International Institute of Human Rights

Recommendation 986 (1984)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

See Doc. 5234, report of the Legal Affairs Committee. Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 28 June 1984.

Thesaurus

The Assembly,

1. Having regard to the Declaration on Human Rights, adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 27 April 1978, which emphasised the close relationship between the protection and advancement of human rights and fundamental freedoms within states and the strengthening of justice and peace in the world ;

2. Having regard to Resolution (78) 41 of the Committee of Ministers which recommended that universities and other competent authorities adopt various measures to encourage study of the international and national protection of human rights ;

3. Considering that in 1969 the late Rene Cassin, a President of the European Court of Human Rights and of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights as well as a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, founded the International Institute of Human Rights, which will be celebrating its fifteenth anniversary in December 1984 ;

4. Considering that one of the principal aims of the International Institute of Human Rights is to foster the protection and development of fundamental rights throughout the world and to train university teachers in the subject ;

5. Having regard to its Recommendations 580 (1970) and 715 (1973), in which it asked the Committee of Ministers to invite the governments of member states to support the Institute and make a financial contribution of its own to the Institute ;

6. Welcoming the action taken by the Committee of Ministers on those recommendations but regretting that the Council of Europe's contribution has decreased considerably since 1974 and 1975 ;

7. Considering that the Institute does much to ensure that the conception of human rights which is common to all the Council of Europe member states is understood not only in Europe but throughout the world, particularly in developing countries ;

8. Aware that, although the Institute's activities are expanding, its financial resources are not,

9. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers :

a restore its grant to the Institute to its 1974 and 1975 level in real terms, with a view to strengthening the Institute's human rights teaching and teacher-training programme ;

b invite the governments of member states which do not already do so to make voluntary contributions to the Institute, with a view, in particular, to augmenting the number of scholarships awarded to students from developing countries.