The Assembly further recommends that the Committee of Ministers prepare and include the following decisions in the draft final declaration of the summit, which should : Reinforce existing machinery :
16.1 proclaim the establishment of the single European Court of Human Rights, a reform decided at the Vienna Summit in October 1993. The few ratifications of Protocol No. 11 still needed before the reform can come into force should be secured as soon as possible;
16.2 reaffirm that it rests with the European Court of Human Rights, and no other body, to give authoritative interpretations of the standards embodied in the European Convention on Human Rights and thus to define the extent of the obligations incurred by the state parties;
16.3 solemnly declare its support for the monitoring of commitments and obligations of member states, at both intergovernmental and Parliamentary Assembly level, and express members’ commitment to full co-operation in this sphere;
16.4 strengthen the monitoring procedure of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment ;
16.5 decide to draw up a protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights introducing a general clause on equal rights. A provision of this kind would extend the guarantee of non-discrimination under Article 14 of the Convention, which is currently confined to the rights specifically protected by the Convention itself. This would amplify the European system of human rights safeguards and contribute meaningfully to the prevention not only of racial discrimination but also of gender-based discrimination;
16.6 strengthen the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) as a permanent, independent human rights structure keeping watch on manifestations of racism and intolerance in Europe;
16.7 urge members to ratify the existing conventions on crime control, especially the Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime, and develop systematic pooling of experience in a key area of democratic security, together with any special programmes that may prove necessary;
16.8 call for ratification by all the member states of the European Social Charter and the protocol thereto providing for a system of collective complaints;
16.9 call for ratification of the 1995 Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the 1992 European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, which have still not come into force;
16.10 implement the Vienna Summit’s decision to draw up an additional protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights protecting the cultural rights of persons belonging to national minorities;
16.11 call for ratification of the European Charter of Local Self-Government and support the elaboration of the European charter of regional self-government, which are the ideal instruments for developing and guaranteeing the conditions for effective
local and regional democracy, without which no democracy can be stable and complete ; Take up the new challenges :
16.12 take action on the proposal from the Finnish chairmanship to appoint a human rights commissioner. Setting up this institution, which would have no judicial authority, would be a means of dealing with infringements of human dignity and giving a higher profile to the Council of Europe’s work on human rights;
16.13 urge all member states to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Convention on the Exercise of Children’s Rights and ensure that the Council of Europe takes an increased interest in the rights and interests of children by setting up an advisory committee on childhood policy, which should report on an annual basis to the Committee of Ministers and the Assembly;
16.14 increase the effectiveness of the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism of 27 January 1977, with the necessary amendments or additional protocols;
16.15 decide to draw up a European convention on the protection and rights of refugees and asylum-seekers;
16.16 decide to draw up a protocol to the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine on cloning, to strengthen protection against gene manipulation;
16.17 decide to review relevant legal instruments and, if necessary, draw up new ones in the light of developments of new information and communication technologies in order to guarantee that information networks are used in accordance with the Council of Europe’s principles and standards;
16.18 decide on an action plan to improve equality between men and women, addressing rights and their practical expression in daily life, not only in the policy-making process but also in all areas of social and economic life;
16.19 decide to start work on a European public service charter setting standards that will ensure equal access for all to basic public services, notably in health and education, in each member state. This charter would also lay down rules on training and professional ethics, making sure that public service is competent and politically neutral in all member states ; Strengthen social cohesion :
16.20 reassert the Council of Europe’s social dimension by setting up specific assistance programmes to preserve social cohesion, a further factor in democratic security. These programmes should focus on the European Social Charter, whose flexibility enables economic change, new working conditions and the situation of new Council of Europe member countries to be taken into account. The summit should at the same time increase the resources of the Council of Europe’s Social Development Fund;
16.21 decide to finalise the Council of Europe project on human dignity and social exclusion aimed at defining practical principles for government action against poverty and social exclusion, which deny people their fundamental rights and are a threat to democracy;
16.22 under the European Cultural Convention, launch a plan of action on education and training for democratic citizenship, tolerance, respect for cultural diversity, solidarity and responsibility. This plan of action should have, as main actors and target groups, schoolteachers, youth and young political leaders, and involve all levels of the Organisation;
16.23 launch a pan-European campaign aimed at increasing public awareness of the importance of the cultural heritage for the quality of life and for promoting mutual understanding and dialogue;
16.24 define the principles governing the Council of Europe’s external relations in order to lend greater weight in the international arena to the values that distinguish our idea of the future, and to those who share these ideas with us. In particular, serious discussion and consistent action should be undertaken to develop in our societies, especially among young Europeans, an awareness that every effort must be made to overcome the widening gap between North and South;
16.25 accord due priority to the activities of the Council of Europe which would help member states in improving the conditions and facilitating the integration of immigrant communities ; Decide to update the Organisation’s structures :
16.26 decide on a reform of the Committee of Ministers’ procedures to make better use of its potential as a political organ;
16.27 fully exploit and reinforce the possibilities for communication and co-ordination with all institutions involved in the European construction process;
16.28 implement the reform of the 1949 Statute, decided at the Vienna Summit ; Provide the necessary financial basis :
16.29 undertake the financial commitments necessary to enable the Organisation to fulfil the additional tasks and activities decided at the summit.
