Essential rights

Relation between freedom of expression and religious beliefs; fight against terrorism and the security of citizens: two questions much in the news today on which the Council of Europe is promoting new initiatives between March and April this year. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, RESPECT FOR RELIGIONS. “Blasphemy, insults of a religious character and instigation to religious hatred”: that’s one of the key issues that will be examined by the Commission for Democracy through Law, better known as the Venice Commission, advisory organ of the Council of Europe, which is holding its 70th session in Venice on 16-17 March. “Freedom of expression and freedom of religion are not incompatible; rather they are two sides of the same coin, both essential rights, indispensable aspects of peaceful co-existence and modern democratic life”, explains SIMONA GRANATA , who heads the secretariat of the Venice Commission, in a briefing to SIR . “This is a problem that is posed in a multicultural situation”, she points out. She also recalls the Resolution on freedom of expression and respect for religious beliefs adopted by the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe last year. “We recently conducted a survey on existing legislations in Europe on this front – explains Granata – and we found very different situations”. Ten countries were scrutinized by the Commission’s experts: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Holland, Poland, Romania, Turkey and the United Kingdom. “We ascertained many different positions, ranging from those that insist more on freedom of expression and those who require greater respect for believers and their feelings. The debate undoubtedly needs to be enlarged by involving public opinion and the mass media”. UNIVERSAL RIGHTS TO GUARANTEE. “It will be difficult to reach a single position on the question – continues Granata -. A variety of situations is registered in the 46 member countries of the Council of Europe: at the historical and cultural level; as a result of the co-existence or not of various religious communities; or as a result of the composition of the population” (e.g. greater or lesser immigration from Islamic countries). “So the legislation of the various states reflects this complexity”. Undoubtedly the issue has been under the spotlight on various occasions in recent times, in France, Belgium, the Uk, Turkey, Italy, Holland and elsewhere. Emblematic is the case of the publication in a Danish paper of caricatures of the prophet Mohamed, which gave rise to violent public protests in many countries with a Moslem majority. Attacks on the beliefs of Christians, and anti-Semitic or Islamophobic attitudes, are also frequent in the old continent. “I think it must be made clear to everyone that it is not a question of defending my right against yours – explains Granata -. Rather, we are faced here by rights that need to be defended everywhere and in any case, because they are fundamental and undoubtedly universal”. Granata also announced that the Commission would in the near future also tackle the problem of the “juridical status of the churches, religious communities and groups” in Europe. The Commission’s session next weekend will also examine various other points: the compatibility of systems of video-surveillance (Ctv) with the protection of human rights; the adoption of an opinion on the new Serbian Constitution; and an exchange of views with Gia Kavtaradze, Georgian Minister of Justice. TERRORISM, WHY? The Council of Europe’s second major initiative is called “Terrorism, why?”: it takes the form of an international conference due to be held in Strasbourg on 25-26 April. The conference will examine “the conditions favourable to the propagation of terrorism” and hence possible preventive or repressive measures. The delegates will include 250 experts (university teachers, political representatives, exponents of the NGOs) who will debate three main themes: “role of intercultural and interfaith dialogue; foreign policy and principle of responsibility; and the underlying causes of terrorism”. TERRY DAVIS , general secretary of the Council of Europe, recalled, on the occasion of the European Day for the Victims of Terrorism (11 March): “Three years ago, 192 people were killed and over 2,000 injured in one of the worst terrorist attacks ever to have happened in Europe. The anniversary of the terror attack in Madrid is an occasion to re-affirm our solidarity with the families of the victims and with the Spanish people, and also to renew our appeal that international cooperation in the fight against terrorism be stepped up”. The leaders of the Council of Europe insist that member states should ratify “as a matter of urgency the Convention for the prevention of terrorism” of 2005. This international Convention “defines as criminal offences various actions that lead to acts of terrorism, such as instigation and recruitment; it also reinforces cooperation between states and modifies provisions for extradition. It’s an instrument that permits an effective response to be given to the threat of terrorism and is intended to protect the life and freedom of our citizens”.