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News archive - April 2009 - Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights

November 2009

Commissioner Hammarberg encourages Bulgaria to make more efforts to protect the rights of minorities and children
[06/11/09 12:30] Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg concluded a three-day visit to Sofia during which he assessed progress on the protection of the rights of minorities and disadvantaged children. The Commissioner met with the Minister of Interior, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister of Labour and Social Policy, and Acting Minister of Education, Youth and Science, as well as with members of Parliament. He also held discussions with the Ombudsman, the Commission for the Protection against Discrimination, religious leaders and a large number of civil society representatives. The Commissioner encouraged the authorities to ensure equal opportunities for minorities. Of particular concern is the situation of the Roma community. He visited a Roma settlement in the Republika district of Sofia where he assessed the living conditions as inhumane. (more)

Picture of the only water tap available in the visited Roma settlement
“Intelligence secrecy is no excuse for covering up human rights violations” says Commissioner
[02/11/09 11:00] Intelligence agencies have acquired new powers and resources - but they are not kept under sufficient political and judicial control. Governments should improve the oversight of these services” writes Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg in his new Viewpoint article. In particular, he points out the need to control co-operation between agencies in different countries. “Investigations into human rights violations have been prevented with the argument that such exposure would disturb the inter-agency collaboration” he says.

Read the Viewpoint