended to take measures to prevent,
investigate and prosecute all racially-motivated offences and to
prevent and combat incidents of intolerance and xenophobia, including
during sporting events; encourage more actively respect for cultural
diversity among the public; support and promote the preservation
and development of the culture of national minorities (allocation
of sufficient financial resources, review of the existing textbooks
and the compulsory curriculum with a view to ensuring a more objective
reflection of the history, culture and traditions); prevent and
combat discrimination and the social exclusion of the Roma (employment,
housing and education), eliminate segregation and increase awareness
of their culture and needs; ensure access of national minorities
to the radio and television programmes which concern them.
284. In June 2013, MONEYVAL published a report evaluating measures
taken by Poland to combat money laundering and terrorist financing
in which it concludes that the technical deficiencies identified
in the third round report have not yet been addressed. The number
of investigations and prosecutions for money laundering offences
appears low, compared to the level of funds-generating crime. The
evaluators considered there still remains an insufficiently proactive
approach to money laundering investigation by law enforcement. The
confiscation regime remains incomplete and the level of final confiscations
also appears low.
285. In July 2013, ECRI published conclusions on the implementation
of the recommendations made in a 2010 report in respect of Poland.
Recommendations included elaboration of comprehensive legislation
against discrimination; entrusting an independent body with all
the powers for combating racism and racial discrimination; and development
of a code of conduct addressing, inter
alia, the issue of fans’ racism by the Polish Football
Association. All three recommendations have been partly implemented.
286. In
Resolution 1914
(2013) on ensuring the viability of the Strasbourg Court: structural
deficiencies in States Parties,
the Assembly confirms, as underlined
in
Resolution 1787 (2011), that a number of countries, including Poland, face
major structural problems which lead to delays in the execution
of the Court's judgments.
287. In the report on the state of media freedom in Europe,
submitted by the Committee on Culture, Science,
Education and Media, the rapporteur noted with concern that Poland
is one of three countries which had negotiated an opt-out protocol
to the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, which seems
to exclude the application of Article 11 by the European Union Court
of Justice for those countries. Therefore, uniform application of
Article 11 throughout the European Union may not be ensured, except
indirectly through the application of the standards under Article
10 of the European Convention on Human Rights by the European Court
of Human Rights.
288. There were no reports by the Commissioner for Human Rights
(2007), the CPT (2011) or the Committee of Experts of the European
Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (2011).
289. Poland ratified the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption
and signed its Additional Protocol in 2011 but has not ratified
the latter so far; Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on
Human Rights has been neither signed nor ratified.
3.2.25. Portugal
290. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were 23 concerning
Portugal out of which 22 judgments found at least one violation
of the Convention. Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31
December 2012, 217
concerned
Portugal. Resolutions adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2012:
5.
The
Court
judgments concern mainly the excessive length of criminal, civil, administrative,
and enforcement proceedings,
and excessive delay in determining
and paying compensation following expropriation of agricultural
properties – 1975 agrarian reform.
291. In December 2012, GRECO published a third evaluation round
compliance report on Portugal. It pointed to problems in the area
of incriminations, relating in particular to legislation concerning
active and passive bribery of foreign public officials and the level
of sanctions pertaining to bribery in the private sector and trading in
influence; low transparency in the financing of political parties
and election campaigns. It required better and timelier access of
the public to election campaign accounts and strengthening of the
existing monitoring mechanism. Implementation was declared as “globally
unsatisfactory”.
292. The Commissioner for Human Rights published his last report
with respect to Portugal in July 2012 in which he identified a number
of concerns: child poverty was on the rise; preventing child labour
should be stressed; the Roma continued to suffer from social exclusion
and various forms of discrimination, particularly as regards housing,
education and access to employment, resulting in the persistence
of their social exclusion and poverty.
293. In June 2012, the Commissioner addressed a letter to the Minister
of Justice of Portugal
in
which he raised concerns relating to the excessive length of judicial
proceedings, discrimination and abuse and violence against older
persons.
294. In November 2012, the Commissioner made a statement in which
he stressed the need for States to take resolute measures to end
school segregation of Roma. Portugal is included in the list of
countries where schools or classes with a majority of Roma pupils
can be found.
295. In February 2013, GRETA published an evaluation report with
respect to Portugal. It pointed out that a low number of convictions
for human trafficking may result from possible gaps in the investigation
procedure and in the presentation of cases in courts. There was
a need to improve the identification and protection of victims and
the prosecution of traffickers. The report also underlined that
the Portuguese authorities should pay increased attention to detecting
trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation, and involve
NGOs more in the planning and implementation of anti-trafficking
measures.
296. In April 2013, the CPT published a report with respect of
Portugal in which it calls on the Portuguese authorities to address
the steady increase in the prison population and to eradicate overcrowding.
In their response, the authorities have provided information on
the steps being taken to address these issues.
297. In July 2013, ECRI published its fourth report on Portugal,
highlighting some concerns, for example the length and deficiencies
of the racial discrimination complaints procedure. Three recommendations
require priority and will be revisited by ECRI in two years’ time:
to put in place a system of collection of data; to simplify and
speed up racial discrimination complaints procedure; and to eliminate
all walls and barriers segregating Roma communities.
298. The report on human rights and family courts,
presented by the Committee on Legal
Affairs and Human Rights, pointed to Portugal as one of the countries
which raise concern about certain cases in which children have been
withdrawn from their families against the wishes of their biological
parents.
299. There were no reports by the Advisory Committee on the Framework
Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (2011) during
the reporting period.
300. Portugal has neither signed nor ratified the Civil Law Convention
on Corruption; it ratified the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption
and signed its Additional Protocol in 2003 but has not ratified
the latter so far; Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on
Human Rights was signed in 2000 but not ratified, the Charter for
Regional or Minority Languages was neither signed nor ratified.
Portugal is not a member of MONEYVAL.
3.2.26. Romania
301. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were 79 concerning
Romania, out of which 70 judgments found at least one violation
of the Convention. Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31
December 2012, 8 712
concerned
Romania. Resolutions adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2012:
21.
The noteworthy
Court judgments concern mainly
inhuman or degrading treatment or torture by the police and security
forces; ineffective investigations; lack of safeguards;
poor conditions of detention (police
facilities and prisons), including lack of adequate medical care;
structural problems related to ineffectiveness
of mechanisms set up to afford restitution or compensation for property nationalised
during the communist period;
excessive length of proceedings and
delays in abiding by final domestic court decisions; and lack of
effective remedy.
302. In December 2012, the Venice Commission delivered, at the
request of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the
Romanian authorities, an opinion on the compatibility with constitutional
principles and the rule of law of actions taken by the government
and the parliament of Romania in respect of other State institutions
and on the government emergency ordinance on amendment to Law N°
47/1992 regarding the organisation and functioning of the Constitutional
Court and on the government emergency ordinance on amending and
completing Law N° 3/2000 regarding the organisation of a referendum
of Romania.
In its opinion, the
Venice Commission concluded that a series of measures adopted by
the Romanian Government and Parliament in quick succession, both
individually and taken as a whole were problematic from the viewpoint of
constitutionality and the rule of law. The Commission was worried
in particular about the extensive recourse to government emergency
ordinances – both by previous and present majorities – which presents
a risk for democracy and the rule of law in Romania. In addition,
the events and several statements made demonstrate a worrying lack
of respect among representatives of State institutions for the status
of other State institutions, including the Constitutional Court
as the guarantor of the supremacy of the Constitution. The Venice Commission
is of the opinion that the Romanian State institutions should engage
in loyal co-operation between themselves and it welcomed the statements
from both sides expressing their intention to respect their obligations.
303. In December 2012, GRECO published a third evaluation round
compliance report in respect of Romania. Pending the enactment of
the new Criminal Code, initially scheduled for October 2011 and
now for February 2014, there were some gaps in the criminalisation
of bribery of public officials and trading in influence. Existing arrangements
concerning effective regret were a particular source for concern
given the limited safeguards in place to prevent their abuse by
bribe-givers. Anti-corruption bodies have been struggling for years
to preserve their legal powers and ability to deal with cases involving
the political and economic elite. Political financing had been surrounded
by numerous allegations of dubious practices. Relevant regulations
were at times over-ambitious and imposed many limitations that were
probably difficult to enforce in practice. Loopholes in accounting,
reporting and disclosure measures hampered their effectiveness.
Supervision of party and campaign financing was not satisfactory.
The maximum penalties for infringements of the rules were not adequate.
As indicated in the compliance report, legislative and other measures
were in the process of adoption in order to remedy the various issues.
304. In December 2012, the Commissioner for Human Rights published
a Memorandum “Advancing accountability in respect of the CIA Black
Site in Romania”,
in which he observed
that sufficient evidence had now been amassed to allow the existence
of a CIA Black Site in Romania to be considered as a proven fact,
and to affirm that serious human rights abuses took place there.
Nonetheless, it remained the role and responsibility of the Romanian
authorities to establish the full circumstances of what happened,
including the extent and nature of any crimes that occurred in order
to fulfil Romania’s positive obligations under the European Convention
on Human Rights.
305. In May 2012, GRETA published a report with respect to Romania
in which it pointed to stereotypes and prejudices towards victims
of trafficking, in particular women and Roma. Efforts should be
stepped up as part of a long-term approach aimed at tackling the
root causes of trafficking, especially through fostering access
to education and jobs for vulnerable groups. Problems as regards
victims’ access to health care and suitable accommodation, assistance
and protection appeared to hinge on their readiness to co-operate
with law enforcement agencies. There were shortcomings in the institutional
and procedural framework for the repatriation and return of victims
of trafficking and gaps in the investigation procedure and the presentation
of cases in court leading to diminished effectiveness of investigation
and prosecution of THB-related offences. Ensuring effective access
to compensation and legal redress for victims of trafficking should
also be a priority for the Romanian authorities. There was also
a lack of finalisation of a new national strategy for combating
and preventing trafficking. Co-ordination and co-operation between
all the players concerned should be reinforced and all relevant
professionals provided with training which enable them to identify
victims of trafficking and to assist and protect them.
306. In June 2012, the Committee of Minsters adopted Recommendation
CM/RecChL(2012)3 on the application of the European Charter for
Regional or Minority Languages by Romania. It identified a number
of concerns and urged the Romanian authorities to undertake the
following measures with a view to improving the situation: adopt
a structured approach for the implementation of each undertaking
under the Charter in co-operation with representatives of the minority
language speakers; develop comprehensive educational models for
teaching in/of Tatar and Turkish in co-operation with representatives
of the minority language speakers; provide basic and further training
of a sufficient number of teachers to fully implement the undertakings
under Article 8 with regard to German, Hungarian, Turkish and Ukrainian;
continue to develop a comprehensive offer of teaching in/of Romani
taking account of the needs and wishes of the Romani speakers; reconsider
the thresholds for official use of minority languages in administration;
improve the offer of radio and television broadcasts in the Part
III languages.
307. In
Resolution 1920
(2013) on the state of media freedom in Europe,
submitted by the Committee on Culture,
Science, Education and Media, the Assembly noted with concern recent
reports about political pressure on public service broadcasters
in a number of countries, including Romania, and invited the European Broadcasting
Union to co-operate with the Council of Europe in this regard.
308. In
Resolution 1914
(2013) on the ensuring the viability of the Strasbourg Court:
structural deficiencies in States Parties,
submitted by the Committee on Legal
Affairs and Human Rights, the Assembly confirmed, as underlined
in
Resolution 1787 (2011), that, a number of countries including Romania face
major structural problems which lead to delays in the execution
of the Court's judgments.
309. In
Resolution 1898
(2012) on political parties and women’s political representation,
the
Assembly included Romania in the list of countries in which women
represent under 20% of members of national parliaments.
310. In a statement published in March 2013, following the meeting
between the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the Romanian
Prime Minister, it was announced that the next steps on property restitution
and constitutional reform had been identified. It had also been
agreed that the Romanian government would officially ask the Venice
Commission for its expertise in the constitutional reform process. With
regard to the situation of Roma, it had been agreed that assistance
programmes should focus more on education as the key to the long-term
integration of the Roma community in Romania.
311. There were no reports by MONEYVAL (2011), the Commissioner
for Human Rights (2006), the CPT (2011), the Advisory Committee
on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
(March 2012) or ECRI on Romania during the reporting period.
312. Romania has signed and ratified all of the major Council of
Europe legal instruments.
3.2.27. San Marino
313. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there was one concerning
San Marino; it found at least one violation of the Convention. Out
of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31 December 2012, 2 concerned San Marino. Resolutions
adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2012: 2. The Court judgment concerns mainly
the length of proceedings in a restitution case and unlawful detention.
314. In July 2013, ECRI published its fourth report on San Marino
highlighting some concerns including the legislation on citizenship
and the absence of a comprehensive civil and administrative legal
framework aimed at combating racial discrimination in all fields
of life. Two recommendations require priority and will be revisited by
ECRI in two years’ time: to establish an independent body specialised
in combating racism and racial discrimination; to revise the legislation
on stay and work permits for foreigner private carers so as to reduce their
precariousness of employment.
315. In
Resolution 1898
(2012) on political parties and women’s political representation,
the
Assembly included San Marino in the list of countries in which women
represent under 20% of members of national parliaments.
316. In
Resolution 1938
(2013) on promoting alternatives to imprisonment,
San Marino is praised as one of the group
of countries which have imprisonment rates around half the European
average or less.
317. There were no reports by GRECO (February 2012), MONEYVAL (2011),
the Commissioner for Human Rights (2008), the CPT (2008, last visit:
February 2013), GRETA or the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention
for the Protection of National Minorities (2010) on San Marino during
the reporting period.
318. San Marino has neither signed nor ratified the Civil Law Convention
on Corruption; it signed the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption
and its Additional Protocol in 2003 but has not ratified either
of them; the Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has been
neither signed nor ratified.
3.2.28. Slovak Republic
319. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were 23 concerning
the Slovak Republic out of which 21 judgments found at least one
violation of the Convention. Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases
on 31 December 2012, 481
concerned
the Slovak Republic. Resolutions adopted by the Committee of Ministers
in 2012: 13.
The
noteworthy Court judgments concern mainly
the disproportionately low compensation for compulsory land transfers
by a registered association of landowners,
and the real risk of being subjected
to treatment contrary to Article 3 in case of expulsion.
320. GRECO published its third evaluation round second compliance
report on the Slovak Republic in December 2012, in which it concluded
that the Slovak Republic had not accomplished any progress since
the second interim report. As regards the transparency of party
and election campaign financing, a process which was initiated in
2011 with a view to adopting an election code and amending the law
“on Political Parties and Political Movements” has not been completed
and has failed to introduce significant improvements. For this reason,
compliance with the recommendations dating from 2008 was considered
as “globally unsatisfactory”. Shortcomings to be addressed by the
reform include, inter alia,
a more articulate regulation of reporting and disclosure requirements
applicable to election candidates, the establishment of an independent
and properly resourced body to supervise compliance with rules on
party and election campaign financing, and the revision of sanctions
available for violations of rules on political funding to ensure
that these are proportionate and dissuasive.
321. In November 2012, the Commissioner for Human Rights made a
statement in which he stressed the need for States to take resolute
measures to end school segregation of Roma. The Slovak Republic
is included in the list of countries where schools or classes with
a majority of Roma pupils can be found.
322. In May 2012, ECRI published its conclusions on the implementation
of the recommendations in respect of Slovakia subject to interim
follow-up adopted on 21 March 2012 (CRI(2012)29). It stressed that
the situation of the Roma remained worrying in areas such as education,
housing, employment and health and instances of police brutality
against members of this minority still occurred. A rise in racist
political discourse by some politicians targeting primarily Hungarians,
as well as Roma and Jewish people, had been noted. The integration of
refugees was still an issue that needed to be tackled, namely through
the integration strategy devised by the Slovak authorities. In 2012,
ECRI considered that its specific recommendation – to provide incentives,
including financial ones, to local authorities to draw up and implement
action plans to desegregate schools in their areas – had not been
implemented.
323. In
Resolution 1898
(2012) on political parties and women’s political representation,
the
Assembly included the Slovak Republic in the list of countries in
which women represent under 20% of members of national parliaments.
324. There were no reports by MONEYVAL (2011), the Commissioner
for Human Rights (2011), the CPT (2010), GRETA (2011), the Advisory
Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
(2011) or the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional
or Minority Languages (March 2012) on Slovakia during the reporting
period.
325. Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights
was signed in 2000 but not ratified.
3.2.29. Slovenia
326. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were 22 concerning
Slovenia, out of which 20 found at least one violation of the European
Convention of Human Rights. Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases
on 31 December 2012, 2,218
concerned
Slovenia. Resolutions adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2012:
1.
The
Court
judgments concerned mainly the violation of the right to private
and/or family life on account of compensation for “erased” persons,
degrading treatment
due to poor conditions of detention in overcrowded prison, lack
of effective remedy.
327. In May 2012, GRECO published its third evaluation round second
compliance report on Slovenia: “Incriminations”.
Concerning incriminations, concerns remained
as to the role that the Minister of Justice is to play when granting
permission for such prosecutions to be initiated in Slovenia, and
in particular, the risk of political interference. In so far as
the transparency of political funding is concerned, Slovenia has
not made any substantial progress since the adoption of the compliance
report in 2010. GRECO noted in 2008 that although the Slovenian
legislation is, on paper, of a good standard, in practice the picture
is less convincing. Political parties and other election campaign
organisers appear to be able to circumvent existing legal provisions without
great difficulty and are not penalised in any way – neither by the
electorate nor by the competent supervisory body. GRECO therefore
concluded that the Slovenian authorities should ensure, as a matter
of priority, that effective independent supervision is put in place
and that party and campaign finance rules are adequately enforced.
There were two drafts underway, meant to provide for greater transparency
of party and campaign accounts – including individual donations
and loans, clearer oversight responsibilities and enhanced powers
of the Court of Audit, and increased monetary sanctions for failure
to comply with the law. It was most regrettable that no concrete
material improvements had occurred over recent years and the two
proposed drafts had not been adopted. Slovenia clearly needed to
take more convincing action in this field. Slovenia had not made
any tangible progress since the first compliance report more than
two years ago (and well over four years since the adoption of the
evaluation report). GRECO considered the situation as “globally
unsatisfactory”. Concerning integrity rules for members of parliament,
judges and prosecutors, GRECO found that much remains to be done
to educate them about integrity and conflicts of interest, and to
ensure a better implementation of the corruption prevention legal
framework. There remained the need to establish a set of rules of
conduct, accompanied by a mechanism of supervision and sanction
for misconduct. The role of the governing bodies of the judiciary
and the prosecution service had to be enforced in developing integrity
and managing corruption risks.
328. In May 2013, GRECO published another report with respect to
Slovenia in which it called on Slovenia to further develop corruption
prevention concerning members of parliament, judges and prosecutors.
It stressed that much remained to be done to educate them about
integrity and conflicts of interest and to ensure a better implementation
of the corruption prevention legal framework. GRECO points to the
need to establish a set of rules of conduct, accompanied by a mechanism
of supervision and sanction for misconduct. It also called for a
reinforcement of the role of the governing bodies of the judiciary
and the prosecution service in developing integrity and managing
corruption risks. Finally, the Group expressed concern that the
responsibilities over the prosecution service had been transferred
from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of the Interior, and
that this may lead to a reduction of the independence of prosecutors.
329. In a statement in January 2013, the Commissioner for Human
Rights raised the issue of the “erasure” of thousands of people
from the Register of Permanent Residents of Slovenia in 1992, which
continues to adversely affect the human rights of many “erased”
persons. The Commissioner called on the Slovenian authorities to
review the 2010 Legal Status Act in order to facilitate the reinclusion
into Slovenian society of those “erased” persons who still wish
to have their residence status restored. In addition, the Commissioner raised
his particular concern about the plight of those, especially children,
who became and may still be stateless following the “erasure”.
330. In July 2012, the Committee of Ministers adopted Resolution
CM/ResCMN(2012)12 on the implementation of the Framework Convention
for the Protection of National Minorities by Slovenia, in which
it observed that the socio-economic situation of many Roma remains
a deep concern, especially in the region of Dolenjska. Many of them
continue to live in substandard settlements, isolated from the majority
population. Roma pupils still encounter important difficulties in
the area of education and the majority of them do not reach secondary
education. Prejudice and hostile attitudes against the Roma persist
and are sometimes fuelled by the media and politicians. Some local
authorities do not abide by their duties in the field of minority
protection and are reluctant to implement strategies developed at
national level. Hate speech continues to be expressed by certain
politicians and to be disseminated through the media. It is on the
rise on the Internet. As elsewhere in Europe, there is generally
still a lack of awareness of the fact that hate speech is a crime
and the prosecuting authorities are sometimes reluctant to identify
and qualify hate speech as an offence. Prejudices and stereotypes
against persons belonging to the “new national communities” and
the German-speaking community persist and the support allocated
to them is not sufficient to cover all their needs in the field
of preservation of their languages and culture. The resolution calls
on the Slovenian authorities to immediately take the following measures:
intensify measures to ensure that effective remedies are available
to potential victims of discrimination; intensify actions to raise
awareness of discrimination-related issues in society, including
in the judiciary and law enforcement agencies; ensure that Roma
representatives are able to take part in public affairs at local
level in all the municipalities in which they live in substantial
numbers; take further steps to provide elected Roma councillors
with all the support they need to carry out their tasks effectively, including
adequate training; ensure that the Roma Community Council adequately
represents the diversity of groups within the Roma community; ensure
effective involvement of national minority representatives in discussions
on any administrative change that could have an impact on minority
protection; in particular, take measures to guarantee that the protection
of persons belonging to national minorities will not diminish as
a result of the creation of the municipality of Ankaran/Ancarano.
331. In
Resolution 1938
(2013) on promoting alternatives to imprisonment,
Slovenia is praised as one of the group
of countries which have imprisonment rates around half the European
average or less.
332. In
Resolution 1898
(2012) on political parties and women’s political representation,
the
Assembly included Slovenia in the list of countries in which women
represent under 20% of members of national parliaments.
333. There were no reports by MONEYVAL (2010), the CPT (2008, last
country visit: 2012), GRETA (no report yet, Slovenia joined only
in 2009), the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional
or Minority Languages (2011) or ECRI (2006, the new one foreseen
for 2013) on Slovenia during the reporting period.
334. Slovenia has signed and ratified all the major Council of
Europe legal instruments.
3.2.30. Spain
335. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were 10 concerning
Spain, out of which eight found at least one violation of the Convention.
Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31 December 2012, 653
concerned Spain. Resolutions adopted
by the Committee of Ministers in 2012: 3.
The
noteworthy Court judgments concern
mainly the absence of a thorough and effective investigation into
the arguable allegations of ill-treatment in detention;
restrictions on freedom of expression due
to criminal conviction for defamation;
and breach of the right to a fair
trial on account of absence of a hearing.
336. In March 2013, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
considered a monitoring report
and adopted
Recommendation 336 (2013) on local and regional democracy in Spain. The Congress
pointed out that Spain generally fulfilled its obligations under
the Charter, and they welcomed the direct incorporation of the Charter
into Spanish national law, making it possible for the domestic courts
to use and interpret it. The rapporteurs nevertheless very much
regretted the overlaps in responsibilities between the different
levels of governance, and recommended that the Spanish authorities
take practical measures in this sphere.
337. In June 2013, the Commissioner for Human Rights, in his statement
following a visit to the country, stressed that all efforts should
be made by the Spanish authorities to assess and limit the negative
impact of budgetary cuts on the most vulnerable groups, in particular
children and persons with disabilities. The Commissioner noted with
concern that about 30% of Spanish children were at risk of poverty.
Furthermore, concerns remained about the increasingly adverse impact
that budgetary restrictions have on the enjoyment by persons with
disabilities of their rights, notably those concerning their autonomy
and access to public services. The Commissioner also paid particular
attention to the work of the police in anti-austerity demonstrations
that have multiplied in Spain in the last two years. He noted that
the frequently reported lack of identification of police officers
during demonstrations prevented effective investigation and sanction
for possible abuse. The Commissioner called on the Spanish authorities
to immediately abandon the practice of granting pardon to law enforcement
officials convicted for serious human rights violations, such as
torture. He said that this practice must end as it perpetuates impunity
among law enforcement officials and runs counter to European human
rights standards.
338. In June 2013, GRECO adopted a Second Compliance Report in
respect of Spain in which it concludes that Spain has implemented
six out of 15 recommendations contained in 2009 Evaluation Report.
The sanctioning regime for irregular financing of political parties
needs to be strengthened significantly. It is crucial for the credibility
of the system that the law does not remain dead letter but that
it is properly monitored and enforced; GRECO urges the Spanish authorities
to take all possible steps in this respect. By March 2014, the authorities
will provide information on measures which they will have undertaken.
339. In April 2013, the CPT published a report with respect to
Spain which called on the Spanish authorities to effectively investigate
allegations of ill-treatment, to address prison overcrowding, and
to improve the conditions of administrative detention of irregular
migrants. The report highlighted several allegations of serious physical
ill-treatment by officers of the Guardia Civil in respect of persons
held in incommunicado detention, and
it recommended once again that the safeguards surrounding such detention
be effective in practice. The report also referred to several allegations
of ill-treatment by the Catalan police (Mossos D’Esquadra) and made recommendations
aimed at strengthening the safeguards in place and ensuring that
all investigations into allegations of ill-treatment by the police
are prompt and thorough. Further, the report recommended that all Mossos
d’Esquadra officers always wear some form of identification, including
during public order operations.
340. In its third opinion on Spain, published in November 2011,
the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection
of National Minorities called on Spain to take more resolute measures
to implement Roma integration policies and to ensure that they are
not disproportionately affected by budgetary restrictions due to
the economic crisis. The Committee urged Spain to ensure that the
implementation of admission rules to schools does not result in
discriminatory practices against Roma pupils, and to prevent the persisting
concentration of Roma pupils in schools located in disadvantaged
areas and with lower education outcomes. It also asked the authorities
to eliminate the practice of “ethnic profiling” by the police, which
targets immigrants and Roma in particular, and to increase training
of police to combat racism and discrimination.
341. In October 2012, the Committee of Ministers made public the
third report on the application of the European Charter for Regional
or Minority Languages in Spain. The report was drawn up by a committee
of independent experts, which monitors the application of the Charter.
Although measures have been taken aiming at improving the legislative
set up and raising awareness about the multilingual character of
Spain, further action was needed, especially regarding the use of
regional or minority languages before judicial and State administration
authorities. On the basis of this report, the Committee of Ministers
adopted a recommendation encouraging Spain to ensure that court
proceedings can be conducted in regional or minority languages in
the autonomous communities. The Spanish authorities were also called
upon to take measures to ensure the necessary language capacities
of staff working in the State administration offices. Furthermore, the
Spanish authorities were encouraged to ensure the presence of all
regional or minority languages in public services.
342. In
Resolution 1920
(2013) on the state of media freedom in Europe,
submitted by the Committee on Culture,
Science, Education and Media, the Assembly noted with concern recent
reports about political pressure on public service broadcasters
in a number of countries including Spain and invited the European Broadcasting
Union to co-operate with the Council of Europe in this regard.
343. There were no reports by ECRI (2011) on Spain during the reporting
period. Spain is not a member of MONEYVAL.
344. Spain has signed and ratified all the major Council of Europe
legal instruments.
3.2.31. Sweden
345. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were 15 concerning
Sweden, out of which four judgments found at least one violation
of the Convention. Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31
December 2012, 110
concerned
Sweden. Resolutions adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2012:
1.
The
Court
judgments concern mainly the unfairness of proceedings before administrative
courts; absence of oral hearings,
the length of judicial proceedings,
and issues linked to the expulsion
of foreigners.
346. In December 2012, GRECO published its third evaluation round:
second interim compliance report on Sweden.
The report stresses that
legislation on bribery complies in a strict legal sense with the
Criminal Law Convention on Corruption. However, the rather general
legislation and limited practice, makes it difficult to foresee
all its consequences. Moreover, the offence trading in influence
is not criminalised as such under Swedish law. Concerning transparency
of party funding, the Swedish system falls short of the standards. Sweden’s
long standing tradition of self-regulation in this area neither
provides for a sufficiently broad and comprehensive approach, nor
is there an independent monitoring mechanism in place and there
are no particular sanctions or other means for the enforcement of
the few principles that have been agreed upon by the political parties
represented in the Riksdagen. Consequently, it is difficult to assess
the flow of private donations to political parties. Measures should
be taken to increase the transparency of political party funding (covering
both general party funding and election campaign funding), including
by further developing the accounting, reporting and publication
requirements, by ensuring independent auditing and independent monitoring
of party funding, and by introducing appropriate sanctions.
347. In June 2013, the Committee of Ministers adopted Resolution
CM/ResCMN(2013)2 on the implementation of the Framework Convention
for the Protection of National Minorities by Sweden. It stresses that
the new Discrimination Act (2008:567) does not expressly cover discrimination
based on language – a point of concern given the difficulties experienced
by persons belonging to national minorities in exercising their rights
with respect to the use and learning of their minority languages.
This Act also does not expressly provide for the possibility of
adopting special measures in all relevant fields of daily life of
persons belonging to national minorities, in particular as regards
health and housing. Overall, insufficient information is available
about discrimination against persons belonging to national minorities.
The sustainability of the long-term cultural activities of national
minorities is difficult to ensure because such projects are usually
funded for a limited period of one year. Minorities are not always
sufficiently involved in decision-making processes on the allocation
of resources and the amount of funds available is reportedly insufficient
to cover their real needs. The legal situation of the Sami as regards
winter grazing land rights needs to be clarified in the light of
the Supreme Court's judgment of 27 April 2011 and more efforts are
needed to ensure that their traditional way of life is maintained
and negative impacts of spatial planning decisions are minimised.
Problems in the access of Roma children to education persist, including
a lack of awareness or acknowledgement of Roma culture in schools and
school curricula, bullying and harassment of Roma children by pupils
or teachers, and high levels of absenteeism and school dropouts
amongst Roma children. The resolution urges the authorities to take immediate
measures in the following areas: Redouble efforts to implement effectively
the National Minorities Act among public service providers at local
level in the municipalities concerned; pay particular attention
to language training, language qualifications in public procurement
procedures and targeted recruitment of minority language speakers;
monitor the implementation of all measures and evaluate their effectiveness regularly
in order to ensure that the linguistic rights of persons belonging
to national minorities are fully respected; strengthen efforts to
address the lack of minority language teachers as well as teachers
equipped for bilingual and multilingual education; adopt a strategic
approach, in consultation with representatives of national minorities,
in order to ensure that there is adequate provision of higher education
in this field and that minority language teaching is sustainable
as a profession; take special measures to attract students to minority language
teaching; take steps to ensure that the Sami Parliament is able
to participate effectively in decision-making processes in all areas
affecting the Sami people, including public affairs such as spatial
planning as well as the reindeer industry and educational and cultural
matters.
348. In September 2012, ECRI published a report with respect to
Sweden in which it drew attention to problems relating to land rights,
which continue to have an adverse effect on the Sami; the Roma remain marginalised
and the fact that positive action is not generally accepted with
regard to discrimination based on ethnicity and religion affects
the situation of vulnerable groups. Strict administrative requirements
in the field of family reunification place a disproportionate burden
on persons from some countries. Some non-citizens find themselves
in a particularly vulnerable situation with regard to health. Key
recommendations included the adoption of a plan of action to address de facto residential segregation;
lifting exclusions from free medical care for certain particularly
vulnerable categories of persons living in Sweden without a residence
permit; and resolution of all family reunification problems arising
due to difficulties in obtaining identity papers in the country of
origin.
349. In
Resolution 1938
(2013) on promoting alternatives to imprisonment,
Sweden is praised as one of the group
of countries which have imprisonment rates around half the European
average or less.
350. In
Resolution 1898
(2012) on political parties and women’s political representation,
Sweden
is praised as one of the group of countries in which women’s representation
in parliament exceeds 40%.
351. There were no reports by the Commissioner for Human Rights
(2007), the CPT (2009); GRETA (report under preparation) or the
Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority
Languages (2011).
352. Sweden signed the Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure
and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing
of Terrorism (revised) in 2005, but it has not ratified it so far;
Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights has been
neither signed nor ratified. Sweden is not a member of MONEYVAL.
3.2.32. Switzerland
353. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were eight concerning
Switzerland, out of which three judgments found at least one violation
of the Convention. Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases on 31
December 2012, 1 031 concerned
Switzerland. Resolutions adopted by the Committee of Ministers in
2012: 6. The Court judgments concern mainly
the violation of the applicant’s right to private and family life
and lack of an effective remedy.
354. In October 2012, the CPT published a report with respect to
Switzerland in which it raised concern about a disturbing proportion
of persons, including some juveniles, complaining about physical
ill-treatment by the police at the time of, or just after, apprehension
in the Canton of Geneva. These allegations were often supported
by medical evidence. In the prisons visited, the vast majority of
inmates said that they had not experienced any ill-treatment; however,
some allegations were received in Champ-Dollon Prison. Another focus
of the visit report related to detained persons suffering from psychiatric
disorders, but who were held in a normal prison or high-security
environment where they were unable to receive the necessary care
and treatment.
355. In May 2012, ECRI published its conclusions on the implementation
of a number of priority recommendations made in its country report
in 2009. It observed that there had been a dangerous growth of racist
political discourse against non-citizens, Muslims, Black and other
minorities. Legislation is insufficiently developed to deal with
direct racial discrimination, which targets in particular Muslims
and persons from the Balkans, Turkey and Africa. Travellers and
Yenish communities, with an itinerant life style, are still faced
with a shortage of stopping sites and prejudice leading to instances
of discrimination. Legislation governing asylum-seekers has been
tightened and hostility towards them has increased. ECRI recommended
that the authorities: pursue efforts to train police officers, prosecutors,
judges and future legal professionals in the scope and application
of Article 261bis of the Criminal Code, which is intended to prohibit
racist acts. ECRI also recommended that the Swiss authorities ensure
that all members of the police follow training and awareness-raising
courses regarding the need to combat racism and racial discrimination
in policing, including racial profiling. This has already been done
in Lucerne. Structures need to be set up to enable the exchange
of good practice in this field between the various police forces
at the federal, cantonal and municipal levels.
356. In July 2013, the Committee of Ministers adopted Recommendation
CM/RecChL(2013)4 on the application of the European Charter for
Regional or Minority Languages by Switzerland in which it recommends,
as a matter of priority, that the Swiss authorities ensure that
the introduction and establishment of Rumantsch Grischun in schools
takes into account traditionally used idioms in order to protect
and promote Romansh as a living language; and to promote the use
of Italian in the economic and social public sector under the control
of the canton of Graubünden.
357. In
Resolution 1938
(2013) on promoting alternatives to imprisonment,
Switzerland is praised as one of the
group of countries which have imprisonment rates around half the
European average or less.
358. There were no reports by the Commissioner for Human Rights
(2005) or the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for
the Protection of National Minorities (last Advisory Committee Opinion
was adopted in March 2013 but it has not been published yet).
359. Switzerland has neither signed nor ratified the Civil Law
Convention on Corruption; the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering,
Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and
on the Financing of Terrorism (revised): neither signed nor ratified;
Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights: neither
signed nor ratified, Protocol 1 to the ECHR not ratified. Switzerland
is not a member of MONEYVAL.
360. On the positive side, in December 2012, Switzerland ratified
the Council of Europe Convention on action against trafficking in
human beings.
3.2.33. United Kingdom
361. Out of a total of 1 678 judgments delivered by the
European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were 24 concerning
the United Kingdom, out of which 10 judgments found at least one
violation of the Convention. Out of a total of 128 100 pending cases
on 31 December 2012, 3 308
concerned
the United Kingdom. Resolutions adopted by the Committee of Ministers
in 2012: 14. The
Court judgments
concern mainly the blanket ban on voting imposed automatically on
convicted offenders detained in prison.
362. In June 2012, GRECO published its third evaluation round:
second compliance report on the United Kingdom (ETS Nos. 173 and
191, GPC 2), GRECO was concerned that the coexistence of different
provisions covering bribery of foreign public officials could give
rise to discrepancies in the application of the law. In addition,
“trading in influence” has not been criminalised in line with the
Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, despite the fact that some
aspects of this offence appear to be covered by the new Bribery
Act. As far as the transparency of political funding is concerned,
the transparency and accountability of members of parliament needs
to be reinforced. In particular, lobbying needs regulation and the
internal mechanisms preventing and sanctioning misconduct need to
be enhanced.
363. In November 2012, the Commissioner for Human Rights, in his
statement with regard to the situation of Roma in a number of European
countries, observed that in the United Kingdom, Travellers who had
been evicted from their own land in Dale Farm, Essex, in October
2011 had again been served with eviction notices. They were now
being asked to leave the private roadside settlement they had been
occupying since their eviction. They said that they had nowhere
else to go and feared the approaching winter.
364. In September 2012, GRETA published a report on the United
Kingdom. It urged the British authorities to take further steps
to improve the identification of child victims of trafficking, and
to ensure that all unaccompanied minors who are potential victims
of trafficking are assigned a legal guardian and are provided with
suitable safe accommodation and adequately trained supervisors or
foster parents. GRETA urges the British authorities to adopt a clear
legal and policy framework for the return of victims of trafficking,
having due regard for the rights, safety and dignity of the person
and the status of legal proceedings, and in order to avoid re-trafficking
and re-victimisation. GRETA urges the British authorities to step
up their efforts to adopt a victim-centred approach when assessing
the public interest of prosecuting identified victims of trafficking.
Potential victims of trafficking should not be punished for immigration-related
offences. GRETA urges the authorities to step up efforts to protect
victims of trafficking during the investigation and during and after
the court proceedings, and to address the gap in victim protection
at employment tribunals for victims of trafficking for the purpose
of labour exploitation.
365. In December 2012, the Committee of Ministers adopted Resolution
CM/ResCMN(2012)22 on the implementation of the Framework Convention
for the Protection of National Minorities by the United Kingdom. It
urged the British authorities to: take measures to ensure that savings
in public expenditure do not have a disproportionately negative
impact on the situation of persons belonging to ethnic minorities;
take effective measures to address the accommodation needs of Gypsies
and Travellers, including by encouraging the delivery of sites and
improving the co-ordination of the different levels of authorities
involved in sites delivery; ensure that local authorities comply
with their responsibilities in sites delivery; enhance efforts to
seek consensus on the introduction of legislation on the Irish language
in Northern Ireland and continue to take appropriate measures to
protect and develop the Irish language in Northern Ireland.
366. In February 2013, ECRI published its conclusions on the implementation
of its priority recommendations included in the 2010 report in respect
of the United Kingdom. Three recommendations had urged the British authorities:
to ensure that legal aid is available in discrimination cases before
employment tribunals; to complete the assessment of the accommodation
needs of Gypsies and Travellers so as to address their disadvantages
in access to adequate accommodation; and to continue to address
the under-representation of ethnic minorities in the police. They
had been partially implemented. The outstanding concerns include:
racist incidents that had become more frequent; police powers exercised
in a manner that disproportionately affected minority groups; Gypsies
and Travellers still faced serious discrimination and asylum-seekers
remained in a vulnerable position. The rise in racist incidents
in recent years was worrying. The impact of anti-terror legislation
on minority groups also continued to cause concern, with measures
such as stops and searches disproportionately affecting members
of Black and other minority ethnic communities. As a result, members
of these communities, especially Muslims, feel increasingly stigmatised.
Gypsies and Travellers are still most likely to encounter discrimination
in all fields of daily life and they face some of the most severe
levels of hostility and prejudice. The lack of adequate sites has
also frequently been at the root of community tensions. Asylum-seekers
remain vulnerable to destitution, hastily reached decisions rejecting
their claims and unnecessary detention. Together with Muslims, migrants,
Gypsies and Travellers, they are regularly presented in a negative light
both in political discourse and in the media, especially the tabloid
press. The tone of public debate continues to include some elements
of racist and xenophobic discourse.
367. In July 2013, the CPT published its first report on an operation
of deportation of foreign nationals from the United Kingdom by air.
The main issues of concern were the use of restraint by escort staff,
the presence of a medical doctor instead of a paramedic or a nurse
on board removal charter flights, and the need for a “fit to fly”
certificate for persons to be deported. The CPT recommends that
efforts be made for the revised training package for overseas escorts
to be accredited and implemented at the earliest opportunity. Other recommendations
included the presence of interpreters throughout the whole removal
process, psychological support and counselling.
368. In June 2013, the Committee of Experts of the European Charter
for Regional or Minority Languages adopted an Evaluation Report
on the United Kingdom. At the time of drafting it was still restricted.
369. In
Resolution 1938
(2013) on promoting alternatives to imprisonment,
the
Assembly notes with satisfaction that the United Kingdom has in
recent years successfully phased in and promoted novel types of non-custodial
sentences as alternatives to imprisonment, whilst safeguarding the
legitimate security needs of society.
370. In the report on the state of media freedom in Europe,
submitted by the Committee on Culture, Science,
Education and the Media, the rapporteur noted with concern that
the United Kingdom is one of three countries which had negotiated
an opt-out protocol to the European Union Charter of Fundamental
Rights, which seems to exclude the application of Article 11 by
the European Union Court of Justice for those countries. Therefore,
uniform application of Article 11 throughout the European Union
may not be ensured, except indirectly through the application of
the standards under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights
by the European Court of Human Rights.
371. The report on the human rights and family courts,
submitted by the Committee on Legal
Affairs and Human Rights, pointed to United Kingdom as one of the
countries which raise concern about certain cases in which children
have been withdrawn from their families against the wishes of their
biological parents.
372. The United Kingdom is not a member of MONEYVAL.
373. The United Kingdom signed the Civil Law Convention on Corruption
in 2000 but has not ratified it; the Convention on Laundering, Search,
Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of
Terrorism (revised) has been neither signed nor ratified; Protocol
No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights has been neither
signed nor ratified.
4. Proposals concerning
the development of the monitoring procedure
374. The parliamentary monitoring procedure was established
in 1993 by Order No. 488 in order to allow the countries which had
committed themselves to democratic principles to join the Council
of Europe even before the democratic transition had been accomplished,
and to provide them with assistance in their efforts. However, since
then, the procedure has undergone a number of important changes
and improvements, the latest introduced as recently as in May 2013.
375. In 1997, the Assembly decided to establish the Monitoring
Committee and defined its mandate as “verifying the fulfilment of
obligations assumed by member States under the term of the Statute
of the Council of Europe, the European Convention on Human Rights
and all other Council of Europe Conventions to which they are Parties,
as well as the honouring of commitments entered into by the authorities
of member states upon accession to the Council of Europe”.
The terms of reference of the Monitoring
Committee provided for a specific procedure for appointment of members
and its working methods.
376. The major changes include, in 2005, the Assembly’s decision
to strengthen the committee’s role
in deciding to open or reopen the monitoring procedure with regard
to any member State, and allowing for a debate in the Assembly’s
in the case of diverging opinions between the Bureau and the Monitoring
Committee. The desire to facilitate debates on the possible monitoring
of any member country was confirmed by the Assembly’s decision
in 2011 to allow any Assembly committee,
or 20 members of the Assembly, or the Bureau, to be at the origin
of such a motion.
377. Furthermore, in 2006,
the Assembly conferred on the Monitoring
Committee the task of preparing periodic reports on all member States
which were not the subject of a monitoring procedure or involved
in a post-monitoring dialogue.
378. Finally, in May 2013, in the latest move, clearly designed
to allow the committee’s quick reaction to worrying developments
in any member State, the Assembly enlarged the committee’s terms
of reference, providing for the possibility of it preparing a report
on the functioning of democratic institutions in any member State
on the basis of a motion for a resolution tabled by members of the
Assembly.
379. The Monitoring Committee’s working methods have also been
modified on several occasions, usually at the initiative of the
committee itself in the light of experience and the need for adaptation
of its mandate.
380. This brief outline of the development of the parliamentary
monitoring procedure clearly shows that it has considerably changed
since its establishment, and that these changes were aimed at addressing
new challenges and concerns and adapting to changing situations.
While an open and constructive debate on possible ways to improve
its efficiency and impact can only be beneficial for the Parliamentary
Assembly’s role in promoting its core values, it is a matter of
concern that over the last two years we have witnessed severe criticism
of the procedure as such. This criticism puts into question the
very existence of the monitoring procedure in its present form and
clearly aims at its abolition or substantial changes, which would
prevent it from fulfilling its main objectives.
381. It is revealing that this criticism comes mainly from some
of the countries which have been monitored for the longest. They
point to the alleged unfairness, vagueness and inefficiency of the
monitoring procedure in its present form. These accusations of course
cannot remain ignored, and have given rise to discussion within
the Monitoring Committee and, indeed, the Assembly.
382. The reflection within the Monitoring Committee was launched
by my predecessor in the Chair, Mr Dick Marty, on the occasion of
the presentation of the progress report in 2011, when he decided
to give consideration to the achievements and weaknesses of the
monitoring procedure over the whole period since its establishment.
While he did not question the overall positive assessment of Assembly
monitoring, he drew attention to some outstanding concerns.
383. He pointed out that a number of countries which had been under
a monitoring procedure for many years did not seem to be making
any significant progress in terms of the fulfilment of their obligations
and commitments. This was sometimes a cause of justified frustration
among other member States anxious about the credibility of the Organisation,
but also in the countries concerned.
384. The problem was amplified by the fact that ongoing political
crises and the need for quick responses, made it difficult if not
impossible for the Assembly to proceed with an overall assessment
of progress as regards the fulfilment of their obligations and commitments.
385. Furthermore, given the inter-linkage between the different
pillars of democracy, the shortcomings in one area were usually
aggravated by the problems in other core areas of democracy. Thus,
flawed elections often resulted in a deficient system of checks
and balances, which, in turn, was frequently at the origin of human rights
abuses, and so on.
386. Last year, during the preparation of the 2012 progress report,
and in the framework of the discussions in the Monitoring Committee
on ways to enhance co-operation with the Committee of Ministers,
we continued to reflect on possible ways to increase the efficiency
and impact of the monitoring procedure. An interesting exchange
of views with the Chair of the Committee of Ministers’ Group of
Rapporteurs on Democracy (GR-DEM), Ambassador Urszula Gacek, was
followed by discussions within the committee, which were suspended at
the request of the President of the Assembly, pending a meeting
between the Presidential Committee of the Assembly and the Bureau
of the Committee of Ministers.
387. The question was also on the committee’s agenda earlier this
year, at the preliminary stage of the preparation of the present
report, and during the discussions on Mr Agramunt’s report on the
harmonisation of regulatory and para-regulatory provisions of monitoring
and post-monitoring dialogue procedures.
388. The debate was supported by the President of the Assembly,
Mr Jean-Claude Mignon, who asked all the national delegations to
contribute to the discussion on the monitoring procedure and organised
a meeting with the heads of delegations during the 2013 third part-session.
389. Fourteen contributions were submitted.
The
overwhelming majority of the countries stressed the importance of
the monitoring procedure as a vital mechanism for reinforcing democratic
processes in member States, and wanted to have it strengthened.
The delegation of Sweden pointed to a recent worrying change in the
Assembly’s attitude with regard to respecting the Council of Europe’s
core values concerning human rights, the rule of law and democracy.
The Croatian delegation stressed the benefits it had gained from
being monitored by the Assembly.
390. A number of concrete proposals were also formulated: enhance
co-operation with the Committee of Ministers (Sweden, Romania, Estonia,
Finland); increase the synergy between different monitoring mechanisms
of the Council of Europe and outside the Organisation (European
Union, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE))
(Poland, Estonia, Finland); use the findings of monitoring for the preparation
of co-operation programmes; ensure strict respect for deadlines
for the presentation of reports (Cyprus); ensure safeguards for
full respect for the Rules of Procedure (Hungary); address specific
challenges such as “the Council of Europe without political prisoners”
(Estonia); introduce a five-year term for the administrators in
charge of specific files (Sweden).
391. Some delegations proposed more far-reaching changes: Sweden
suggested establishing a clear list of criteria for opening and
closing a procedure; Romania called for a more systematic approach
towards the 33 countries which are not under the specific monitoring
procedure. Norway stressed that the scope of the monitoring procedure
should be broadened in order to encompass the so-called “old” member
States, for example those which do not implement the judgments of
the Court or in which clear violations of human rights take place.
Norway also proposed the reconsideration of the usefulness of the
post-monitoring dialogue: in the view of the Head of the delegation,
a clear evaluation procedure should be established making it possible
to assess whether a State requires monitoring or not – making post-monitoring
dialogue unnecessary. Norway supported the idea of establishing
an ad hoc committee to further reflect on these issues.
392. Ukraine pointed out that “the monitoring procedure is seen
by our countries as a penalty, or indeed, as a punishment”. The
delegation insists that, firstly, the procedure should be “clearly
limited by the precisely defined monitoring issues which had initiated
its being opened”, secondly “monitoring must be applied to all member
States of our Organisation” (for example election observation should
be extended to “old democracies”); and thirdly, “it is necessary
to introduce more flexible rules for the opening and closing of
the monitoring procedure”. Austria and Germany, while fully acknowledging
the positive role played so far by the Assembly monitoring procedure,
expressed the opinion that discussions on the “strengths and weaknesses” (Germany)
and “adapting to new circumstances” (Austria) should take place.
Turkey believes in the benefits of the monitoring mechanism and
urged and supported plans to reform the monitoring process to make
it more useful and relevant.
393. The Turkish delegation endorsed the idea of engaging in a
comprehensive debate and establishment of an ad hoc committee on
the reform of the process to establish a framework and guidelines
for the monitoring procedure, including co-operation with various
bodies of the Council of Europe. The ad hoc committee would consider
possible options, strengths and weaknesses, and areas to be improved
to make the process more effective.
394. The Russian delegation was very critical about the present
procedure. In its view, “from the very beginning, the discriminatory
approach was used: new member States were subject to monitoring automatically,
while for others a complicated and multi-stage procedure was elaborated”.
It observes that “The vague mandate of the Monitoring Committee
resulted in duplication of its work with the work of other committees
of the Assembly”. Furthermore: “The Monitoring Committee has really
become a Committee with the archaic system of making decisions behind
closed doors that does not account for the opinion of the interested
party.” “New obligations are imposed in addition to those that the
country assumed. And therefore, the procedure itself becomes endless.”
As a result, “the countries under the monitoring and the post-monitoring procedures
lose motivation to implement the recommendations of the Assembly”.
In conclusion, the delegation says “there is a need for a real substantive
reform of the monitoring mechanism, which in its current form is often
subject to double standards and a biased approach, probably unintentionally.
The existence of the Monitoring Committee would be justified if
it had a more specific mandate: for example, studying the situation in
all Council of Europe member States in the fields outlined by the
ECHR and regular preparation of corresponding reports.” The Russian
delegation also proposes setting up an ad hoc committee of the Bureau on
monitoring procedure reform and charging it with the task of preparing
a report.
395. The meeting between the President of the Assembly and the
heads of national delegations on this subject, which took place
during the June part-session, confirmed the positions expressed
in the contributions. In my capacity as Chair of the Monitoring
Committee, I expressed my opinion and reactions to the different arguments
during the meeting. There follows a summary of my position.
396. Firstly, I fully agree that discussion is necessary. We have
to face new challenges, adapt to new developments and address evolving
situations. The criticism of the monitoring mechanism by those who
are specifically subjected to it cannot be ignored because without
their co-operation, without their good will, the whole process would
be pointless. Therefore, we have to be sensitive to their arguments
and give them our full attention and consideration. However, in
doing so, we have to keep in mind that there are some boundaries which
cannot be crossed and compromise on basic principles has limits
beyond which the credibility of the whole Organisation might be
threatened.
397. We have to be clear about what is proposed by Russia, and,
more generally, by those who support the abolishment of the monitoring
procedure in its present form: to abolish the country-by-country
approach and replace it by an issue-based approach, which would
make the existence of the Monitoring Committee superfluous.
398. The issue-based approach, which has features of cross-country
monitoring, has always existed in the Parliamentary Assembly. It
is enough to look at the reporting period: the Committee on Culture,
Science, Education and Media prepared a report on the state of the
media freedom in Europe; the Legal Affairs Committee prepared a
report on structural deficiencies in States Parties with regard
to the viability of the Strasbourg Court. These are only two examples
among many more.
399. Issue-based monitoring already exists in the Assembly, but
in my opinion it has much less impact than the specific country
monitoring carried out by the Monitoring Committee. This is not
only because a report on several countries provokes much less interest
than one on a single country. The main reason is that a rapporteur
of a single report on many countries can in no way replace the co-rapporteurs
of the Monitoring Committee, who are appointed for five years, are
competent and well-acquainted with the situation in the country
under their responsibility, and who maintain continuous political
dialogue with that country.
400. In addition, nothing prevents the Monitoring Committee from
preparing an issue-based report – for example on political prisoners
in Europe – irrespective of its work on specific countries. We can
reflect on it; the Estonian delegation proposed this measure as
a complement to the work on specific countries.
401. Another common argument used by the opponents of the monitoring
procedure in its present form is that new obligations are imposed
in addition to those assumed upon accession and therefore the procedure becomes
endless and discouraging. In my view, this accusation is based on
a misunderstanding of the nature and scope of the obligations entered
into by member States upon accession. The list of commitments signed by
the countries include concrete measures (laws to be adopted) aimed
at fulfilling statutory obligations, which may be defined by three
principles: democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights.
The commitments do not constitute objectives in themselves. The
adoption of an exemplary law – if it is not subsequently implemented
or if it is systematically violated – cannot be considered as the
fulfilment of the obligation entered into upon accession. And yet,
some countries have adopted laws which are very far from being “exemplary”
– on the contrary, they are criticised by the Venice Commission,
by the Council of Europe and by the international community. Can
this be considered to be the fulfilment of commitments and obligations?
402. We are all concerned by the fact that some countries have
remained under the monitoring procedure for such a long time, but
it is not the procedure that should be blamed. The Council of Europe
stands for clear values, to which every member State has subscribed.
The Organisation’s credibility is at stake when violation of these
values is tolerated. The Assembly monitoring procedure has always
been based on constructive political dialogue and sanctions have
been considered as a last resort – but that does not mean that we
should turn a blind eye to clear violations of our basic democratic
values as if we accept them. The monitoring procedure in its present
form offers us a possibility of pointing to concerns and violations
of which we disapprove and gives us a chance to discuss it with
the authorities of the countries concerned.
403. We must not forget that our reports are widely used by civil
society in their action, and, more generally can influence public
opinion, and if we stop monitoring the countries where serious concerns
exist, we will deprive their citizens of an important reference
and a powerful tool. Needless to say, we would also deprive ourselves,
as the Parliamentary Assembly, from a chance to contribute to progress
by means of constructive political dialogue.
404. I must also stress that it is not true that the monitoring
procedure is endless and new obligations are imposed. There are
numerous examples of countries which have successfully left the
monitoring procedure stricto sensu:
the Czech Republic (1997), Lithuania (1997), the Slovak Republic
(1999), Croatia (2000), Bulgaria (2000), “the former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia” (2000), Latvia (2001), Turkey (2004), and Monaco (2009).
The post-monitoring dialogue was concluded with Estonia (2001),
Romania (2002), Lithuania (2002), Croatia (2003), the Czech Republic
(2004), the Slovak Republic (2006) and Latvia (2006). So it is possible
to close the monitoring procedure, but it depends on the country
itself. If the parliamentary elections are systematically flawed,
if basic freedoms are restricted and human rights are violated –
should we look for a “better” monitoring procedure to accommodate
these deficiencies and compromise on our values?
405. Having said that, I agree that we may reflect, in the Monitoring
Committee, on more clear criteria governing evaluations. Perhaps
we could draw up a list recapitulating the criteria for closing
the procedure, and – why not – for opening the procedure. Such an
attempt was already made in 2006.
We can come back to this question
and discuss the list of criteria which – irrespective of commitments
taken upon accession – might constitute a reference for considering
closing or reopening the monitoring procedure. This might contribute
to the transparency of the whole process and could discourage premature
requests for closure.
406. There is no question of “inventing” or adding new principles.
The proposal is to consolidate, to put together, our standards.
And I repeat once again that commitments are clearly meant to achieve
these basic standards, they are not objectives in themselves. Achievement
of these democratic standards constitutes an obligation undertaken
by each country upon accession.
407. I come now to another important question raised not only by
Turkey and Russia but also by other delegations: fair treatment
of all member States, the so-called “new” and “old” democracies,
elimination of “double standards” and “dividing lines”. It goes
without saying that obligations have to be accomplished by all member
States irrespective of their seniority in terms of Council of Europe
membership. The question which arises is how the fulfilment of these
obligations should be monitored.
408. This issue has been dealt with by the Monitoring Committee
since last year. It resulted in a modified formula of the presentation
of periodic reports on the 33 countries which are not under specific
monitoring. In the present report I went further in the reporting,
but I agree that the question is open and we should continue the
discussion.
409. On the other hand, the new statutory measures introduced by
the Assembly following Mr Agramunt’s report last May
provide the Monitoring Committee
with unprecedented possibilities for the monitoring of all Council
of Europe member States, and I am confident that we will not miss
the opportunity to use them whenever necessary. The new terms of
reference of the Monitoring Committee clearly provide for the possibility of
preparing a report on the functioning of democratic institutions
in any member State, on the basis of a motion for a resolution tabled
by members of the Assembly.
410. In practical terms, this means that from now on we do not
need a lengthy procedure to closely examine the fulfilment of obligations
by any member State. Can we still speak of double standards and
dividing lines? And I invite those who still consider that it is
unjust to have a “specific” procedure for some countries to carefully read
two parts of the present report: the summaries of the concerns in
the countries under “specific” monitoring procedures and the other
countries. Is it really “unjust” that the latter are subject to
a “lighter” procedure? Is the weight of concerns in these two groups
of countries really the same? Those who think so can now table a motion
for resolution on the functioning of democratic institutions in
a country where they see serious problems.
411. And here I come to the last point which I wanted to make:
how to ensure that the question of monitoring is not politicised
or subjected to some particular interests? I do not wish to dwell
here on concerns expressed recently by many members with regard
to objectivity, neutrality, conflict of interest, party interests
and so on. I think that further reflection on this subject is particularly
desirable and I look forward to discussion on this issue in the
Monitoring Committee.
412. However, I would draw your attention to the many statutory
safeguards which are designed to ensure the objectivity of the Monitoring
Committee: there are specific rules governing appointments and membership involving
political groups,
no substitutes, the appointment
of two co-rapporteurs from different countries and different political
groups (we should perhaps consider the extension of this rule for
the countries engaged in the post-monitoring dialogue), the code
of conduct for rapporteurs, the declaration of non-conflict of interest, the
declaration of gifts, etc.
413. I consider the accusations about an “archaic system of making
decisions behind closed doors” to be unfair. The discussions in
the committee are held in camera precisely
to allow for frank and true political dialogue. Once a report is
discussed in the committee, it is transmitted to the authorities
of the country concerned – before being made public – for their
comments, which are subsequently taken into account during the approval
of the final text, and only then is the report published. Representatives
of the ruling party and opposition of the country concerned are
systematically invited – in accordance with the rules – to the meetings of
the Monitoring Committee, whenever a discussion on this country
is on the agenda. The co-rapporteurs maintain political dialogue
with the authorities (and other stakeholders) of the country under
their responsibility, which they visit on average twice a year.
It is true that in some countries they are not received at a level
which would confirm the interest of this country in a serious political
dialogue – but the procedure certainly cannot be blamed for such
a lack of political will.
414. Having said that, based on our past experience, we can discuss
further improvement of our working methods and consider any ideas
which might contribute to increasing neutrality and objectivity.
The establishment of the list of criteria, mentioned above, may
be one of the issues for reflection.
415. I should also mention here that a similar process of reflection
on the monitoring procedure in the intergovernmental sector of the
Organisation is taking place at present under the responsibility
of the Secretary General. A special task force was set up in March
2013 to follow up to the debate on ways to improve the impact of
the Council of Europe monitoring mechanisms. It is drawing up the
modalities for a three-step method for processing the findings and
conclusions of the Organisation’s different monitoring mechanisms.
(The findings of these monitoring mechanisms have been used by me
for the preparation of the third chapter of the present report.)
These three steps would include the identification of key challenges
in each member State; a dialogue on appropriate remedies with the
member State concerned and identification of possible assistance
from the Council of Europe.
416. I believe that reflection on increasing the impact of the
monitoring in the Committee of Ministers is a positive sign showing
the importance attached by the intergovernmental sector to the respect
of democratic principles by all Council of Europe members. Each
monitoring process has got its specificity, and in the Parliamentary
Assembly we systematically use the findings and conclusions of the
different monitoring mechanisms in our own work. We cannot therefore
speak of duplication; the word “complementarity” is more appropriate.
Of course we should continue our efforts to identify new ways for
co-operation and co-ordination.
417. In conclusion, I support those who call for further reflection
on possible ways to improve the procedure and the working methods
of the Monitoring Committee. But I speak strongly against the attempts
to abolish the specific country-by-country procedure or make it
meaningless. I believe that the question of the honouring of the
obligations and commitments by member States is crucial for the
core values of the Council of Europe and, without it, the Organisation’s
very credibility would be at stake.
418. I consider that the questions raised here merit further discussion
within the Monitoring Committee and I am open to proposals to set
up a reflection group tasked with the preparation of concrete proposals
aimed at improving the efficiency and impact of our work.