Commissioner Mijatović highlights main human rights challenges in Europe
Today the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic, presented her first annual activity report in a debate before the Parliamentary Assembly of the organisation.
While the report covers a variety of the most pressing human rights issues in the Council of Europe member states, the Commissioner highlights migration, women’s rights, human rights of persons with disability, the protection of human rights defenders and the safety of journalists as the most recurrent topics of her work.
“Migration is among the most pressing human rights issues on my agenda”, she says. “National authorities should improve the treatment of immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees, and put human rights and the principle of responsibility sharing at the centre of their migration and asylum policies”.
As regards women’s rights, the Commissioner underscores the need to tackle gender stereotypes and prejudices and to put an end to violence against women. She also calls on national authorities to reduce the gender pay gap, which remains a “major obstacle to effective equality between men and women, and a widespread problem all over Council of Europe member states, both in the public and private sectors.”
The protection of human rights defenders and of journalists also requires more attention by the authorities of member states. “Violent physical attacks, as well as laws and practices significantly reduce the ability of human rights defenders and journalists to provide their contribution to the democratic fabric of our society.
Another problem that the report highlights is the difficulty that many member states still face in tackling discrimination or deep rooted prejudices against persons with disabilities, children, older persons, Roma and LGBTI people. The Commissioner notes that long-standing cultural, social and economic problems continue to breed inequalities and segregation.
“There is still much work to be done in order to protect human rights throughout Europe. I am determined to commit my energy to this task, and I fully intend to develop constructive co-operation with governments and civil society for the common goal of upholding human rights.”
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THE PARLIAMENT HEARD THE ACTIVITY REPORT FOR 2022 OF THE PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION TO PACE
At the plenary session, MPs heard the Activity Report for 2022 of the Parliamentary Delegation to PACE, introduced by the Head of the Delegation, Irakli Chikovani.
“One of the acute issues for the PACE and for us was the devastation in Ukraine entailed by the Russian aggression and the decision made on the exclusion of Russia from the Coe and the preparation for a new Summit that is scheduled in May 2023 and that shall be dedicated to the planning of the further steps of the organization”, - he stated.
According to him, the Georgian Delegation was one of the main Delegations that approved the exclusion of Russia at the emergency session convened by the CoE. As noted, sundry resolutions have been adopted in 2022 related to the situation in Ukraine, where the Georgian Delegation in full composition, including the Majority and the Opposition MPs, unanimously approved the documents except one resolution providing the record about the third President of Georgia.
“This Resolution was connected neither to Georgia nor the situation in Georgia or the democratic reforms; it was an attempt, which by the way was quite successfully conducted by the EPP members and the rapporteur of the Resolution”, - he noted and added that the Resolution on Georgia initiated by the Monitoring Committee and adopted by the PACE reflects the immense progress achieved by Georgia in the democracy, rule of law and human rights protection directions.
“This progress is clearly underlined and which is unambiguously confirmed by the CoE as a whole, though it also provides the challenges in Georgia being addressed by the Government”, - the reporter ended his speech.
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Georgian draft law on de-oligarchisation: Supporting the goal of limiting excessive influence of oligarchs, Venice Commission calls for systemic reforms
Strasbourg, 14.03.2023 – In its interim opinion on the draft law of Georgia on de-oligarchisation published today, the Council of Europe’s body of constitutional experts, the Venice Commission, called on the Georgian authorities to adopt systemic reforms rather than targeting specific individuals, in order to achieve “de-oligarchisation”.
“Oligarchisation” is the result of a combination of non-transparent exercise of political power without a political mandate, influence on parliaments, governments, political parties, judiciary and law enforcement bodies; ownership or influence on the media; decisive, if not monopolistic, influence on a number of areas, such as energy, mining, oil and gas, metallurgy, real estate. Eliminating such excessive influence of vested interests in economic, political and public life is a novel and very complex issue.
The Venice Commission noted that while Ukraine was the first country to adopt specific de-oligarchisation legislation, the commitment to eliminate the excessive influence of vested interests in economic, political and public life was also the object of a specific European Commission recommendation to Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. Georgia has since prepared a draft law which is very closely modelled on Ukrainian Law. Each country, however, presents specificities.
The Venice Commission supported the goal of eliminating or at least limiting the influence of oligarchs in political, economic and public life. It highlighted, however, that the choice of the means to achieve such a legitimate goal is of decisive importance if the system is to be effective while respecting democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights. Any such measures should be commensurate to the goal pursued of achieving a level playing field for all actors in society.
The Commission stressed that de-oligarchisation should be ensured through a systemic approach, which has a preventative effect and targets numerous fields, such as legislation relating to media, anti-monopoly, political parties, elections, taxation, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering, etc.
The Georgian draft law instead focuses on a so-called “personal” (punitive) approach, seeking to identify so-called “oligarchs” through specific criteria, such as wealth and media ownership, to publicly label them as “oligarchs” and to subject them to series of blanket limitations that include exclusion from the financing of political parties or activities, exclusion from privatisations of public property, etc. This approach, in the opinion of the Venice Commission, carries high risks of human rights violations and arbitrary application, potentially harming political pluralism. At the very least, the Commission recommended transferring the power to designate a person as an “oligarch” to another body than the Government, removing the broad discretion of the Government in interpreting and applying these criteria and providing strong guarantees for human rights, due process and effective remedies.
The Venice Commission has prepared the current opinion as an interim one, with a view of pursuing its analysis of possible solutions to this matter and taking into account further legislative developments when they are available.
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Commissioner Mijatović urges the Georgian Parliament to reject the draft law “On transparency of foreign influence”
Strasbourg, 28 February 2023 - In a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia published today, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, expresses concerns that the adoption of the draft law “On transparency of foreign influence” may have a serious chilling effect on the work of civil society organisations in Georgia.
“Such a legislative initiative raises a number of human rights concerns in the light of the Council of Europe standards on freedom of association and of expression. While transparency may be a legitimate concern, it should not be achieved to the detriment of the effective enjoyment of rights and freedoms by non-commercial organisations and media outlets and of the exercise of their legitimate activities”, says the Commissioner.
In this context, the Commissioner calls on the Parliament to reject this or any similar draft law and to unequivocally commit itself to fostering a diverse and vibrant civic participation in public affairs, as well as a conducive environment for the functioning of civil society organisations and human rights defenders in Georgia.
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Intercontinental Conference for Peace Education Held Online
Strategies for the Practice and Development of Peace Education
On January 27, HWPL held an online New Year's Conference for Peace Education with 37 participants from 6 countries. This New Year's Conference, with attendees from each continent, including Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, was promoted to share the activities of 2022, communicate with each other, and emphasize the need for active movement by peace teachers. There have been 43 peace educators in the MENA region, with 26 MOU and 2 MOAs contracted until now.
HWPL is an international peace NGO seeking ways to help students become leaders who create global harmony and achieve peace by interacting with global educators and UNESCO ambassadors as promoting a culture of peace and non-violence through education is one of UNESCO’s core missions. HWPL has its own Peace Education Curriculum from which students learn about the meaning of peace and its value and how to be qualified as a citizen of peace.
The peace activities of the countries cooperated with HWPL Global 2 branch, and the peace goals for this year were shared useful in overcoming to overcome difficulties in education that occurred in each country, such as the prolonged pandemic and educational inequality, and seek directions for development.
Iraq's Dr. Muayad Tahseen Yousif Altawi, Lecturer of the University of Mosul also shared action plans and strategies, and said “What we want is to have further cooperation with constant talks about the Peace Education. Of course, with SNS promotion of HWPL and its work" expressing his desire to create tangible results in 2023.
Mr. Elias Gudissa, a Consultant of Ethiopian Civil Service University, who had conducted peace education together, expressed her welcoming feelings about the peace initiatives continuing despite the pandemic crisis. “I can’t wait to affiliate with other universities through the Peace Education of HWPL. If there is a chance of taking part in activities of HWPL other than peace education, then I am willing to join as well” The attendees were online, but they were willing to open up about what they learned and felt and resolved to overcome the pandemic and share better examples next year.
Since having established designated HWPL Peace Academies in Israel and India School in Israel for the first time in 2015, HWPL has signed MOUs with 314 institutions and schools and MOAs with 13 countries, to prepare peace education at the government level.
