Shadows also in Europe

The “need to make greater efforts to combat discrimination, integrate immigrants and national minorities”, the “danger of a possible dilution or erosion of standards in the fight against international terrorism” and the various conflicts present in Europe today: these are some of the recommendations of the 5th annual report of the Commission for Human Rights (January 2004-marzo 2006) together with the final report presented on 30 March (at the end of his term of office) by ALVARO GIL ROBLES , who concluded his mission as Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe on 31 March, after six and a half years of activity. “I leave my office – said Gil Robles – with mixed feelings: both of satisfaction for the work performed, and of regret given the enormous quantity of things that still remain to be done”. Speaking in the Strasbourg headquarters of the Council of Europe, which represents 46 member states, Gil Robles presented a report in which the Commission’s work is reviewed, successes are pointed out, and “still unresolved problems” in the field of human rights indicated. The continental situation described in the document comprises various juridical, socio-political and cultural questions and also focuses on the various conflicts present in Europe today, to which greater attention needs to be paid. During his term of office, Gil Robles dedicated a good deal of attention to the Balkans, Ukraine, Belarus and the former Soviet Republics. The new Commissioner, the Swedish Thomas Hammarberg, former general secretary of Amnesty International, the Olof Palme Foundation and Save the Children, will assume his post on 3 April. Below we give a brief résumé of some of the main considerations in the report. RIGHTS VIOLATED IN EUROPE TOO . “If there is one thing that seems quite clear at the end of my term of office – writes Gil Robles in his final report – it is that the daily violation of human rights remains an agonising reality for millions of people in the world. And Europe is not immune from this reality”. In 2004 the Commission for Human Rights officially visited eight European countries (Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Croatia, Russia, Great Britain, Switzerland and Liechtenstein), and four further countries in 2005 (Spain, Italy, Iceland and France). Less formal visits and recommendations were numerous. Among the countries visited: In FRANCE , the Commission visited detention centres, police stations, holding camps for irregular immigrants, psychiatric hospitals and centres for the victims of domestic violence. In its report it draws attention to “the overcrowding and poor living conditions in the penitentiary system, the insufficient resources and the excessive proliferation of laws that weaken the work of the judicial authority”. It also criticises “the treatment of foreigners on their arrival in the country, including the inadequate conditions of centres for irregular migrants and the difficulties of gaining access to the asylum application process”. In ITALY , the Commission visited the temporary holding camps for immigrants on arrival, including the one on the island of Lampedusa. It also visited juvenile remand centres, prisons, a psychiatric hospital run by the prison service, centres for asylum-seekers, nomad camps and a centre for the victims of domestic violence. “The lack of transparency in the procedures” followed in the centre of Lampedusa, in particular, has led the Commissioner to ask Italy’s Minister of the Interior for the permanent presence of the UNHCR (UN High Commission for Refugees), with access to the centre at any time. The request has been accepted. Similar concerns are voiced about the treatment of newly arrived immigrants in SPAIN , especially in Andalusia, in the Canary Isles and in the North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. The report examines “the measures introduced to combat the poor treatment [of immigrants] by the police and the isolated incidents that exist”. “Disquiet” is expressed by the Commission with regard “to the new anti-terrorism law” in GREAT BRITAIN , “changes in the system of asylum, conditions in prisons and the judicial system for minors”. The anti-terrorism law, which provides for detention without trial for an indeterminate period, and without charges being brought against those suspected of terrorism, is judged “discriminatory and disproportionate”. A similar warning is given regarding confessions extorted with torture, which cannot be reconciled with article 3 of the European Convention for the respect of human rights. The human rights record of the RUSSIAN FEDERATION was also examined by the Commission: 39 sites were visited, including hospitals, schools, courthouses, military bases, police stations, orphanages, rest homes and prisons. The report devotes “particular attention” to the administration of justice, the conduct of the security forces, the conditions of detention, the armed forces, freedom of the press, national and religious minorities, racism and xenophobia, and the treatment of children, women, the disabled and the elderly”. Reference is also made to the situation in the Republic of Chechnya.