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Resolution 1901 (2012) Final version
Human rights and foreign policy
1. The Parliamentary Assembly acknowledges
the role and long-standing experience of the Council of Europe in
seeking to promote the highest standards in the fields of human
rights, democracy and the rule of law.
2. It notes with satisfaction that, in recent years, the development
and consolidation of such standards within and outside the Council
of Europe area has become an increasingly important concern for
the Organisation, in particular through a Council of Europe policy
towards its immediate neighbourhood and the establishment of new
forms of partnerships, such as the Assembly’s partner for democracy
status.
3. It feels, however, that the Council of Europe member States
should be doing more to project these standards in their national
foreign policy strategies and, in particular, in their dealings
with countries, inside the Council of Europe and beyond, whose governments
act in blatant disregard of fundamental democratic and human rights
principles.
4. The Assembly believes that the right balance has to be struck
between national interests and respect for human rights in member
States’ foreign policies and notes that, when foreign policy neglects
human rights for too long and focuses solely on strategic economic
and geopolitical interests, human rights crises may erupt and “humanitarian
interventions” become urgent and moral necessities.
5. Foreign affairs ministries of the Council of Europe member
States can play a key role in improving the effectiveness of international
efforts to promote and protect human rights worldwide, by launching
specific initiatives aimed at developing universal human rights
standards and ensuring a joint approach in the Council of Europe
area, also through its monitoring mechanisms.
6. The Assembly believes that democracy must be nurtured from
the inside, by supporting human rights movements and civil society
forces. The viewpoint of the media, non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) and human rights defenders remains of crucial importance
in any foreign policy strategy.
7. The Assembly therefore calls on the Council of Europe member
States to:
7.1. work actively and
constructively, within the United Nations framework, to develop
the ability of the international community as a whole to safeguard
and promote human rights;
7.2. contribute to the effective implementation of the judgments
of the European Court of Human Rights, by bringing pressure to bear
on the governments of States where worrying delays in complying with
judgments have arisen, as identified in Resolution 1787 (2011) on the implementation
of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights;
7.3. integrate all aspects (civil, political, social, economic
and cultural) of human rights activities and concerns into various
policy areas, in particular conflict prevention, security, combating
terrorism, migration and asylum issues, trade policy and development
co-operation, in order to pursue a consistent and results-oriented
human rights policy;
7.4. endeavour to guarantee the respect of human rights in
all member States, as a necessary condition to affirm and promote
them in the context of dialogue with neighbouring countries;
7.5. adopt national plans for the protection of human rights
and frame foreign policy around universal human rights principles
applicable to all States so as to preclude any possible criticism
about the use of double standards;
7.6. develop national strategies to promote the full ratification
of core human rights instruments and, once ratified, to guarantee
their implementation;
7.7. establish institutional mechanisms for the consideration
and review of all governmental action on issues concerning human
rights in the context of foreign policy and the implementation of
human rights policy abroad, while also ensuring full regard for
human rights at national level;
7.8. make consistent and intelligent use of the “conditionality
clause” in all bilateral agreements and take human rights violations
into account in their political and economic dialogue with other
countries;
7.9. give prominence to human rights in foreign policy through
the definition of common human rights standards and practices with
regard to diplomatic action, in particular by:
7.9.1. considering
the establishment of a section devoted to human rights on the website
of the ministry of foreign affairs to disseminate information and
knowledge about human rights, offering all available documentation
and tools from the United Nations system, the Council of Europe
and, where relevant, the European Union;
7.9.2. drawing attention to the human rights situation both internally
and externally through public statements or speeches at the national,
European and/or international levels;
7.9.3. ensuring that human rights issues are on the agenda during
exchange visits at all levels, especially summits of heads of State
and government or other forms of high-level political dialogue with
other countries;
7.10. prepare regular reports to submit to parliament on the
human rights situation in countries around the world and make use
of the input and expertise of non-governmental organisations and
consult human rights defenders, including through hearings;
7.11. consider policies related to the fight against poverty,
migration, asylum seekers and refugees not only as part of their
domestic agenda but also as fundamental elements of foreign policy;
7.12. implement policies based on dialogue and constructive
engagement with, and bring political pressure to bear on, governments
acting in blatant disregard of fundamental democratic and human rights
principles, and keep these policies under regular review.
8. Specifically with regard to diplomatic action, the Assembly urges member States
to:
8.1. instruct all ambassadors
to systematically take account of the human rights situation in
their country of appointment, irrespective of its record, thus avoiding
any possible criticism of double standards;
8.2. encourage ambassadors, or senior embassy representatives,
of member States to meet regularly to exchange information on human
rights issues;
8.3. invite their embassies, regardless of the human rights
record of the country concerned, to:
8.3.1. involve in their
activities civil society organisations and human rights defenders operating
in the country and hold a regular dialogue between diplomatic officials
and human rights defenders;
8.3.2. provide systematic support to victims of serious violations
of human rights, including publicly reacting to them, following
up cases and granting visas or asylum to victims;
8.3.3. support free and independent media organisations in those
countries which restrict or prohibit the free flow of information.
9. Also referring to Resolution 1773
(2010) on promoting parliamentary diplomacy, the Assembly
invites national parliaments to:
9.1. encourage
and support parliamentary diplomacy through the participation of
parliamentarians in the activities of international organisations,
thus reinvigorating the strength of their action in promoting political
pluralism and democratic parliamentary standards around the world;
9.2. set up parliamentary committees or sub-committees on human
rights working in conjunction with foreign affairs parliamentary
committees;
9.3. encourage the establishment of parliamentary friendship
and similar groups among national parliaments, in order to promote
the exchange of good practice, in particular in the parliamentary
and political field.
10. The Assembly notes the creation by the European Union of the
European External Action Service (EEAS), headed by the High Representative
of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, which maintains
diplomatic relations with nearly all the countries in the world
via a network of European Union delegations.
11. It further takes note of the recent adoption of a European
Union Strategic Framework and Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy,
which identifies the Council of Europe as a strategic partner in
achieving greater policy coherence, and trusts that this represents
an opportunity to improve synergies between the Council of Europe
and the European Union and to improve significantly the effectiveness
of international efforts to promote and protect human rights worldwide.
12. The Assembly, also referring to Resolution 1836 (2011) and Recommendation 1982 (2011) on
the impact of the Lisbon Treaty on the Council of Europe, encourages
the European Union, in particular through its High Representative
for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, to:
12.1. make full use of the 2007 Memorandum of Understanding
between the European Union and the Council of Europe;
12.2. consult the Secretary General of the Council of Europe,
especially as regards respective roles and key competencies, and
make better use of the Council of Europe’s benchmarking and advisory
roles and expertise on democracy, human rights and the rule of law
in the European Union common foreign policy strategy;
12.3. promote accession to key Council of Europe conventions
and to monitoring mechanisms and bodies in the context of its enlargement,
neighbourhood and foreign policies, as appropriate;
12.4. instruct all relevant European Union delegations to monitor
the human rights situation in their host country and to promote
ratification of core international human rights instruments by their
host governments;
12.5. include an adequate number of specialists in the field
of human rights in the European External Action Service and ensure
that the situation of human rights is the subject of regular reports.