01/11/2007 President
Strasbourg, 31.10.2007 – Commenting on President Putin’s recent proposal for a Russian-funded institute to monitor human rights and the situation of ethnic minorities in EU member states, René van der Linden, President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), said:
“If Russia wants to make sure that EU member states abide by the same human rights standards as it is judged against, there is already a well-established and highly respected body with decades of experience of monitoring human rights, democracy and the rule of law throughout Europe – including in the EU member states. This is, of course, the Council of Europe, home of the European Court of Human Rights and a full range of other instruments and mechanisms. I fully share the concern that there should be no double standards or dividing lines in Europe – the Council of Europe, with its pan-European membership and common, accepted standards, is the best way of achieving this.”
“If European governments really do take human rights seriously, they should strengthen the Council of Europe – and its Court – by giving it greater political support and means that are adequate to its crucially important mission. They should not be creating new bodies that duplicate its work, whether they be the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency in Vienna or anything else.”