A new report reveals alarming threats to “human rights, democracy and the rule of law” in Europe.
By Magda Fahsi | May 15, 2014BRUSSELS — In a report published last month, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland starts by painting a grim picture of Europe today.
“Human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe now face a crisis unprecedented since the end of the Cold War. Serious violations – including corruption, immunity from prosecution, impunity, human trafficking, racism, hate speech and discrimination – are on the rise throughout the continent,” according to “State of Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Europe.”
Drawn up at the request of the council’s Committee of Ministers, the 72-page document consolidates a range of previously known and available information to provide the committee’s first-ever in-depth analysis of the state of human rights, democracy and the rule of law across Europe.
“What this means is that most of the information was actually already available, but separately, not together in one single document,” Daniel Höltgen, the council’s communications director and spokesman, told MintPress News.
Compiling all the data into one report allows for a more global and comprehensive view of the human rights situation in Europe. “The number and magnitude of challenges,” Jagland writes, are “very worrying,” and he has appealed to the Council of Europe and its member states to “act urgently to stop this erosion of fundamental rights.”
The Council of Europe — 47 member states, including Russia — is an inter-governmental organization that was set up in 1949 to promote democracy and protect human rights and the rule of law in Europe. Its most famous achievements include the European Convention on Human Rights, adopted in 1950, and the European Court of Human Rights, which functions as the highest court for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe.
Despite its efforts, the human rights situation in Europe has clearly deteriorated in recent years. Referring to the crisis in Ukraine, Jagland, former Prime Minister of Norway, warned of the risk of similar conflicts erupting in Europe.
“In Ukraine the absence of an independent judiciary, and lack of the checks and balances which a functioning parliament and free media should provide, allowed endemic corruption and misuse of power to thrive unchecked. This caused mistrust, social unrest and ultimately a revolution,” he notes.
Those problems are not limited to that particular region in Europe, though.
“No, indeed,” Höltgen said. “The secretary general was actually referring to Ukraine as an extreme example of what can happen when human rights and democratic institutions are undermined. It also shows that human rights are important to strengthening democratic institutions. The crisis in Ukraine illustrates the dangers that we potentially face everywhere.”
An erosion of institutional credibility
The economic crisis — and the severe budget cuts that came in response — is cited in the report as having undermined the proper functioning of democratic institutions and considerably weakening the protection of human rights in several countries.“There are now a few social hotspots, like in Greece, for example,” Höltgen said.
Throughout Europe, people’s rights are threatened by the impact of the economic crisis, which has also reinforced the climate of unethical behavior. “A constant flow of corruption allegations and scandals has eroded institutional credibility” in a number of European countries, according to the report. Responding to this trend, citizens have held demonstrations against bad governance and corruption. They are concerned about their institutions and representatives, and political parties consistently score low on public trust.
In light of this, Jagland asks that member states “provide those who fight against corruption with the requisite independence and resources and to ensure the protection of those who report wrongdoing (whistle-blowers).” He further asserts that civil society and the media have an important role to play as watchdogs and they must be able to work without undue influence from the state.
Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights guarantee the rights to freedom of expression, information, association and assembly. These freedoms are considered fundamental not only on their own, but also collectively — together, they create the checks and balances necessary to the proper functioning of a democratic society.
Unfortunately, recurring threats to the freedom of expression have been seen in several European countries. According to the report, these threats include “interference with journalists’ rights on grounds of national security, overzealous recourse to defamation laws and violence against journalists.”
Governments are also increasingly misusing laws against hooliganism, extremism or incitement to violence to curtail citizens’ freedom of expression. This approach has sometimes resulted in “disproportionate restrictions,” like the targeting of social media users who use the Internet to organize protests; demonstrations restricted to areas out of the “sight and sound” of their target audience; and the imposition of excessive sanctions, including prison sentences.
Additionally, “the use of excessive force by law-enforcement officials in policing and dispersing demonstrations” has increased in some countries.
Violence against women most widespread violation
The report also covers extensively increasing racism and discrimination against ethnic and gender minorities.“Immigrants, persons from a migration background, non-nationals, asylum seekers, refugees, stateless persons and members of national minorities still experience hate crime, hate speech, discrimination and other forms of intolerance,” the report reveals.
Höltgen, the council’s spokesman, pointed to the backlash against Conchita Wurst, the bearded Austrian drag queen who won the 2014 Eurovision song contest, as an example. “The hate speech the Austrian candidate of the Eurovision song contest was recently confronted with proves a lot in this regard,” he said.
Furthermore, the report shows that people with ethnic minority backgrounds often perform worse than the majority in areas such as employment, education, housing, health and participation in public life. They are frequently used as scapegoats for unemployment and broader economic hardships. They are also more likely to experience difficulties in accessing goods and services that should be available to everyone.
Police and the justice administration are not immune to ethnic discrimination. Jagland expresses regret for the fact that authorities “use police stations or prisons as places for detention of irregular migrants or asylum seekers,” adding that “these persons have not committed a crime, and authorities should take into account their vulnerability and needs.” He also denounces the authorities’ tendency to detain children or families with children.
But it is violence against women that remains “the most widespread human rights violation in Europe.” The report considers sexism a form of hate speech and warns against “overtly sexualized images of women” that “incite sexual harassment and violence by trivializing it and making it acceptable.” Women are frequently victims of multiple forms of discrimination and are among those hit hardest by the effects of the financial crisis and austerity measures.
Changes to come?
The real question, of course, is to what extent this report might change anything about the human rights situation among the member states of the Council of Europe.“The report was endorsed by the ministers of foreign affairs during their committee meeting in Vienna on May 6. Nobody raised negative questions and a majority of delegations commended the secretary general for writing the report, which can be considered a positive sign,” Höltgen said, adding, “Even the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov had positive remarks.”
The report itself makes a series of recommendations on how the organization can provide more rapid and effective assistance to its 47 member states. Additionally, the Committee of Ministers has tasked the secretary general with submitting proposals on how to move the report’s recommendations forward.
A substantive debate about operational proposals is likely to be held at the next session.
Mint Press News, http://www.mintpressnews.com/report-europe-facing-worst-human-rights-crisis-since-cold-war/190724/
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