Threats against humanity posed by the terrorist group known as "IS": violence against Christians and other religious or ethnic communities
Reply to Recommendation
| Doc. 13789
| 19 May 2015
- Author(s):
- Committee of Ministers
- Origin
- Adopted
at the 1226bis meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (6 May 2015). 2015 - Third part-session
- Reply to Recommendation
- : Recommendation 2055
(2014)
1 The Committee of Ministers has carefully
considered Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 2055 (2014) on
“Threats against humanity posed by the terrorist group known as
“IS”: violence against Christians and other religious or ethnic
communities”, whereby the Assembly “draws attention once again to
the situation of Christian and other religious and ethnic communities
in the Middle East, in general, and in Iraq and Syria in particular”.
The Committee of Ministers has brought it to the attention of the
governments of member States and forwarded it to the competent bodies
for information and comments.
Note
2 The Committee of Ministers shares the concerns of the Assembly
about the danger which the terrorist group “ISIS”, also known as
Daesh, represents. The violent acts it perpetrates against those
who do not share its views and beliefs pose a serious threat to
the lives and enjoyment of fundamental rights of those people in the
regions under its control, and for peace and security in the whole
Middle East and beyond. In the face of this wave of violence, and
the resulting grave humanitarian consequences for the population,
the international community must unite its efforts to combat terrorism,
radicalisation and extremism, protect and promote human rights,
and provide appropriate support for populations in difficulty.
3 The terrorist attacks in Paris and Copenhagen in early 2015
painfully reminded European societies of the reality of this threat
and illustrated the urgent need for actions to combat radicalisation
leading to terrorism, in full respect for the Council of Europe
values and standards. The Committee of Ministers strongly condemns these
acts and calls for a strengthening of the Council of Europe’s actions.
The Committee of Ministers has already adopted several decisions
to this effect, in particular with a view to producing a draft Additional
Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of
Terrorism. Furthermore, it has decided that the next Ministerial
Session should give due prominence to the fight against extremism
and radicalisation leading to terrorism. It is expected that the
Session will adopt an Action Plan on this subject.
4 The Council of Europe is already carrying out a number of
activities in the field of intercultural dialogue, including its
religious dimension, in particular since the publication of the
White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue. In this regard, the Committee
of Ministers welcomes the interest which the Assembly attaches to
the Exchanges on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue.
It has taken note of the proposals the Assembly makes in this connection
and will bear them in mind in the future.
5 The Committee of Ministers notes the Assembly’s recommendation
that it “envisage possible ways to monitor the situation of governmental
and societal restrictions on religious freedom and related rights
in Council of Europe member States and in States in the Council
of Europe’s neighbourhood, and report periodically to the Assembly”.
In this connection, the Committee of Ministers refers to its 2011
Declaration on religious freedom in which it stated in particular
that “freedom of thought, conscience and religion is an inalienable
right” and that “there can be no democratic society based on mutual
understanding and tolerance without respect for freedom of thought,
conscience and religion.” It has stated these principles in its
2009 Declaration on human rights in culturally diverse societies
in which it recalls that “States must strive to strike a fair balance”
between freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association
and freedom of thought, conscience and religion, “while ensuring
that any restriction be prescribed by law, necessary in a democratic
society and proportionate to a legitimate aim.”
6 The work of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
(ECRI) reflects the above recommendation of the Assembly, since,
in compliance with its Statute, it examines the substance and effectiveness
of member States’ laws, policies and other measures to combat racism,
xenophobia, anti-Semitism and intolerance. As part of its country
monitoring work, ECRI regularly examines the situation of persons
belonging to ethnic and religious communities. ECRI has also drafted
General Policy Recommendations on combating intolerance and discrimination
against Muslims (GPR No. 5) and the fight against anti-Semitism
(GPR No. 9). It has also covered violent crime, hate speech, discrimination,
and intolerance towards Christians.
7 The Commissioner for Human Rights also monitors these questions,
in particular during his visits to member States, and where necessary
makes recommendations to promote the respect of rights of persons belonging
to communities or minorities and combat intolerance and discrimination.
8 Mention should also be made of the Venice Commission’s studies
and reports on the relationship between freedom of religion or belief
on the one hand and freedom of expression on the other hand, as
well as on non-citizens rights and the rights of persons belonging
to minorities, as well as of the work – both completed and ongoing
– of the Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) to collate existing
Council of Europe standards regarding the principles of freedom
of thought, conscience and religion and their links with other rights
enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights, in particular
freedom of expression and freedom of association. This compilation
will be supplemented by a compendium of national good practices
on the implementation of the existing standards. The next stage
in this work will be to draw up guidelines on the protection and
promotion of human rights in culturally diverse societies in order
to provide guidance to member States to enhance the effective application
of Council of Europe standards in this field.
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