On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, 25 November 2015, Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe issued the following statement:
“Violence against women and girls remains one of the most serious – and sadly most tolerated – human-rights violations worldwide.
No magic bullet exists to solve this problem, but I call on all 47 of our member states to adopt our award-winning Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.
This international legal treaty remains the first and only one to criminalise all forms of violence against women – physical, sexual and psychological. It obliges states that have fully adopted it to protect victims and prosecute perpetrators.
Increasing reports of ill-treatment of migrants and refugees in Europe, for example attacks on homes for asylum seekers or the excessive use of force by police at borders, are a cause for concern according to Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland. He is also concerned about problematic conditions at migrant camps.
The Council of Europe will examine options to intensify its monitoring of human rights in these areas as a basis for further decisions and action.
The Secretary General recalls that the fundamental rights of individuals arriving in Council of Europe member states are protected by the European Convention on Human Rights.
Извор: Совет на Европа – 25.11.2015
Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland and Strasbourg Deputy Mayor, Nawel Rafik-Elmrini, hosted a ceremony today to illuminate the Council of Europe’s Palais de l’Europe building in orange, in support of efforts to stop violence against women. As a bright and optimistic colour, orange was selected by the UN to symbolize a future free from violence against women and girls. Each year on 25 November – the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women – everyone is invited to “orange the world.”
This ceremony also called on all 47 Council of Europe member states to sign and ratify the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention)
Извор: Совет на Европа – 25.11.2015
Today the first ever European Day on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse is marked. The decision to establish the day was taken in May this year by all 47 member States of the Council of Europe.
One in five children under the age of 18 in Europe is a victim of sexual violence. In 70 - 85% of cases, the perpetrator is a person known to the child and part of their “circle of trust”. Much of the suffering remains hidden because children feel afraid to speak out: in 90% of cases, abuse is not reported to the police.
Daniel Mitov, Bulgarian Foreign Minister and Chair of the Committee of Ministers said: “Sexual violence is the worst form of violence against children. Not only because of the immediate suffering it causes, but also for the irreparable, lifelong damage to the victim’s physical and mental health. Today, we mark a Day when we – together – shout a resounding ‘NO’ to these brutal and inhuman acts against children.”
Everyone in Europe - children, women and men - should be protected from forced labour and trafficking in human beings, two serious human rights violations. The latest International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimatesindicate some 20.9 million people around the world still being subjected to forced labour, and 880,000 in the European Union. Among these victims, 90% are exploited in the private economy, by individuals or private companies. Within this group, 22% are victims of forced sexual exploitation and 68% of forced labour exploitation in economic activities, such as agriculture, construction, domestic work or manufacturing.
An overview of the country reports of the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) clearly shows that Europe is not immune to human trafficking and that certain groups, including women, children and minorities, are particularly vulnerable to this phenomenon. As illustrated by a study, the practice of human trafficking has a disproportionate impact on Roma, a group already suffering widespread discrimination and marginalisation.
The figures mentioned above, which are generally considered to be underestimates, are even more striking when we recall that slavery, servitude and human trafficking are clearly prohibited by international and European legal standards. Of particular relevance are Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) on the prohibition of slavery and forced labour, and the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (anti-trafficking Convention), which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. The latter has now been ratified by 42 out of 47 member states of the Council of Europe –all but the Czech Republic, Liechtenstein, Monaco, the Russian Federation and Turkey - and by one non-member state, Belarus.
