Vienna, 02/02/12 – "The Council of Europe, the OSCE and other international actors need to further co-operate to counter negative developments in relation to human rights issues" said today Commissioner Hammarberg addressing the Permanent Council of the OSCE.
Commissioner Hammarberg said that the priorities of the Council of Europe and the OSCE, especially in the human dimension, are similar, despite the differences in the two organizations' mandates. He mentioned the importance of taking good account of human rights aspects of addressing protracted conflicts in Europe and said that the Council of Europe stands ready to co-operate with the OSCE on this.
In his speech the Commissioner expressed concerns about the impact of the current economic crisis on human rights in Europe. "Austerity budgets are undermining social rights and putting at greater risk vulnerable groups of people. Intolerance and xenophobia find fertile ground in this situation. A more serious discussion is needed for a preventive strategy which should include the role of the media and the education system".
Hammarberg also stressed that more attention needs to be paid to addressing human rights violations in the struggle against terrorism. He also emphasised the need to promote the right to peaceful assembly, as well as ensuring respect for national minorities.
Finally, he stressed that "freedom and diversity of media are crucial for the development of a well-functioning democracy" and observed that while the trend in participating States towards the de-criminalisation of libel is "encouraging", other problems in this field, such as lack of media pluralism, still persist.