1. The Committee of Ministers points out
that Belgium, like all the other member states, has ratified the European
Convention on Human Rights and has undertaken to guarantee that
all Convention rights are honoured, including the rights to freedom
of expression and to freedom of assembly, guaranteed respectively by
Articles 10 and 11 of the Convention, for everyone within its jurisdiction.
2. The Belgium Delegation has informed the Committee of Ministers
that the demonstration of 1 October 2010 had been prohibited by
the responsible authorities on account of the risks of violence
and disturbances of the peace. Furthermore, according to the Belgian
authorities, during the action which led to the administrative arrest
of 200, and not 500, persons and which also led to the judicial
arrest of five persons, the police made use of force within the
limits of strict necessity and in a proportionate manner. Finally,
from a general point of view, the possibility to make a complaint
to the judicial authorities or to report the matter to the standing
committee which supervises police activities (“Comité P”) is open
to anyone contesting police action in Belgium.
