The ‘Turin process’ was launched by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe at the High-Level Conference on the European Social Charter. This Conference was organised in Turin on 17-18 October 2014 by the Council of Europe in co-operation with Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the Turin municipality. The launch of the ‘Turin process’ took place a few weeks after the Secretary General placed  the reinforcement of the European Social Charter system as one of the seven priorities of his mandate for the period 2014-2019.

The ‘Turin process’ aims at reinforcing the normative system of the Charter within the Council of Europe and in its relationship with the law of the European Union. Its key objective is to improve the implementation of social and economic rights at the continental level, in parallel to the civil and political rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.

The main references of the ‘Turin process’ are:

  1. the General Report of the Turin Conference, established by Mr Michele Nicoletti, Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,
  2. the ‘Brussels’ Document’, elaborated by a group of academic experts chaired by Prof. Jean-François Akandji-Kombé, General Coordinator of the Academic network of the European Social Charter and Social Rights, following the high-level Conference on the future of the protection of social Rights in Europe, held in Brussels on 12-13 February 2015 under the aegis of the Belgian Chairmanship of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers.

Within the Council of Europe, the Committee of Ministers is currently considering the proposals contained in these documents; in addition, a motion for a Parliamentary Assembly report on the ‘Turin process’ has been recently tabled by Mr Nicoletti.

This website contains detailed information on the General report of the Turin Conference, the ‘Brussels Document’, and resources and information related to the abovementioned high-level Conferences, as well as on the activities carried out in preparation or as a part of the ‘Turin process’.

NEWS

Back The Turin process in the Secretary General's Report on the State of Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Europe

The Turin process in the Secretary General's Report on the State of Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Europe

Europe’s democratic shortcomings are bigger, deeper and geographically more widespread than previously understood according to the latest overview of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in the 47 Council of Europe member states.

The report, by Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland, identifies the lack of judicial independence in many countries and threats to media freedom across the continent as the two biggest challenges to democratic security.

“Honest and decent courts are essential for supporting democracy and maintaining stability, yet over a third of our member countries are failing to ensure that their legal systems are sufficiently independent and impartial,” said the Secretary General.

“Media freedom, on the other hand, is under pressure across the whole continent. Journalists face physical threats in many places, anti-terror laws are being used to limit free speech and certain media arrangements unfairly favour those who are in power.”

The Secretary General’s overview – which is based on findings from the Council of Europe’s thematic monitoring bodies – identifies shortcomings in the conduct of elections, inadequate anti-discrimination rules and pressure on NGOs in many countries as further areas of concern.

As well as statistical analysis, the report includes detailed criteria for assessing different aspects of democratic security and specific plans for follow-up work – including a pan-European action plan for training legal professionals and a new three-year programme on the safety of journalists.

Strasbourg 29 April 2015
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