frsrdg · GX04OSSE1 · 2010-03-22 00:00:00 — Noting the importance the and the Office of the Co-ordinator of Economic and Environmental Activities place on the role of small and medium-sized enterprises in promoting economic prosperity and sustaining economic opportunities as evident in its activities and those of field operations in enhancing the development of small and medium-sized enterprises and generating opportunities for vulnerable population groups, Concerned at the persistence of trade barriers among participating States, which limit opportunities for greater economic growth and human development, harming in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, Reiterating in particular the commitments made by the participating States at the G20 Summit of 2009 regarding protectionism and the promotion of global trade and investment, Concerned that raising new barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services or implementing measures inconsistent with () rules will hinder the global economic recovery efforts, Reaffirming that a comprehensive approach to security and the promotion of trade liberalisation are central to strengthening the potential of, and overcoming the economic challenges facing, inhabitants of remote communities who depend on sealing for economic gain, Recalling the 1999 Charter for , which confirms the as an inclusive and comprehensive organisation for consultation, decision-making and co-operation in its region, Stressing the wide range of values shared by the United Nations and the including human rights and minority rights, tolerance and non-discrimination, and the rule of law, Recalling the United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which affirms the right to an adequate standard of living, Welcoming national-level commitments and standards that respect the traditional lifestyles of aboriginal peoples, Also welcoming national-level commitments and standards that respect animal welfare, Hailing the work of the international community in supporting the development of animal welfare standards in sealing, Taking note of the principles espoused by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to facilitate the conservation of the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that the use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable, making the best decisions based on good science and involving all types of people and organisations, Noting that both , sponsored by the , and Food Safety Authority, the organisation commissioned by Commission to study animal welfare aspects of sealing, have concluded that sealing can be undertaken both safely and humanely, Concerned that unilateral attempts to regulate this issue undermine international cooperation, and present additional challenges for the people of remote communities in sealing nations in their daily lives, who are vulnerable owing to limited options for economic prosperity, Welcoming the commitment of sealing nations to work together to develop international standards for animal welfare in sealing, Paying tribute to Inuit people in the defence of their traditions and the efforts made to build their communities and economic sustainability in challenging commercial conditions, Noting that the on Indigenous Issues recognises the harm that the recent decision of Parliament regarding the seal product import ban may cause Inuit in the Arctic and calls upon Union to rescind this import ban and, failing that, to enter into direct and meaningful dialogue with the Inuit, The Parliamentary Assembly: Calls on the governments of participating States to meet their full commitment with respect to international declarations and obligations, regarding trade liberalisation, promotion of economic development and the respect for rights of minorities, including those of the United Nations, the , the and the G-20 Summit; Vigorously supports the fight against protectionism and barriers to trade and encourages continued cooperation among participating States; Welcomes and supports dialogue for identifying and pursuing elements of possible agreement, mutual interest and concession whenever divisions occur, in order to strengthen the principle of consultation and mutual respect as among nations; Calls on Union and the Governments of the individual Member States to co-operate with the governments of sealing nations and recognise the humane standards employed in sealing already established through rigorous scientific advice and government regulation; Calls on the Member States of Union to enter into direct and meaningful dialogue with the Inuit to discuss issues pertaining to sealing and the difficulties posed by restrictions on trade in seal products; Encourages participating States to pursue additional efforts to support the development of international standards for sealing; Encourages the national parliaments of participating States to impress upon their governments the need to co-operate internationally to educate people in humane standards for sealing; Offers its unconditional support to the North in its efforts to research and define best practices in the hunting of seals; Recommends that the OSCEs Economic and study, in the it deems appropriate, including parliamentary exchanges, the terms and conditions for an intensification of co-operation between interested parties in support of the sealing industry around the world. PROTECTING UNACCOMPANIED MINORS AND COMBATING THE PHENOMENON OF CHILD BEGGING Emphasising that one of the pillars of the Final Act of the Charter is the protection of human rights, an issue that has always been at the heart of the Parliamentary Assemblys work, Recognising that such rights need to be guaranteed first and foremost for the most vulnerable members of society, who are more easily subjected to violence and deprivation, Considering that children, who are unable to defend themselves, are amongst the most vulnerable subjects, Recalling that 2009 marks the twentieth anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the fifteenth anniversary of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, and that such occasions provide an opportunity for participating States to renew their commitment to protecting childrens rights, Welcoming United Nations General resolution 63/241 on the rights of the child, Noting that in many European countries illegal migration is almost always managed by organised crime, Acknowledging that such migration affects all age brackets and involves men, women and children, Recognising that it is often difficult to identify illegal migrants, given that they seldom have a passport, Condemning the practice as a whole, particularly as it almost always stems from situations of suffering and leads to exploitation, Noting that illegal migration is all the more unacceptable when it involves children who especially if unidentified become shadow children who are not registered and thus evade all checks which would safeguard their social and educational development, Considering that in many European countries no population register exists, and that this constitutes yet another potential source of abuse and exploitation, Considering that the phenomenon of the number of foreign unaccompanied minors is constantly growing; that they are a particularly vulnerable group; and that specific attention should be focused on the risks they run of being exploited or even of going missing, Recognising that there are daily news reports of children, including the very young, being exploited as part of begging rackets, and aware that this is a lucrative activity operated by national and international criminal organisations, Noting that there are many international instruments in place, primarily the United Nations Convention of 1989 that requires governments to implement the necessary initiatives to register a child immediately after birth, after which the child has the right to a name (art. 7); to allow for the physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development of the child, who must have the appropriate standards of living for development (art. 27); and to protect the child from all forms of economic and sexual exploitation (art. 32 and 34), The Parliamentary Assembly: Considers the protection of minors to be an priority; Reiterates the commitment to safeguard the human rights of the child as enshrined in the Convention of 1989; Urges participating States to ratify as soon as possible the United Nations Conventions and optional Protocols and on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings signed in on 16 2005; Recognises the importance of holding regular hearings with NGOs and international organisations involved in the protection of human rights, including Save the Children, the (), the Red Cross, the (), and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in order to be constantly kept up to date with events in and international sphere; Believes that an representative with status should be present at all international fora dealing with protecting the rights of children and adolescents, a topic which underpins the protection of human rights; Believes it is necessary for governments to examine the possibility of creating a European guarantor for the rights of the child, which exists in some but not all European countries, given that the exploitation of children has now transcended national boundaries; Calls on participating States to introduce the legislation necessary to ensure the protection of unaccompanied minors and to combat the phenomenon of child begging. DIVIDED EUROPE REUNITED: PROMOTING HUMAN RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES IN THE REGION IN THE 21st CENTURY Recalling the United Nations , the Final Act and Charter of Fundamental Rights, Taking into account the developments that have taken place in the area in the 20years since the fall of the Wall and the , Noting that in the twentieth century European countries experienced two major totalitarian regimes, Nazi and Stalinist, which brought about genocide, violations of human rights and freedoms, war crimes and crimes against humanity, Acknowledging the uniqueness of the Holocaust, reminding participating States of its impact and the continued acts of anti-Semitism occurring throughout the 56-nation region, and strongly encouraging the vigorous implementation of the resolutions on anti-Semitism adopted unanimously by the Parliamentary Assembly since the 2002Annual Session in , Reminding the participating States of their commitment to clearly and unequivocally condemn totalitarianism (1990 Document), Recalling that awareness of history helps to prevent the recurrence of similar crimes in the future, and that an honest and thorough debate on history will facilitate reconciliation based on truth and remembrance, Aware that the transition from communist dictatorships to democracy cannot take place in one day, and that it also has to take into account the historical and cultural backgrounds of the countries concerned, Emphasising, however, that it is the obligation of governments and all sectors of society to strive tirelessly towards achieving a truly democratic system that fully respects human rights, without making differences in political culture and tradition a pretext for the non-implementation of commitments, Deploring that in many countries, including some with long-standing democratic traditions, civil liberties are in renewed danger, often because of measures taken to counter so-called new threats, Recalling the initiative of Parliament to proclaim 23 , when the RibbentropMolotov Pact was signed 70 years ago, as a Europe-wide of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism, in order to preserve the memory of the victims of mass deportations and exterminations, The Parliamentary Assembly: Reconfirms its united stand against all totalitarian rule from whatever ideological background; Calls on participating States to honour and implement all commitments undertaken in good faith; Urges the participating States: to continue research into and raise public awareness of the totalitarian legacy; to develop and improve educational tools, programmes and activities, most notably for younger generations, on totalitarian history, human dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms, pluralism, democracy and tolerance; to promote and support activities of NGOs which are engaged in areas of research and raising public awareness about crimes committed by totalitarian regimes; Requests governments and parliaments of participating States to ensure that any governmental structures and patterns of behaviour that resist full democratisation or perpetuate, or embellish, or seek a return to, or extend into the future, totalitarian rule are fully dismantled; Further requests governments and parliaments of participating States to fully dismantle all structures and patterns of behaviour that have their roots in abusing human rights; Reiterates its call upon all participating States to open their historical and political archives; Expresses deep concern at the glorification of the totalitarian regimes, including the holding of public demonstrations glorifying the Nazi or Stalinist past, as well as the possible spread and strengthening of various extremist movements and groups, including neo-Nazis and skinheads; Calls upon participating States to pursue policies against xenophobia and aggressive nationalism and take more effective measures to combat these phenomena; Asks for a greater respect in all participating States for human rights and civil liberties, even in difficult times of terrorist threats, economic crisis, ecological disasters and mass migration. A MORATORIUM ON THE DEATH PENALTY AND TOWARDS ITS ABOLITION Recalling the Resolution on Abolition of the Death Penalty adopted in at the Tenth Annual Session in 2001, Recalling the Resolution on The Prisoners Detained by the at the Base adopted in at the Twelfth Annual Session in 2003, which underlining the importance of the defence of democratic rights, not least confronted with terrorism and other undemocratic methods, urged the of to refrain from the use of the death penalty, Recalling the Resolution on Strengthening Effective Parliamentary Oversight of Security and , adopted in at the Fifteenth Annual Session in 2006, which expressed alarm at certain practices which violate most fundamental human rights and freedoms and are contrary to international human rights treaties, which form the cornerstone of post-World War II human rights protection including extradition to countries likely to apply the death penalty or use torture or ill-treatment, and detention and harassment on the grounds of political or religious activity, Recalling the Resolution on the implementation of commitments adopted in Kyiv at the Sixteenth Annual Session in 2007, which reaffirms the value of human life and calls for the abolition in the participating States of the death penalty, replacing it with more just and humane means of delivering , Noting that, on , the United Nations General adopted the historic resolution 62/149 calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty, which was adopted by an overwhelming majority, with 104 United Nations member States in favour, 54 countries against and 29 countries abstaining, Noting that resolution 63/168 on the implementation of the 2007 General resolution 62/149 was adopted by the United Nations General on 18December 2008, with 106 votes in favour, 46 against and 34 abstentions, Recalling the inclusion of the issue of capital punishment in the catalogue of human dimension commitments by the 1989 Concluding Document and the 1990 Document, Recalling paragraph 100 of the Declaration of the Parliamentary Assembly of 1999 and paragraph 119 of the Declaration of the Parliamentary Assembly of 2000, Noting that the death penalty is an inhuman and degrading punishment, an act of torture unacceptable to States respecting human rights, Noting that the death penalty is a discriminatory and arbitrary punishment and that its application has no effect on trends in violent crime, Noting that, in view of the fallibility of human , recourse to the death penalty inevitably a risk that innocent people may be killed, Recalling the provisions of Protocol No. 6 of Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which prohibits from applying the death penalty, Recalling the provisions of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1989, and the World Conference on Capital Punishment held in in 2001 as well as the Additional Protocol No. 6 to Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, Noting that the 1998 Statute excludes the death penalty, even though the International Criminal Court, along with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former , the International Criminal Tribunal for , the Special Court for , the Special Panels for Serious Crimes in Dili, Timor-Leste, and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of , have jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes, Noting that in October 2008 Union and , in a joint declaration, established a European against the Death Penalty, Recalling that at the Human Dimension Implementation Meetings in , in 2006, 2007 and 2008, several civil society organisations, including Hands Off , , , the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and , expressed their support for the Resolutions on a global moratorium on the death penalty presented to the United Nations General , Noting that 138 States in the world have abolished the death penalty de jure or defacto; of which 92 States abolished it for any offence, 10 keep it only for exceptional crimes such as those committed in wartime, and 36 have not carried out executions for at least 10 years or are committed to implementing a moratorium, Welcoming constitutional amendment regarding the complete abolition of the death penalty, signed on , Welcoming the abolition of the death penalty in , as established by the new article 14 of the Constitution, approved on 15 January 2007, Welcoming the abolition of the death penalty in , with effect since 1January 2008, Noting that in some participating States the death penalty is retained in law, but that there is a moratorium on executions in , , while executions may be carried out during wartime in , Noting that an amendment of 21 2007 to the Constitution of the Republic of abolished the death penalty in all cases save for acts of terrorism entailing loss of life and for especially grave crimes committed in wartime, Noting that within the only two of the 56 participating States nevertheless continue to apply the death penalty, Deeply concerned about the fact that people are still being sentenced to death and executions carried out in and in the of , Noting that, according to the report published by in 2009, Ending executions in Europe Towards abolition of the death penalty in , in there is credible evidence that torture and ill-treatment are used to extract confessions; condemned prisoners may not have access to effective appeal mechanisms; and the inherently cruel, inhuman and degrading nature of the death penalty is compounded for death row prisoners and their relatives by the secrecy surrounding the death penalty. Neither prisoners nor their families are told the execution date in advance and prisoners must live with the fear that every time their cell door opens they may be taken for execution, Noting that both the Parliamentary Assembly of and Union have repeatedly urged to abolish the death penalty, Noting that details about the death penalty in are secret and that, according to the Criminal Executive Code, the death penalty is carried out in private by means of shooting, the administration of the detention facility informs the judge about the executions and the judge informs the relatives; the body of an executed person is not given for burial to his or her relatives and the place of burial is not communicated, Noting that in capital punishment, under the Constitution, is an exceptional and provisional measure to be taken only in extreme cases, and that has taken substantial steps to limit the handing down of death sentences by halving the number of articles in the Criminal Code that provide for imposition of the death penalty, Noting that, on 11 2004, the Constitutional Court stated that the abolition of the death penalty, or as a first step, the introduction of a moratorium, could be enacted by the head of state and by parliament, Noting that has failed to publish comprehensive statistics about the number of death sentences passed and executions carried out, in contravention of its commitment as a participating State of the to make available to the public information regarding the use of the death penalty as stated in the Document approved at the Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE, on 29June 1990, Noting that, of the 50 states which make up the of , 38 have the death penalty, while four of them have not held executions since 1976, and federal law provides for 42 offences which may be punished by death, Noting that in the of the number of executions and death sentences has significantly dropped in recent years and many states are considering adopting a moratorium or its abolition, which reflects decreasing public support for the death penalty, Welcoming the fact that some states, including , , and have moved against the death penalty through measures including a moratorium on executions or its abolition, Noting that the Supreme Court has recently issued landmark judgements that have put more safeguards in place and take into account evolving standards of , Welcoming the decision by the Governor of in 2009 to ban capital punishment in his state, as inconsistent with basic American principles of , and equality, Noting that, on 19 2009, a Senator introduced a Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act to abolish the death penalty at the federal level, The Parliamentary Assembly: Condemns all executions wherever they take place; Calls upon participating States applying the death penalty to declare an immediate moratorium on executions; Encourages the participating States that have not abolished the death penalty to respect safeguards protecting the rights of those facing the death penalty as laid down in the United Nations Economic and Safeguards; Calls on to take immediate steps towards abolition of the death penalty by promptly establishing a moratorium on all death sentences and executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty as provided by the United Nations General resolution62/149, adopted on , and resolution 63/168, adopted on ; Calls upon the Government of the of to adopt a moratorium on executions leading to the complete abolition of the death penalty in federal legislation and to withdraw its reservation to Article 6(5) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; Calls upon the Republic of , with a view to the complete abolition of the death penalty, to amend its Criminal Code in accordance with its constitutional amendment of 21 2007; Calls upon to amend its Criminal Code in order to abolish the death penalty for murder with aggravating circumstances if committed during wartime; Calls upon the retentionist participating States to encourage ODIHR and Missions, in co-operation with , to conduct awareness-raising activities against recourse to the death penalty, particularly with the media, law enforcement officials, policy-makers and the general public; Further encourages the activities of NGOs working for the abolition of the death penalty. Recognising that the notes that the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being,