Campaign of Amnesty International for a universal amnesty for all prisoners of conscience
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- See Doc. 5105, report of the Legal Affairs Committee. Text adopted by the Assembly, by the tacit adoption procedure, on 27 September 1983.
- Thesaurus
The Assembly,
1. Alarmed at the fact that thousands of men and women are in prison throughout the world solely on account of their political or religious convictions, their colour or ethnic origin ;
2. Considering that they are not in prison for acts of violence or for having advocated violence, and that their detention is contrary to the legal and moral principles of both the United Nations and the Council of Europe ;
3. Considering that the principle of habeas corpus, that is the right not to be arrested or detained without due process of law, guaranteed by Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is often disregarded in cases concerning prisoners of conscience ;
4. Considering that both these international instruments also guarantee the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and expression ;
5. Believing that an amnesty for all prisoners of conscience would be an unparalleled act in the promotion of fundamental freedoms,
6. Solemnly calls on all the nations of the world to release all prisoners of conscience and to ensure that their legislation is in accordance with the aforementioned principles ;
7. Fully supports the campaign launched by Amnesty International for a universal amnesty for all prisoners of conscience ;
8. Requests its President to forward this resolution to the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and to the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
