By describing the daily activities of the Council of Europe to help protect the fundamental rights of the citizens throughout Europe, Ms. Barbara Oomen, Professor in Human Rights at Utrecht University and President of the HZ University of Applied Sciences, has in a very effective way demonstrated how significant and important the impact of the Council of Europe is in upholding the rights that many take for granted on our continent.
Professor Oomen was invited to speak at the special event marking 75 years of the Congress of The Hague, organised by the Netherlands delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and the Clingendael Institute in The Hague. She explained that:
“While we have been focusing on events that have shocked us all, like the Russian aggression last year… I would like to emphasize the importance of the everyday impact of the Council of Europe. Because of the Council of Europe, the rights of each and every person from the 46 member states have been strengthened over the past decades: be it journalists, children in divorce cases, or those relying on the right to a fair trial. Both looking back, and into the future, strengthening and upholding human rights amongst all these people is crucial”, Professor Oomen underlined.
She also highlighted a series of videos that was published a few years back, where ordinary Dutch citizens explained how their rights were strengthened because of the work of the Court and the Council of Europe.
“On an ordinary day, a normal family with children going to a religious school, is protected by the right to education in the European Convention on Human Rights. A man concerned about his privacy with cameras in the everyday atmosphere is protected by Article 8 in the European Convention, the right to a private life). A person with psychiatric problems put in confinement care in the Netherlands had that decision made on the basis of an independent assessment because of a ruling at the European Court of Human Rights,”she explained.
In speaking about the importance of strengthening fundamental rights in everyday life, Prof. Oomen also highlighted the network of human rights cities in Europe (for instance in Turkey, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain), and the impact that this unique initiative has in helping safeguard and promote the rights of citizens in Europe.
