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State of Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Europe

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State of Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Europe STATE OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS This is the 2021 report of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on the state of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe. Report the Secretary by 2021 of Europe General of the Council AND THE RULE OF LAW The report covers the period of three years since the publi- cation of the last similar report. It is divided into two parts. The first looks at strengths and weaknesses in the func- A democratic renewal tioning of democratic institutions in the Council of Europe member states, while the second part assesses the quality for Europe of the democratic environment, which is indispensable for the functioning of these institutions. Each chapter includes a summary of the main challenges in the respective areas. The findings and assessments are predominantly based on Council of Europe sources, moni- toring reports, European Court of Human Rights decisions, Parliamentary Assembly reports, reports of the Commis- sioner for Human Rights and opinions of the Venice Com- mission and other bodies. These findings will support the preparation of the next biennial programme and budget, which will include mea- sures and activities aimed at responding to the challenges identified in this report. PREMS 049021 ENG The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading Report by the Secretary General human rights organisation. It comprises 47 member 2021 states, including all members of the European Union. of the Council of Europe All Council of Europe member states have signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights, a treaty designed to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The European Court of Human Rights oversees the implementation of the Convention in the member states. STATE OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE RULE OF LAW A democratic renewal for Europe Report by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe 2021 Council of Europe French edition Situation de la démocratie, des droits de l’homme et de l’Etat de droit – Un renouveau démocratique pour l’Europe All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated, reproduced or transmitted, Layout: in any form or Documents and Publications by any means, electronic Production Department (SPDP), (CD-Rom, internet, etc.) Council of Europe or mechanical, including photocopying, recording Photos: Council of Europe, or any information storage @ Shutterstock or retrieval system, without the prior Council of Europe Publications permission in writing F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex from the Directorate www.coe.int of Communications (F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex © Council of Europe, May 2021 or [email protected]). Printed at the Council of Europe Contents A PREFACE BY THE SECRETARY GENERAL 5 KEY FINDINGS OF THE REPORT 6 GUIDE TO THE REPORT 11 PART I – DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS 13 CHAPTER 1 – EFFICIENT, IMPARTIAL AND INDEPENDENT JUDICIARIES 15 Introduction 15 Judicial independence 17 Judicial accountability 26 Efficiency of judicial systems 31 CHAPTER 2 – FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION 37 Introduction 37 Legal guarantees for freedom of expression 38 Safety of journalists and others who speak up 41 Independent and pluralistic media environment 43 Reliability and trust in information 45 CHAPTER 3 – FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY AND FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION 49 Introduction 49 Freedom of assembly 50 Freedom of association 55 CHAPTER 4 – POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 61 Introduction 61 Functioning of democratic institutions 62 Local and regional democracy 65 Good governance at all levels 66 Free and fair elections 69 CHAPTER 5 – INTEGRITY OF INSTITUTIONS 73 Introduction 73 Institutional integrity frameworks 73 Standards of conduct for public officials 78 Integrity, effectiveness and impact of accountability and enforcement mechanisms 82 Criminal and non-criminal enforcement mechanisms 87 PART II – DEMOCRATIC ENVIRONMENT 93 CHAPTER 6 – HUMAN DIGNITY 95 Introduction 95 Combating trafficking in human beings 96 Promoting and protecting women’s rights 99 Human rights and dignity of children 102 Social rights 108 Humane detention conditions 114 CHAPTER 7 – ANTI-DISCRIMINATION, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION 117 Introduction 117 Anti-discrimination 118 Diversity and inclusion 125 CHAPTER 8 – DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION 137 Introduction 137 Education for democracy 138 Youth for democracy 141 Culture and cultural heritage 143 ► Page 3 Marija Pejčinović Burić Secretary General of the Council of Europe ► Page 4 A PREFACE BY THE SECRETARY GENERAL ince 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has presented our continent’s governments and societies with a chal- lenge unlike any other since the Council of Europe was founded. Tragically, at the time of writing, millions S of people have lost their lives. Many more have lost their jobs and the various lockdown and physical restrictions have required enormous changes to the way that we live, work and communicate. ■ Last year’s annual report, Multilateralism 2020, outlined the way in which the Council of Europe responded quickly, adjusting its working methods and activities and providing member states with the support they needed to address the public health crisis in a way that is effective and upholds our common standards in human rights, democracy and the rule of law. ■ Almost a year later, that role has evolved. From the various guidance documents issued to national authorities, to the current debates about how to ensure human rights compliant vaccination requirements, certificates and “passes”, the Council of Europe has continued to play its unique role. ■ Inevitably, that role and responsibility also feature in this report, but its scope is wider than that. ■ This year’s report, A democratic renewal for Europe, reverts to the practice of previous years in assessing the state of the key building blocks of which democratic security in Europe is comprised. The last such report was published in 2018 and, in the interim, we have seen trends change, evolve and emerge. These trends are examined in this edition. There are many examples of progress from across our member states, and they should be neither overlooked nor undervalued. Indeed, they can be found throughout the report, and national authorities merit recognition for what they have achieved, sometimes in the face of difficult circumstances. ■ Overall, however, what can be seen is a clear and worrying degree of democratic backsliding. ■ Europe’s democratic environment and democratic institutions are in mutually reinforcing decline. Evidence for this is drawn from across the work and activities of the Council of Europe. Often, it pre-dates the emergence of coronavirus. However, there is no doubt that legitimate actions taken by national authorities in response to Covid-19 have compounded this trend. Individuals’ rights and liberty have been curtailed in ways that would be unacceptable in normal times. Democracy has been restricted. The danger is that our democratic culture will not fully recover. ■ This is deeply troubling. Democracy is essential if people are to live in freedom, dignity and security. More than that, it is also required as a backstop for maintaining human rights and the rule of law. The three pillars of our work are in fact inseparable. If one weakens, so do the others. The evidence for this is also clear in the pages that follow. ► Page 5 KEY FINDINGS OF THE REPORT ■ Efficient, impartial and independent judiciaries: ► national courts have received an increasing number of challenges to the actions of the execu- tive power; ► legislation or intervention has been used more commonly in recent years to facilitate political influence over judicial appointments and the composition and functioning of judicial self- governing bodies; ► steps have been taken to weaken the security of judges’ tenure or empower the executive to discretionally replace court presidents; ► Covid-19 has resulted in new court procedures, an anticipated backlog in cases, and delays to important judicial appointments. ■ Freedom of expression: ► is in decline in many member states; ► there has been an increase in violence against journalists, including murders, often with impunity; ► during the public health crisis, violence has risen sharply along with censorship and reprisals for questioning government policies; ► the pandemic has highlighted the need for quality, fact-checked journalism but, by contrast, it has also cut news media revenues and put further strain on a sector that was already struggling to deliver; this, along with the rise of disinformation, has resulted in “news scepticism” whereby public trust is lost; ► wrongful imprisonment of journalists and smear campaigns against them, sometimes led by politicians or public officials, remains a problem; ► restrictive legislation and instances of large-scale blocking of websites have also curtailed free speech; ► online hate speech has increased. ■ Freedom of assembly and freedom of association: ► the space for civil society is shrinking in an increasing number of states and peaceful public events are often treated as being dangerous; ► restrictive legislation has been introduced in recent years; ► legitimate concerns about such things as terrorism and the need for public transparency are now being used to attack selected non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and public events; ► discrimination, notably on grounds such as political views, religion, ethnic background or sexual orientation, is being inflicted on minorities and vulnerable groups on the pretext of protecting society at large; ► organisations that protect the rights of migrants and asylum seekers
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