Catalog
PDF - Human rights in Europe: no grounds for complacency (2011)
Political rhetoric on human rights in Europe is different from daily reality. Almost every politician is on record as favouring the protection of freedom and justice. Standards on human rights have been agreed at European and international level; many have been integrated into national law; but they are not consistently enforced. There is an implementation gap.It is this implementation gap that this book seeks to address. It is built on a compilation of separate "viewpoints" or articles which Thomas Hammarberg has written, and later updated, since beginning his mandate as Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights in April 2006. He has now visited almost all of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe. On each visit he has met victims of violations of human rights and their families, leading politicians, prosecutors, judges, ombudsmen, religious leaders, journalists and civil society representatives as well as inmates of prisons and other institutions, law enforcement personnel and others. The "viewpoints" written on the basis of these many visits summarise his reflections, conclusions and recommendations.
Foreword
Chapter 1: Xenophobia and identity
Respecting the other
Islamophobia
The burqa and privacy
Discriminatory stop and search
Hate crimes
Minority languages
Chapter 2: Roma rights
European history of repression of the Roma
Continued stigmatisation of Roma
Ending discrimination against Roma
Roma political representation
Roma without citizenship
Discrimination against Roma migrants
Chapter 3: Immigration and asylum policies
Rights for migrants
The criminalisation of migration
The right to asylum
Detention of asylum seekers
Family reunification
Trafficking
Statelessness
Displaced persons
Chapter 4: Protection against homophobia and transphobia
Yogyakarta Principles
Homophobia
Transphobia
Chapter 5: Rights of people with disabilities
Making society inclusive
Rights for persons with mental disabilities
Discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities
Chapter 6: Gender rights
Gender representation in politics
The pay gap
Domestic violence
Rape
Chapter 7: Rights of the child
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Views of children
Children and violence
Sexual abuse of children
Children in unsuitable care institutions
Children in prison
Child migrants
Child poverty
Chapter 8: Social and economic rights
Poverty and marginalisation
The global economic crisis and human rights
Equality, discrimination and poverty
The right to housing
The rights of older people
HIV, Aids and the right to health
Climate change: an issue of human rights
Enforcing social rights standards
Chapter 9: Police, courts and prisons
Police violence
The "ticking bomb" argument
Final abolition of the death penalty
Corruption undermines justice
Judges must be independent
Lengthy court proceedings
Enforcement of court decisions
Prison conditions
Life sentences
Remedies for victims of human rights violations
Applications to the Strasbourg Court
Chapter 10: Fighting terrorism while respecting human rights
Counterterrorist methods and European complicity
Intelligence secrecy: no excuse
Terrorist blacklisting
Terrorism - Lessons from Northern Ireland
Privacy and data protection
Chapter 11: Gross violations in the past
Lessons from history
Accountability in post-totalitarian states
The International Criminal Court
Chapter 12: Media freedom and freedom of expression
Blasphemy and hate speech
Media diversity
Journalists at risk
Freedom of assembly
Chapter 13: Actors for human rights
Human rights defenders
The example of Andrei Sakharov
Religious leaders
Ombudsmen
Local authorities
Parliaments
Chapter 14: Systematic measures for human rights implementation
National implementation
State budgets
Human rights education
Chapter 15: International action
Foreign policy and human rights
The accountability of international actors
List of acronyms and abbreviations
Council of Europe human rights treaties: record of ratifications and signatures
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