28/01/2014 Session
In his speech to the Parliamentary Assembly, Thorbjørn Jagland, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe called on members states to ratify the Council of Europe’s revised Social Charter and step up efforts to reduce social inequalities.
“I associate myself with the Pope who has warned against a trend where the winner takes it all and that those of the bottom of the society are lagging more and more behind”, he said.
Regarding the near-term priorities of the Organisation, he emphasised the need to concentrate on monitoring and cooperation activities in all member states and announced a report on the main human rights trends in Europe to be presented at the Council of Europe ministerial meeting on 5-6 May in Vienna.
“We do not want to establish a ranking, or name and shame game. The objective is to conduct a constructive dialogue with member States and agree on modalities of Council of Europe assistance”. “I believe the report can be a turning point for the Organisation. It will enable us to play more forcefully the role as the Convention-based tool for protecting human rights and the rule of law.”
The Secretary General also stressed the Council of Europe’s role in promoting freedom of expression, privacy and global governance of the Internet. “Further accession to our data protection Convention is probably an easier way to global rules than elaborating a binding convention under the auspices of the United Nations”, he said.
Finally, he underlined the capability of the Council of Europe to respond rapidly and credibly to political developments by offering its members states objectives and non-politicised expertise. The Secretary General cited the Organisation’s engagement in Ukraine as a current example.