3RD QUARTERLY ACTIVITY REPORT 2008 by Thomas
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Strasbourg, 22 October 2008 CommDH(2008)32 3RD QUARTERLY ACTIVITY REPORT 2008 by Thomas Hammarberg Commissioner for Human Rights 1st July to 30th September 2008 Presented to the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly CommDH(2008)32 CONTENTS 1. Overview........................................................................................................3 2. Missions and Visits ........................................................................................4 3. Reports ..........................................................................................................8 4. Themes........................................................................................................11 5. Human Rights Defenders.............................................................................13 6. National Human Rights Structures ..............................................................14 7. Communication and Information work .........................................................15 8. Observations and reflections .......................................................................16 9. Next three months........................................................................................18 2 CommDH(2008)32 1. Overview The period was dominated by activities in relation to the Caucasus. In mid-July the Commissioner went to Armenia in order to take stock of developments after his March mission and subsequent reports. The Commissioner focused the discussion on the issue of an independent, impartial, transparent and credible investigation into the events in Yerevan 1-2 March and on the situation of prisoners taken in that context, including their judicial process. After the July visit there were repeated contacts with the Armenian authorities, mainly through the Permanent Representative in Strasbourg, on the establishment and working modalities of a group of experts to carry out fact-finding into the 1-2 March events and its relationship with the ad hoc commission set up by the parliament. The Commissioner kept the opposition informed about these discussions. An expert advisory opinion was produced outlining the methodology for a truly independent and impartial investigation and the government accepted its key principles. At the same time, in relation to the prisoners apprehended in this connection there was little progress during the period, which the Commissioner also reported to the PACE Monitoring Committee on 11 September. The humanitarian and human rights consequences of the outbreak of war in South Ossetia became a major concern for the Commissioner. He made a first visit to the affected area at the end of August and another at the end of September and wrote reports on both. He formulated six principles for urgent human rights and humanitarian protection (right of return; care for internally displaced persons; de-mining; establishing law and order; exchange of detainees and clarifying the fate of missing persons; and international access and human rights presence). These received political support from the Committee of Ministers and the PACE. The Commissioner has been involved in human rights diplomacy in order to define outstanding problems and advise on necessary remedial action. He used his good offices to facilitate the exchange of persons who had been detained and has continued to give his services for further such exchanges as well as efforts to clarify the fate of missing persons. In early July the Commissioner made a brief visit to Kaliningrad and undertook a mission to Cyprus where he had talks with President Christofias and the Turkish Cypriot leader Talat about the importance of taking into account human rights issues in the peace process. An assessment mission was made to the Netherlands in late September during which the Commissioner’s delegation met several representatives of the executive, legislature and judiciary and visited a number of institutions including those relating to asylum seekers. The office held a conference in Dublin in cooperation with the Irish Human Rights Commission with representatives of national human rights structures from all over Europe. The Office organised a seminar in St. Petersburg with regional ombudsmen in the Russian Federation. The Commissioner also took part in the Council of Europe 3 CommDH(2008)32 conference for prosecutors in St Petersburg in July and in the conference on children in Stockholm which promoted, inter alia, a ban on corporal punishment of children. With the aim of ensuring complementarity of activities, the Commissioner’s Office participated in a coordination meeting between the Council of Europe and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva on 4-5 September 2008 as well as in a consultative meeting between the Council of Europe and the EU Fundamental Rights Agency in Vienna on 15 September 2008. Viewpoints were published on terrorism; displacement; hate crimes; family reunification; Roma history; political participation of Roma; IDPs; and criminalisation of migration. 2. Missions and Visits Kaliningrad and Saint Petersburg From 30 June to 2 July, Commissioner Hammarberg undertook a contact visit to Kaliningrad and Saint Petersburg. On 1 July, at the invitation of the Ombudsman in the Kaliningrad Region, the Commissioner took part in a round table devoted to problems of freedom of movement encountered by residents of the region. Participating in the round table were officials of the regional authorities, representatives of the diplomatic community, non-governmental organisations and mass media. At the heart of discussions were a number of legal, humanitarian, economic, social and personal problems arising for residents due to the special geo-political position of the region. The meeting adopted an appeal to the Government of the Russian Federation, the Kaliningrad region authorities, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Russian Federation, the European Union, the Council of Europe and other competent organizations, asking for immediate action to be taken to simplify visa and transit passage regulations in order to ensure the freedom of movement of residents of the Kaliningrad region, including their movements from the Kaliningrad region to the other parts of the Russian Federation, and thereby restore basic social, economic and cultural rights for them. In Saint Petersburg on 2 July, before going on to open the round table with the Russian federal and regional ombudsmen (see page 14), Commissioner Hammarberg spoke at the European conference of prosecutors jointly organised by the Council of Europe and the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation, on the role of the prosecutor as a pillar for democratic society. Cyprus mission From 7 to 10 July, the Commissioner visited Cyprus, reviewing some of the most important human rights issues linked to the specific situation of the island. He also assessed developments as regards refugees and asylum seekers including their conditions of detention and the situation of trafficking in human beings. During the visit, the Commissioner held discussions with state officials, including President of the Republic Mr. Dimitris Christofias and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Markos Kyprianou. He also met with the Commissioner for Administration, the Law 4 CommDH(2008)32 Commissioner, the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus and representatives of international organisations and civil society. In addition, Mr Hammarberg and his delegation visited the Police Detention Centre at the Central Prison in Nicosia, Block 10 which detains aliens awaiting deportation, and a government-run shelter for female victims of trafficking. On 9 July Commissioner Hammarberg crossed the Green Line and held talks with representatives of the Turkish Cypriot Community, including notably their leader Mr Mehmet Ali Talat. He also met with non-governmental organisations and visited the prison in the north of Nicosia. During his talks, the Commissioner welcomed the recent political developments which have led to intense high level talks across the dividing line in Cyprus and expressed his hopes that they will lead to a reunification of the island. During the session of the Parliamentary Assembly starting on 29 September, he met again with President Christofias and Mr. Talat and encouraged both to continue and intensify their efforts towards achieving reunification. The Commissioner is currently finalizing a report which will focus on matters pertaining to asylum and trafficking in human beings as well as the detention of migrants in the Republic of Cyprus. A second document containing considerations on human rights issues linked to the conflict and to the lasting division of the island is also under preparation. Armenia special visit (July) and summary of findings From 13 to 15 July 2008 the Commissioner carried out a special visit to Armenia, organised following the adoption of Resolution No. 1620 (2008) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The Resolution invited the Commissioner to contribute to the work of the national body of inquiry into the events of 1 and March 2008 and to inform the PACE Monitoring Committee on progress regarding the inquiry as well as the release of the persons deprived of their liberty in relation to those events. A summary of the findings from the visit, as presented by the Commissioner to the PACE Monitoring Committee at its meeting in Paris on 11 September 2008, was published on 29 September 2008. The situation with respect