Doc. 9098
14 May 2001

Legalisation of euthanasia in the Netherlands is a violation of human rights

Written Declaration No. 326

This written declaration commits only the members who have signed it

On 10 April 2001, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalise euthanasia.

      We, the undersigned, members of the Parliamentary Assembly, strongly criticise this approach, because it violates one of the most fundamental rights and values that the Council of Europe believes in: human dignity and the right to life.

      We voice our deep concern about the consequences of the new bill for it opens the door to practices which gravely endanger the fundamental protection of life.

      We are also concerned that the Netherlands are now standardising legal principles to carry out and to control the intentional killing of people, which is seriously alarming from a constitutional point of view.

      We are convinced that the legalisation of euthanasia in the Netherlands stands in contradiction to the European Convention on Human Rights which states in Article 2: “Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally…”.

      As parliamentarians of the Council of Europe, who are responsible for guarding the universal system of protection of human rights, we must therefore protest strongly when a member state gravely infringes fundamental rights and values and undermines the European Convention on Human Rights.

Signed (see overleaf)

Signed : ¹

Gatterer, Austria, EPP/ CD

About, France, LDR

Akçali, Turkey, EDG

Akgönenç, Turkey, EDG

Akhvlediani, Georgia, LDR

Aleffi, Italy, EPP/CD

Asciak, Malta, EPP/CD

Belohorska, Slovakia, EDG

Bordas, France, EDG

Busić, Croatia, EPP/CD

Cerrahoğlu, Turkey, EDG

Dolazza, Italy, LDR

Fernández-Capel, Spain, EPP/CD

Galoyan, Armenia, EPP/CD
Hovhannisyan, Armenia, EDG

Gülek, Turkey, SOC

Gürkan, Turkey, SOC

Gustafsson, Sweden, EPP/CD

Hajiyeva, Azerbaijan, EPP/CD

Himmer, Austria, EPP/CD

Hoeffel, France, EPP/CD

Hoffmann, Germany, SOC

Hornung, Germany, EPP/CD

Irtemçelik, Turkey, EDG

Keltosová, Slovakia, EDG

Keuschnigg, Austria, EPP/CD

Kofod-Svendsen, Denmark, EPP/CD

Kosakivsky, Ukraine, NR

Krzaklewski, Poland, EPP/CD

Lauricella, Italy, SOC

Libicki, Poland, EDG

Lörcher, Germany, SOC

Manukyan, Armenia, UEL

Martelli, Italy, EPP/CD

Martínez Casañ, Spain, EPP/CD

McNamara, United Kingdom, SOC

Moeller, Denmark, EDG

Mutman, Turkey, SOC

Nagy, Hungary, EPP/CD

Paegle, Latvia, EPP/CD

Patarkalishvili, Georgia, EPP/CD

Pinggera, Italy, EPP/CD

Radić, Croatia, EPP/CD

Ringstad, Norway, LDR

Rise, Norway, EPP/CD

Robol, Italy, EPP/CD

Saele, Norway, EPP/CD

Saglam, Turkey, EPP/CD

Salaridze, Georgia, NR

Schicker, Austria, SOC

Schmied, Switzerland, LDR

Seyidov, Azerbaijan, EDG

Shakhtakhtinskaya, Azerbaijan, EDG

Siebert, Germany, EPP/CD

Skrabalo, Croatia, LDR

Smereczynska, Poland, EPP/CD

Spindelegger, Austria, EPP/CD

Stankevič, Lithuania, LDR

Stepová, Czech Republic, SOC

Sudarenkov, Russia, SOC

Surjan, Hungary, EPP/CD

Švec, Slovakia, LDR

Svoboda, Czech Republic, EPP/CD

Szinyei, Hungary, EPP/CD

Tanik, Turkey, EDG

Taylor, United Kingdom, EPP/CD

Telek, Turkey, EDG

Tkác, Slovakia, EDG

Torrado, Spain, SOC

van der Linden, Netherlands, EPP/CD

Vella, Malta, EPP/CD

Walendziak, Poland, EPP/CD

Wodarg, Germany, SOC

Zapfl-Helbling, Switzerland, EPP/CD

Zierer, Germany, EPP/CD

____________________

Total = 75

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