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Fight against extremism: achievements, deficiencies and
failures

Resolution 1754 (2010)1

1.       The
Parliamentary Assembly expresses its concern at the upsurge of
certain forms of extremism in Europe which, taking advantage
of the framework of rights and freedoms guaranteed by European
democracies, pursue objectives which are in contravention with
Europe’s democratic and human rights values and, in the worst
cases, condone or even promote violence.

2.
Amongst these forms of extremism, racism and xenophobia
represent a major source of preoccupation, also in the light
of the rise in the electoral support of parties inspired by
racist ideas as it has been the case in a number of recent
national elections as well as in the elections to the European
Parliament and the non-negligible risk that mainstream
political parties tend to rely on racist discourse in order
not to lose part of their electorate. What is also worrying is
the increasingly hostile discourse held by some public
figures, which borders on and sometimes falls squarely under
the category of hate speech.

3.       In
addition, European public opinion and governments have become
increasingly aware of the extent of the threat posed by
Islamic fundamentalism, an ideology which, although remaining
marginal in Europe, exerts a growing attraction amongst young
Muslims, finding a breeding ground in their frustration due to
racism, discrimination, social exclusion and unemployment
which tend to affect them more than the rest of the
population. This form of extremism has led to a number of
deadly terrorist attacks also on European soil, such as in
Moscow in 2002 and 2010, in Istanbul in 2003, in Beslan and
Madrid in 2004 and in London in 2005.

4.
European countries are also hosts to a number of extremist
groups, formed by foreign citizens, who are not interested in
doing harm to the country where they reside but who are
engaged in propaganda and fund-raising activities in order to
pursue extremist objectives in their countries of origin, such
as the overthrowing of the authorities through violent means,
political destabilisation through terrorist or guerrilla
attacks, or secession. It is urgent to work out an
international legal mechanism with a view to stopping all
forms of financial support to extremist groups.

5.
Examples of these groups include the People's Mujahedin
of Iran and the Workers Party of Kurdistan (PKK) terrorist
organisation, which are present in many Council of Europe
member states and Euskadi ta Askatasuna (ETA),
which has bases in France. In this context, the Assembly
voices its deep concern at the resurgence of violence prompted
by separatist groups in Europe, as has been the case recently
in Spain and Turkey, with a number of deadly attacks
perpetrated respectively by the terrorist organisations ETA
and PKK.

6.       The
Assembly acknowledges the complex character of extremism, its
different forms and its evolving nature. Despite these
differences, however, all forms of extremism which advocate or
condone violence contravene the values and principles of the
Council of Europe and must be countered with resolve in full
respect of the guarantees and safeguards enshrined in the
constitutions of Council of Europe member states and relevant
human rights protection instruments, notably the European
Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

7.       In
this context, the Assembly recalls Articles 10 and 11 of the
ECHR, respectively devoted to freedom of expression, freedom
of peaceful assembly and freedom of association with others.
Although these freedoms are the pillars of a pluralist
democracy, their exercise can be limited. Such a limitation
should be always prescribed by law, be necessary in a
democratic society and should pursue the legitimate aims
mentioned in the Convention, such as prevention of disorder or
crime, the protection of morals and the protection of the
rights of others. Article 17 of the ECHR adds that no state,
group or person has the right to engage in an activity or
perform any act aimed at the destruction of the rights or
freedoms set forth in the ECHR or at their limitation to a
greater extent than is provided for in the ECHR itself.

8.       At the
same time, the Assembly expresses doubts about the compliance
of anti-extremism legislation introduced in some Council of
Europe member states with international human rights
instruments such as the ECHR and stresses that an exceedingly
general or vague definition of the crimes set out in such
legislation can increase the risk of its arbitrary
application.

9.
Politically, in their fight against extremism, Council of
Europe member states are confronted with a number of daunting
challenges, first of all how to address the root causes of
extremism. Resolute action against discrimination, emphasis on
civic education and inter-cultural as well as inter-religious
dialogue, involvement of civil society and non-governmental
organisations – especially those representing segments of
society which are excluded de jure or de facto
from ordinary channels – in consultation or decision-making
processes are key instruments to reduce the potential
attraction of extremist groups and movements.

10.       As
regards Islamist extremism, Council of Europe member states
are confronted with the challenge of dealing with this threat
effectively while countering the risk of stigmatising Islam as
a religion. More efforts should be made to fight against
Islamophobia and combat the negative stereotyping of Islam and
Muslims in society, along the lines set out in General Policy
Recommendation No. 5 of the European Commission against Racism
and Intolerance (ECRI) on Combating intolerance and
discrimination against Muslims.

11.       The
structuring of Islamist extremist groups in dormant or active
independent cells with loose international connections poses
huge difficulties for domestic law enforcement and
intelligence agencies and trans-national co-operation, both in
prevention and detection. The need to ensure the effectiveness
of the work of these bodies, however, should not be used as a
pretext to deprive parliament of its right and duty of
democratic oversight.

12.
Finally, the Assembly regrets that the challenge of
establishing a more ethical attitude in politics when dealing
with issues related to race, ethnic and national origin and
religion is still to be met. In this context, it recalls the
Charter of European Political Parties for a Non-Racist
Society, signed by its President and the President of the
European Parliament in 2003, and the Declaration on the use of
racist, antisemitic and xenophobic elements in political
discourse, adopted by the ECRI in 2005, which it commends for
their relevance.

13.       In
the light of the above, the Assembly invites Council of Europe
member states to:

13.1.
address the root causes of extremism as a priority in the
fight against this phenomenon by:

13.1.1. continuing to take resolute action
against discrimination, in all fields;

13.1.2.
setting up consultation processes involving civil society
and non-governmental organisations representing a broad
spectrum of society, including categories that are more at
risk of radicalisation, and thus ensuring the involvement
of civil society in the elaboration and implementation of
anti-extremist policies;

13.1.3. putting an emphasis on education
for democratic citizenship;

13.1.4. devising clear and sustainable
immigration policies, accompanied by appropriate
integration policies;

13.1.5. strengthening their activities in
the field of inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue,
also by endorsing the Council of Europe White Paper on
inter-cultural dialogue;

13.1.6. working out an international
legal mechanism with a view to stopping all forms of
financial support to extremist groups;

13.1.7. implementing socio-economic
policies aimed at contributing to the efforts for the
eradication of racism, xenophobia and intolerance within
society, including elimination of manifestation of
discrimination on grounds of religious beliefs in access
to education, employment and at the workplace, housing in
mixed areas, public services as well as democratic
participation through citizenship;

13.2.
continue to fight terrorism and other forms of violent
extremism, while ensuring the strictest respect of human
rights and the rule of law, in compliance with the Council
of Europe guidelines on human rights and the fight against
terrorism, adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2002,
and ECRI’s General Policy Recommendation No.8 on Combating
racism while fighting terrorism;

13.3.
ensure that anti-extremism legislation is applied
systematically and consistently to all forms of extremism
and avoid all risk of arbitrariness in its
implementation;

13.4.
ensure that measures limiting or prohibiting the activities
of extremist political parties are consistent with the case
law of the European Court of Human Rights and the 1999
Guidelines of the European Commission for Democracy through
Law (Venice Commission) on prohibition and dissolution of
political parties and analogous measures, in particular as
regards the exceptional character of the dissolution of
parties and the requirement to explore alternative sanctions
before applying such a measure;

13.5.
enforce the penalties foreseen by their legislation against
public incitement to violence, racial discrimination and
intolerance, including Islamophobia;

13.6.
introduce in their criminal legislation provisions against
incitement to racial hatred or hate speech, implement the
Committee of Ministers Recommendation (97) 20 on hate
speech, if they have not yet done so, and endorse the good
practices and recommendations laid down in the 2008 Council
of Europe Handbook on the same subject;

13.7.
step up appropriate information measures to encourage
victims of extremist acts to report them to the relevant
authorities;

13.8.
strengthen the oversight by national parliaments of the
activities of intelligence agencies, along the
recommendations set out in Assembly recommendation 1713
(2005) on the Democratic oversight of the security sector in
member states;

13.9.
improve the analysis of the phenomenon of extremism and the
collection and comparability of relevant data;

13.10.
strengthen international co-operation in order to counter
the spreading of extremist propaganda on the Internet;

13.11.
ensure full co-operation with the European Commission
against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) and support its
activities.

14.       In
addition, the Assembly asks its members, the political parties
which they represent and its political groups to:

14.1.
promote or endorse the Charter of European Political Parties
for a Non-Racist Society;

14.2.
follow the suggestions made by ECRI in its Declaration on
the use of racist, antisemitic and xenophobic elements in
political discourse and its General Policy Recommendation
No.5 on Combating Intolerance and Discrimination against
Muslims;

14.3.
promote the setting up of ethics committees within political
parties and parliaments, with the right of sanctioning their
members for racist, antisemitic, xenophobic or Islamophobic
behaviour or discourse.

15.
Finally, the Assembly encourages the Commissioner for Human
Rights to devote increasing attention to all forms of
extremism, including Islamophobia.

1 Assembly debate on 5 October
2010 (30th Sitting) (see Doc.
12265, report of the Political Affairs Committee,
rapporteur: Mr Agramunt Font de Mora, and Doc.
12337, opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human
Rights, rapporteur: Mr Marcenaro). Text adopted by the
Assembly on 5 October 2010 (30th Sitting).

See also
Recommendation 1933 (2010).

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