The European Court of Human Rights - Essay Example

ECHR THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS (ECHR CAN IT DEFEND AND PROMOTE HUMAN RIGHTS ECHR 2 Human Rights Today The United Nations has approved the International Bill of Rights and nine human rights core treaties, and organised monitoring bodies to keep track of their implementation by UN member states that have ratified or acceded to these treaties. There are many other universal human rights instruments such as declarations that "have no binding legal effect, but.(wield) undeniable moral force and provide practical guidance to States in their conduct" as well as covenants and protocols that are "legally binding for those States that ratify or accede to them." (OHCHR) Yet, despite all these advances in creating and developing the international legal framework and structures supportive of human rights, human rights violations continue to occur in all parts of the world. In fact human rights violations are on the rise in particular countries and sub-regions and have been and are still being committed by States that have signed or acceded to human rights treaties. The Human Rights Watch (HRW), a global NGO, noted this weakness in implementation of human rights laws. "The development of norms has not been matched by effective means for their implementation." (Hicks, 2007) Implementation is further blocked by the current thinking that ECHR 3 "terrorism creates a perpetual state of emergency, in which derogation from basic rights is permitted...(This) has already undermined human rights protection worldwide, and the threat to human rights continues to grow." (Hicks, 2007) Amnesty International also believes that today, "human rights are not only a promise unfulfilled, they are a promise betrayed." Amnesty International was referring specifically to attempts by various States to justify or conceal their violations of the absolute ban on torture, to the tragedy of Darfur, the failure to stop extreme and widespread violence against women, and the failure to pursue the people's economic, political and social rights (as embodied in the modest UN Millenium Development Goals). In the face of such serious challenges, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for UN Member States to rise and assume the role of human rights defenders. Not the US, since HRW believes that the US has compromised itself by human rights violations in its campaign against terrorism and in the war in Iraq (for instance, secret prison camps and ill-treatment and torture of prisoners). Also not Russia or China, since as HRW pointed out, the two countries are themselves major human rights violators, especially the rights of political dissenters. The Human Rights Watch urged the European Union to assume the role since it is "the world's leading collection of democracies, founded on a ECHR 4 commitment to human rights and the rule of law." At the same time HRW chided the EU, stating that "due in part to structural problems and in part to a lack of political will, the European Union's underperformance on human rights has left a gaping leadership hole." (Roth, 2007) EU: Waffling on Human Rights Issues The EU has made undeniable progress in setting up a European human rights system. Its Charter of Fundamental Rights, adopted in 2002, has defined the comprehensive civil, political, economic and social rights of all European citizens and residents, covering the following concerns: dignity, freedoms, equality, solidarity, citizens rights and justice. (Europa) "Human rights, democracy and the rule of law are core values of the European Union. Embedded in its founding treaty, they have been reinforced by the adoption of a Charter of Fundamental Rights. Respect for human rights is a prerequisite for countries seeking to join the Union and a precondition for countries who have concluded trade and other agreements with it." (European Parliament) The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is empowered to hear cases filed by individuals who believe that their rights were violated by a State. This is a positive departure from previous international practice that recognises only States as players in matters of international law. There ECHR 5 have been problems in the operation of the ECHR but human rights advocates and organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC), INTERIGHTS, Redress and the AIRE Centre believe in the right of individual petition. Individual cases have flooded the ECHR and some quarters blame the use of individual petitions and want the practice stopped. However, human rights advocates have protested against any attempt to diminish, curtail or weaken the right of individual petition. They pointed out that ECHR's huge backlog of cases could be resolved through improvement of human rights implementation at the national level, which would correspondingly reduce the number of cases at the ECHR level. So would the more efficient and therefore faster categorisation of cases as either admissible or non-admissible, since most cases filed at the ECHR are actually non-admissible. Human rights advocates also objected to the formation of regional clones of the ECHR since this could negatively affect the quality of decision making in human rights cases. (Amnesty et al, 2004). The ECHR is also empowered to render judgments and impose financial sanctions on states that have violated the fundamental rights of European citizens and residents. However, HR advocates have suggested that the mechanism for implementation of decisions, including financial sanctions, be improved. ECHR 6 There have been advances indeed, including the ECHR. However, the actual performance and effectiveness of the ECHR will be determined largely by the European Union itself - by the depth of its commitment and consistency of its actions in support of human rights, human rights law and human rights mechanisms, including the ECHR. "The global security agenda continues to have a profound effect on the EU and its human rights policythe EU is failing to put forward a strong rights agenda." (Amnesty International). Despite the approval of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, EU member states are violating human rights within their own borders and the EU is showing distressing signs that it is also quite willing to tolerate human rights violators from other countries outside the EU. The following are examples of EU's point of view and treatment of human rights issues. The newly organised Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) was first envisioned to monitor human rights violations by the EU and its member states and devise strategies that will end these violations. At present it has been limited to issues of racism and discrimination, and cut off from other strategic human rights issues. This is just one indication of the unwillingness of member states to have their human rights record reviewed and exposed to public scrutiny. ECHR 7 "Therefore the inauguration of the FRA should not only be cause for celebration. It should also be a moment to acknowledge that it is time to start addressing the hard issues of fundamental rights within the EU." (AI USA). The FRA is not allowed to air criticisms of police and judicial authorities. Amnesty International believes FRA would not be able to contribute much to the protection of rights in the EU because of the tight restrictions placed on its mandate. "The EU states don't want interference in their human rights policies." (DW, 2007). The rights of individuals to seek asylum and to enjoy protection have been subsumed to issues of terrorism and illegal migration. Human rights advocates have documented the case of a Somalian who applied for asylum, was turned down and deported to his country where he was killed four months later. A minimum of 10 members of the EU knew about the US use of rendition, or secret detention of "terrorists" in secret prisons, and tolerated or even participated in this activity. The countries included Britain, Poland, Italy, and Germany. The war against terror has weakened the absolute ban on torture and on evidence obtained through torture. People suspected of ECHR 8 being terrorists have been subjected by EU member states to restrictions and conditions that violate their human rights. Human rights advocates have also documented many cases of excessive use of force by the police of member states, especially in dealing with those accused of terrorism and illegal immigration. However, police matters are under the jurisdiction of national governments, which will deal with these problems according to their own points of view. Trafficking in human beings has increased tremendously in the past years, and involved the violation of the rights to life and liberty, freedom from torture and ill treatment, etc. Many countries fail to provide the victims of trafficking with the fullest respect and protection possible. Trafficking and the increasing violence against women in Europe are two additional issues that have been placed under the provenance of national governments. A problem within the EU is the member states' "implementation of adequate procedural standards for suspects and defendants in criminal proceedings such as access to a lawyer after arrest, access to interpretation or to legal aid. Such deficiencies are time and again established in reports of the Committee to Prevent Torture and in judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. ECHR 9 But recommendations are either ignored due to their non-binding character or complaints solved on a case-by-case basis (via the ECHR) rather than by a systematic review of national legislation." (AI USA, 2007). The European Union needs to set up a comprehensive human rights system including an agency that will have the portfolio and independence necessary to critique EU's own human rights performance and recommend steps for its improvement. The Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) can do the job, if the EU decides to turn its back on its "minimalist" view of human rights and go for an all-out, no holds barred implementation of the fundamental rights that it has successfully managed to define. The European Court on Human Rights (ECHR) cannot function fully without that kind of full and unwavering commitment to human rights from the European Union, a commitment that affects not only the actions of EU member states and EU, but also their relationship and dealings with other countries. Can the ECHR defend and promote human rights in Europe Yes, but only if this condition is met -- that the European Union and its member states make that hard and crucial political decision to give priority to human rights and place it above and beyond questions of "political expediency and ECHR 10 pragmatism." The ECHR has already made breakthroughs in such matters as the right to individual petition, but to achieve lasting progress, the ECHR must be supported by a human rights-oriented EU and human rights-oriented states. ECHR 11 REFERENCES 1. AI. (2004, 12 Jan.). Assessment of EU human rights policy: Recommendations to the Irish EU Presidency. Accessed 2 March from: http://www.google.com.ph/searchhl=en&q=Recommendations+to+the+Irish+EU+Presidency&btnG=Google+Search&meta= 2. AI et al. (2004, 25 Feb.) Letter to Jack Straw on Proposed Reforms to ECHR. Accessed 2 March from: http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/research-units/hrsj/ehrac/activities-general/letter-to-jack-straw-on-the-proposed-reform-of-the-echr.cfm 3. AI USA. (2007) Towards a comprehensive European human rights system. Accessed 2 March from: http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.doid=ENGIOR610082007 4. DW, Deutsche-Welle. New EU Fundamental Rights Agency Already Dodging Critics. Accessed 2 March 2007 from: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2324739,00.html 5. Europa. Activities of the European Union, Human Rights. Accessed 2 March, 2007 from http://europa.eu/pol/rights/index_en.htm 6. European Parliament. Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Accessed 2 March from: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/charter/default_en.htm 7. Hicks, P. (2007). Principled Leadership: A Human Rights Agenda for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 2007 Human Rights Report, Human Rights Watch. Accessed 2 March 2007 from: www.hrw.org/wr2k7/essays/principled/index.htm 8. Khan, I. (2005). Introduction, 2005 Amnesty International Report. Accessed 2 March 2007 at: http://web.amnesty.org/report2005/message-eng 9. OHCHR Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, International Law. http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/ 10. Roth, K. (2007). 2007. EU Should Fill Leadership Void on Human Rights, 2007 Report. Accessed 2 March from: http://hrw.org/englishwr2k7/docs/2007/01/10/global15039.htm Read More