Strasbourg, 2 April 2009

DH-DEV(2009)002final

STEERING COMMITTEE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS(CDDH)COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS FOR
THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS(DH-DEV)______

Meeting Report______

38th meeting
Wednesday 11 March – Friday 13 March 2009
Room 8, Palais de l’Europe
Strasbourg_____
Summary- As part of the follow-up to the Conference “Human rights in culturally diverse societies: challenges
and perspectives”, the DH-DEV prepared revised draft elements for a Committee of Ministers’
declaration on the subject, and exchanged views on the advisability of a possible declaration.
- Some specific guidance was given to the DH-DEV-FA concerning the redrafting of therecommendation on human rights of members of the armed forces.
- The DH-DEV held an exchange of views with Mr Hans YTTERBERG, Chairperson of theCommittee of Experts on Discrimination on Grounds of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (DHLGBT).
- The DH-DEV held a preliminary exchange of views on impunity in preparation for the first meetingof the Committee of Experts on Impunity (DH-I) (9-11 September 2009).

DH-DEV(2009)002final
Item 1:- Opening of the meeting and adoption of the agenda- Election of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the Committee

1.
The Committee of Experts for the Development of Human Rights (DH-DEV) held its
38th meeting in Strasbourg on 11-13 March 2009. The meeting was opened by
Mr Jan KLEIJSSEN, Director of Standard-Setting, Directorate General of Human Rights andLegal Affairs.
2.
Further to the decision of the Bureau of the Steering Committee for Human Rights(CDDH), Mr Philippe WERY (Belgium) chaired the meeting as acting Chairperson. His
position would need to be confirmed by the CDDH at its 68th meeting (24-27 March 2009).
The DH-DEV proceeded to the election of its Vice-Chairperson. Ms Jana VNUKOVÁ
(Slovak Republic) was elected by acclamation.
3.
The list of participants can be found in Appendix I. The agenda as adopted and thereferences to the working documents appear in Appendix II.
Item 2:

Discussion on the follow-up to the Conference “Human rights in culturally
diverse societies: challenges and perspectives” (The Hague, 12-13
November 2008)

4.
The acting Chair first recalled the work that had already been carried out by the
DH-DEV Group on Human Rights in Multicultural Societies (GT-DEV-SM). He alsomentioned that the CDDH, at its 67th meeting (Strasbourg, 25-28 November 2008), had asked
the DH-DEV to further explore the possibility of a declaration of the Committee of Ministers
on the subject and other follow-up action. He proposed to start with (a) a discussion of thecontent of a possible declaration on the basis of the draft text prepared within the frameworkof the GT-DEV-SM and taking into account the results of the Conference, followed by (b) an
exchange of views on the advisability of such an instrument.
(a) Content of a possible declaration
5.
The Committee shared the general point of view that, due to the political nature ofsuch a declaration, the text should be short and more general and not attempt to list rights.
6.
The Committee examined, paragraph by paragraph, the draft text prepared by the GTDEV-SM and made a number of changes. The revised draft text appears in Appendix 3.
(b) Advisability of a possible declaration
7.
During a “tour-de-table” on the advisability of a possible declaration of the Committeeof Ministers, an important majority of delegations expressed their support for the possibilityof such a declaration and for its revised text. Only a few delegations expressed doubts as tothe added value of a declaration. A number of delegations, while supporting the revised text,
expressed the wish that its content take more into account the role of civil society and theconclusions of the Hague Conference. The acting Chair concluded with the positive feelingthat the Committee had accomplished its work, and that the draft was ready to be transmitted
to the CDDH.

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8.
With regard to the dissemination of the manuals on ‘hate speech’ and ‘the wearing of
religious symbols in public areas’, launched at the Conference, the Secretariat explained that
the Council of Europe would publish a bilingual edition, English and French, to be presented
at the Warsaw International Book Fair in May 2009. On this occasion a Polish translation
would also be available to increase the visibility of these texts.
Item 3:

Draft recommendation on the human rights of members of the armed
forces9.
Members were invited to give their opinion on certain issues relating to the format andscope of the draft recommendation that had been identified at the last meeting of the Steering
Committee on Human Rights (CDDH) as posing particular problems (see CDDH(2008)014).
They were also requested to provide guidance to the DH-DEV-FA for their work at their next
meeting (13-15 May 2009) on redrafting the recommendation, notably with a view toshortening it.
10.
One member of the Committee regretted that, due to the fact that their State is not
represented in the DH-DEV-FA, they had not had sufficient time to seek direction from theircompetent authorities on the matter.
11.
As regards the scope of the recommendation, that is, whether it should apply inpeacetime only, or also during conflict, several members thought that it should cover both.
However, others were opposed to the application of the recommendation during wartime,
providing examples of possible incompatibility of certain provisions of the draft
recommendation and of the European Convention on Human Rights with conflict situations,and suggested that the Working Group reconsider adding the word “normal” before “workand service life” in paragraph 1 of the appendix to the recommendation. Furthermore somemembers suggested that the concept of “normal work” should be described in the explanatory
memorandum as that carried out within the jurisdiction of the state, with a reference to
Article 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), in the light of the relevant
case-law of the European Court of Human Rights.
12.
Members considered it was too early to seriously consider follow-up to therecommendation at this stage. The final content of the text would lead to a clearer picture
regarding this.
13.
It was thought that the text of the draft recommendation as a whole should be
examined in more depth, given the strong division of opinions. During the discussion, thefollowing specific issues were notably raised by several members of the Committee as
requiring further consideration:••••

the territorial application of the recommendation
whether or not to include references to Protocol No. 12 and the Revised European
Social Charter (or social rights at all)the limitations that may be placed on the rights of members of the armed forces(notably Article 15 ECHR)
the paragraphs concerning conscientious objection3

DH-DEV(2009)002final
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
14.

the rewording (or deletion) of the principles concerning trade unions
disciplinary and criminal proceedings
references to “ordinary courts” in relation to Article 5 rights (consideration should begiven to military justice systems)
the rights of persons under the age of 18
the fact that some states have large armed forces involved in operations across theworld
whether or not to include references to international instruments
the fact that military operations have been the subject of decisions of international
institutions
other issues mentioned in the written comments submitted by several delegations to
the CDDH for its meeting in November 2008
the possibility of drafting a manual on human rights of members of the armed forces
The following guidance to the DH-DEV-FA was suggested by the Committee:

•
•
•
•
•
•

the text of the recommendation should be shortened
the rights contained in the recommendation should be restricted to those specifically
relevant to members of the armed forces
the circumstances of each particular situation should be taken into account, using theapproach adopted by the Court concerning the enjoyment of certain human rights
the special characteristics of military life should be emphasised
the fact that the armed forces of several Council of Europe member states are made up
of a majority of conscripts should be taken into accountthe spirit of compromise within the Group should be maintained

15.
The Committee also considered the written comments that had been submitted by
Russia, Turkey, the United Kingdom and EUROMIL on the draft recommendation. It wassuggested that members of the DH-DEV could submit written observations, in particular onthese comments, to the Secretariat (claire.askin@coe.int) in time for the next meeting of the
DH-DEV-FA and at the latest by 30 April 2009. It was also proposed that any issues on which
the DH-DEV-FA could not find a compromise at its meeting in May could be the subject ofspecific questions put to the DH-DEV for reply at the latter’s next meeting.
16.
States that were not represented in the DH-DEV-FA were reminded that they could
participate in the Group’s meetings at their own cost.
Item 4:Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity

17.
An exchange of views took place with Mr Hans YTTERBERG (Sweden) Chairpersonof the Committee of Experts on Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender
identity (DH-LGBT). The DH-LGBT has been tasked to draft a recommendation to be
adopted by the Committee of Ministers on measures to combat discrimination based on sexual
orientation or gender identity. This recommendation will aim at ensuring respect for thehuman rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons and promoting tolerance
towards them, and will be firmly based on human rights standards while having a clear
practical objective.

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18.
Mr Ytterberg presented the results of the first meeting of the DH-LGBT (18-20
February 2009) (see DH-LGBT(2009)005 Meeting Report, containing a list of issues andpractical measures for possible inclusion in the draft recommendation). He explained that on
the basis of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court ofJustice, and relevant reports of, notably, the Council of Europe Office of the Commissioner
for Human Rights, the Fundamental Rights Agency of the EU and various Council of Europe
Committees, the DH-LGBT concentrated on the identification of relevant problematic issues
drawn from realities in Member States, which could be addressed by the recommendation,such as hate crimes, respect for private life and rights of children and young people.
19.
Several members expressed their strong support for the list of areas which the DHLGBT had drawn up during its first meeting and the Committee was encouraged to continue
its work.
20.
Regarding the scope and format of the draft recommendation, Mr Ytterberg underlinedthat although the Committee showed a strong preference for a recommendation in one single
document, without an appendix, no firm decision has been taken yet since it is important for
the Committee at this stage to take into account every possible option and to primarily focus
on the content of the draft recommendation aiming at practical use.
Item 5:

Exchange of views on impunity

21.
The Committee held an exchange of views on impunity, in preparation for the firstmeeting (9-11 September 2009) of the Committee of Experts on Impunity (DH-I), tasked withstudying the feasibility of guidelines against impunity for human rights violations.
22.
Members generally acknowledged the complexity of the issue and agreed that a useful
first step would be to clarify the notion of impunity. It was stressed that the DH-I ’s work
should not only focus on the impunity of police or prison officers, but be much broader. It
was also agreed that the guidelines envisaged would reinforce existing obligations rather thancreating new ones, taking into account the relevant case-law of the Court. Several members
thought consideration of the decisions of other regional or international courts andmechanisms would be useful for the DH-I’s work. Others stressed that the work of otherCouncil of Europe bodies should not be duplicated by the Committee.
23.
The question of whether humanitarian law and conflict resolution should be includedin the scope of the guidelines was put to the Committee. The few members who expressed an
opinion thought the guidelines should be restricted to situations within member states.
24.
Members thought it would be helpful if the Secretariat prepared a compendium of thecase-law of the Court concerning the positive obligation of states to carry out an investigation
into cases of violations of human rights and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Item 6:25.

None.

Item 7:
26.

Other business

Date of next meeting

The dates for the next meeting were fixed for 23-25 September 2009.

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Appendix I
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
MEMBER STATES / ETATS MEMBRESALBANIA / ALBANIE
Ms Ledia HYSI, Director of Legal Affairs and Treaties Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
ANDORRA / ANDORRE – apologised / excusé
ARMENIA / ARMENIE
Ms Varduhi MELIKYAN, 3rd secretary of Legal department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
AUSTRIA / AUTRICHE
Ms Susanne PFANNER, Federal Chancellery, Legal Service
AZERBAIJAN / AZERBAIDJAN
Mr Otari GVALADZE, Senior Adviser, Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan,
Department for Co-ordination of Law Enforcement Agencies
BELGIUM / BELGIQUE
M. Philippe WERY, Chair a.i. of the Committee / Président a.i. du Comité, Attaché, SPF Justice,
Service des Droits de l'Homme
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA / BOSNIE ET HERZEGOVINEMr Samir ŠLAKU, Expert advisor, Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees of BiH
BULGARIA / BULGARIE
Mme Emanuela TOMOVA, Second Secrétaire, Direction des Droits de l’Homme et des Organisations
Humanitaires, Ministère des Affaires Etrangères
CROATIA / CROATIE
Ms Romana KUZMANIĆ OLUIĆ, First Secretary, Department for the UN and Human Rights, Ministryof Foreign Affairs and European Integration
CYPRUS / CHYPRE
Ms Eleonora NICOLAIDES, Senior Counsel of the Republic, Office of the Attorney-General, Law
Office of the Republic of Cyprus
CZECH REPUBLIC / REPUBLIQUE TCHEQUE
Mr Martin BOUČEK, Deputy Director, Department of Human Rights, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
DENMARK / DANEMARK
Ms Lene STEEN, Head of Section
ESTONIA / ESTONIEMr Kalle KIRSS, Lawyer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
FINLAND / FINLANDE
Ms Satu KASKINEN, Legal Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Legal Department
FRANCE
Mme Marie MONGIN-HEUZE, Rédacteur, Direction des Affaires juridiques – sous-direction desdroits de l’homme - , Ministère des Affaires Etrangères
GEORGIA / GEORGIE – apologised / excusé

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GERMANY / ALLEMAGNE
Ms Katja BEHR, Senior Legal Assistant, Unit of the Agent for Human Rights, Federal Ministry of Justice
GREECE / GRECE
Mme Sofia KASTRANTA, Rapporteur, Special Legal Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
HUNGARY / HONGRIE
Mr Zoltán TALLÓDI, Co-agent of the Ministry of Justice and Law Enforcement before the ECHRICELAND / ISLANDE – apologised / excusé
IRELAND / IRLANDE – apologised / excusé
ITALY / ITALIE
M. Nicola LETTIERI, Expert juridique, Représentation Permanente de l’Italie auprès du Conseil del’Europe
Stagiaire de la Représentation Permanente de l’Italie auprès du Conseil de l’Europe
LATVIA / LETTONIE – apologised / excusé
LIECHTENSTEIN – apologised / excusé
LITHUANIA / LITUANIE– apologised / excusé
LUXEMBOURG – apologised / excusé
MALTA / MALTE – apologised / excusé
MOLDOVA
Mrs. Mariana BALITCHI, Counselor within Council of Europe and Human Rights Directorate, Ministryof Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova
MONACO – apologised / excusé
MONTENEGRO – apologised / excusé
NETHERLANDS / PAYS-BAS
Ms Liselot EGMOND, International Law Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
NORWAY / NORVEGEMr Michael REIERSEN, Higher Executive Officer, The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the
PolicePOLAND / POLOGNE

Ms Justyna CHRZANOWSKA, Third Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Legal and Treaty
Department, Human Rights Unit
PORTUGALMr José DE SOUSA E BRITO, Judge at the Constitutional Court (emeritus)

ROMANIA / ROUMANIE – apologised / excusé

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RUSSIAN FEDERATION / FEDERATION DE RUSSIEMr Andrey NIKIFOROV, Deputy Head, Humanitarian Cooperation and Human Rights Department,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
SAN MARINO / SAINT-MARIN – apologised / excusé
SERBIA / SERBIE
Ms Gordana MOHOROVIC, Senior Advisor, Head of Division for Implementation of Human Rights
Conventions, Ministry for Human and Minority Rights
SLOVAK REPUBLIC / REPUBLIQUE SLOVAQUE
Mrs Jana VNUKOVÁ, Vice-chair of the Committee / Vice-présidente du Comité, Director ofInternational Relations and Human Rights Department, International Law & European Law Section,
Ministry of Justice
SLOVENIA / SLOVENIE – apologised / excusé
SPAIN / ESPAGNE – apologised / excusé
SWEDEN / SUEDE
Ms Anna ERMAN, Legal Adviser, Department for International Law, Human Rights and Treaty Law,
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
SWITZERLAND / SUISSEMme Dominique STEIGER LEUBA, Collaboratrice scientifique, Section droits de l'homme et Conseil
de l'Europe, Département fédéral de justice et police"The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" / "l'Ex-République yougoslave de Macédoine"
Mrs Sanja ZOGRAFSKA-KRSTESKA, Head of Council of Europe, OSCE and European Multilateral
Affairs Unit
TURKEY / TURQUIE
Mme Deniz AKÇAY, Adjointe au Représentant permanent de la Turquie auprès du Conseil de l’Europe
UKRAINE – apologised / excusé
UNITED KINGDOM / ROYAUME-UNI
Ms Jessica GLADSTONE, Assistant Legal Adviser, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Mr John EVANS, Director General Law, Ministry of Defense***

PARTICIPANTS
Council of Europe Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights / Bureau du Commissaire aux
Droits de l’Homme
Mr Dennis VAN DER VEUR, Advisor to the Commissioner for Human Rights, Council of Europe
Ms Rita PATRICIO, Advisor to the Commissioner for Human Rights, Council of Europe

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Committee of Experts on discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity(DH-LGBT)Mr Hans YTTERBERG, Chair of the Committee / Président du Comité, Director General, Ministry ofIntegration and Gender Equality, former ombudsman for LGBT-matters in Sweden***

OTHER PARTICIPANTS
Holy See / Saint-Siège
Révérend Frère Olivier POQUILLON o.p., Délégué permanent de l’Ordre Dominicain auprès del’Organisation des Nations Unies
Monsieur Gregor PUPPINCK***OBSERVERS
Amnesty International
Mr Johannes HEILER, Assistant Adviser, International Law and Organizations Programme, Amnesty
International***

Directorate General of Human Rights and Legal Affairs – DG-HL /Direction générale des droits de l'Homme et des affaires juridiques – DG-HLCouncil of Europe/Conseil de l'Europe, F-67075 STRASBOURG CEDEX
Mr Jan KLEIJSSEN, Director / Directeur, Directorate of Standard-Setting / Direction des activités
normatives
Mr Jeroen SCHOKKENBROEK, Head of Department / Chef de Service, Human Rights Development
Department / Service du développement des droits de l’Homme
M. Alfonso DE SALAS, Head of Division / Chef de Division, Human Rights Intergovernmental
Cooperation Division / Division de la coopération intergouvernementale en matière de droits del’Homme, Secretary of the CDDH / Secrétaire du CDDH
Mr Daniele CANGEMI, Head of Division / Chef de Division, Human Rights Law and Policy Division /Division du droit et de la politique des droits de l’Homme, Secretary of the DH-DEV / Secrétaire du
DH-DEVMs Merete BJERREGAARD, Administrator / Administrateur, Human Rights Law and Policy
Division / Division du droit et de la politique des droits de l’Homme, Co-secretary of the DH-DEV /Co-secrétaire du DH-DEV
Ms Claire ASKIN, Administrative Assistant / Assistante administrative, Human Rights Law and Policy
Division / Division du droit et de la politique des droits de l’Homme
Mme Stéphanie BUREL, Programme Officer / Officier de programmes, Human Rights Law and
Policy Division / Division du droit et de la politique des droits de l’Homme
Mrs Catherine VARINOT, Assistant / Assistante, Human Rights Law and Policy Division / Division
du droit et de la politique des droits de l’Homme

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Mme Michèle COGNARD, Assistant / Assistante, Human Rights Intergovernmental Cooperation
Division / Division de la coopération intergouvernementale en matière de droits de l’Homme
Interpreters / Interprètes:Mme Sara WEBSTER
Mme Isabelle MARCHINI
M. Nicolas GUITTONNEAU
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Appendix II
AGENDA
Item 1:- Opening of the meeting and adoption of the agenda- Election of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the Committee

Working documents-

Terms of Reference of the CDDH and the bodies answerable to it

CDDH(2009)003-

Draft order of business

DH-DEV(2009)001

Item 2:

Discussion on the follow-up to the Conference “Human rights in culturally
diverse societies: challenges and perspectives”

Working documents-

Report of the 37th meeting of the Committee of Experts for theDevelopment of Human Rights (DH-DEV), which contains:

DH-DEV(2008)002(i) Concluding remarks of the Conference “Human rights inculturally diverse societies” (The Hague, 12-13 November 2008)
prepared by Mr Jan Helgesen;(ii) Revised draft elements for a Committee of Ministers’
declaration.
-

Activity report on human rights in a multicultural society

Item 3:

CDDH(2007)011 AddII

Draft recommendation on the human rights of members of the armed
forcesWorking documents-

Report of the 4th meeting of the DH-DEV Group on human rights ofmembers of armed forces (DH-DEV-FA), containing:
Revised draft recommendation of the Committee of Ministers tomember states on human rights of members of the armed forces
and its appended principles
Comments from: Russian Federation
TurkeyUK
EUROMIL

DH-DEV-FA(2008)005

DH-DEV-FA Misc 004
DH-DEV-FA Misc 005
DH-DEV-FA Misc 003rev
EUROMIL-

Draft explanatory memorandum for a CM recommendation on humanrights of members of the armed forces

DH-DEV-FA(2008)006-

Report of 67th meeting of the Steering Committee of Human Rights(CDDH)CDDH(2008)014

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Item 4:Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity

Working document-

Report of the 1st meeting of the Committee of Experts on
Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity(DH-LGBT)

Item 5:

DH-LGBT(2009)005

Exchange of views on impunity

Working document-

Information elements on Council of Europe action to combat
impunity

Item 6:

Other business

Item 7:

Date of next meetings

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DH-I(2009)001

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Appendix III
Follow-up to the Conference “Human rights in culturally diverse societies:
challenges and perspectives”
Revised draft elements for a Committee of Ministers’ declaration prepared by
the Committee of Experts for the Development of Human Rights (DH-DEV)

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe,[Preamble][1]
Noting the existence of culturally diverse societies in Europe and underlining thatdiversity is a source of enrichment;[2]
Recalling the principle of equal dignity of all human beings from which derives theprinciple of equal enjoyment of human rights by all members of society;[3]
Reaffirming that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent andinterrelated;[4]
Being convinced that the existing international human rights standards provide a solidcommon basis for social cohesion and the peaceful and harmonious development of societies;[5]
Recalling that pluralism and social cohesion are essential elements for our democraticsocieties; they are built on the genuine recognition of and respect for diversity and fairtreatment for everybody;[6]
Recalling that diversity calls for tolerance and non discrimination, and that it cannot be
invoked to justify human rights infringements;[7]
Recognising the importance of intercultural dialogue and taking into account theCouncil of Europe White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue (May 2008);[8]
Underlining that human rights are an essential basis for policies and action of publicauthorities as well as for relations between individuals and groups in socially cohesivesocieties;[9]
Underlining that living in a democratic society entails rights and duties for all its
members;[Operative Part]
1.
Stresses the obligation for member states, as the ultimate guarantors of the principle ofpluralism, to secure everyone’s effective enjoyment of human rights, especially thoseenshrined in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms(ETS No. 5), and that the respect of this obligation is of particular importance towards those
who are more vulnerable to discrimination;
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2.
Emphasises that, in order to reconcile respect for different identities with social
cohesion and avoid isolation and alienation of certain groups, it is indispensable for our
democratic societies to regard respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms as acommon basis for all: no cultural, religious or other practices or traditions can be invoked toprevent any individual from exercising his or her basic rights or from participating actively inthe society;3.
Calls on opinion leaders, including political leaders, to speak and act resolutely in sucha way as to foster a climate of respect through dialogue based on a common understanding ofuniversally recognised human rights, and on member states to adopt practical measures to that
effect, such as promoting education as a key to dialogue and mutual understanding, andsupporting social inclusion, notably with respect to participation in the decision-making
process;
4.
Emphasises that the preservation and promotion of a democratic society based on
respect for diversity requires resolute action against all forms of discrimination. Racialviolence is a particular affront to human dignity, and requires special vigilance and a vigorous
reaction from public authorities;
5.
Recalls that the right not to be discriminated against may be accompanied byappropriate measures, such as through action plans, support programmes or any othergovernment action, to ensure the realisation of the human rights of all;
6.
Recalls that freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, and freedomof thought, conscience and religion are among the foundations of democratic societies and are
instrumental for the pluralism which characterises them. These rights are closely interrelated
and equally fundamental in a democratic society;7.
Draws particular attention to the fact that freedom of expression constitutes one of theessential conditions for the progress of society and for the development of every humanbeing, including in the context of culturally diverse societies. Freedom of expression applies
not only to “information” or “ideas” that are favourably received or regarded as inoffensive or
as a matter of indifference, but also to those that offend, shock or disturb the state or any
sector of the population. At the same time, the exercise of freedom of expression is notwithout any duties and responsibilities, and incitement to hatred and violence will not beprotected;
8.
Underlines that when freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association,and freedom of thought, conscience and religion are at stake states must strike a fair balance
between them, while ensuring that any restriction be prescribed by law, necessary in a
democratic society and proportionate to a legitimate aim.

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