Doc. 8993
8 March 2001

“Lawless areas” within the territory of Council of Europe member states

Motion for a recommendation

presented by Mr Magnusson and others

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only the members who have signed it

1.       The Assembly has made, and will continue to make, a considerable effort to extend, as far as possible, the list of rights safeguarded by the European Convention on Human Rights to cover all enforceable rights, and to improve the protection machinery for these rights.

2.       It has also taken care to ensure that all new member states undertake to ratify the Convention and its protocols as soon as possible after joining the Council of Europe, thereby turning the European continent into an area of human-rights protection which, in theory, is unparalleled in the world.

3.       The Assembly feels compelled to admit, however, that there are a number of areas within the territory of certain member states where the European Convention on Human Rights and other human-rights protection instruments do not apply in practice.

4.       This has become clear firstly from the case-law of the European Court on Human Rights, some of whose judgments have not been executed; examples are the Loizidou v. Turkey case, concerning the northern part of Cyprus, and the Matthews v. United Kingdom case, concerning Gibraltar.

5.       In addition, “lawless” areas have developed in separatist regions such as Chechnya, Transnistria, Abkhazia or Nagorno-Karabakh.

6.       Furthermore, although the Convention makes it compulsory for the High Contracting Parties to secure to everyone within their jurisdiction the rights and freedoms which it lays down, thousands of unauthorised immigrant workers have their most basic rights flouted and are effectively denied all rights and forms of protection.

7.       The Assembly considers that such situations cannot be tolerated and that human rights and the law must apply throughout the territory of Europe.

8.       The Assembly calls on the Committee of Ministers:

i.       to ensure that the European Convention on Human Rights is implemented and, in particular, that the Court’s judgments are executed throughout the territory of its member states, using all the means at its disposal;

ii.       to make sure that all persons within the jurisdiction of a member state, even those whose presence is unauthorised, enjoy the most basic human rights;

iii.       to hold a meeting with the authorities of countries whose territory includes “lawless areas" of this kind, in order to examine ways of putting an end to this situation.

Signed : ¹

Magnusson, Sweden, SOC

Asciak, Malta, EPP/CD

Bindig, Germany, SOC

Cilevics, Latvia, SOC

Clerfayt, Belgium, LDR

Frimannsdottir, Iceland, SOC

Guardans, Spain, LDR

Holovaty, Ukraine, LDR

Jaskiernia, Poland, SOC

Jurgens, Netherlands, SOC

Lippelt, Germany, LDR

Lopez Gonzalez, Spain, SOC

McNamara, United Kingdom, SOC

Monteiro, Portugal, SOC

Stankevic, Lithuania, LDR

Stoisits, Austria, SOC

Tabajdi, Hungary, SOC

Tallo, Estonia, SOC

Vera Jardim, Portugal, SOC

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group