Provisional
edition
The role of parliaments in the consolidation and
development of social rights in Europe
Resolution 1824 (2011)1
1. The
Parliamentary Assembly deplores the recent decisions in a
number of European countries to introduce massive cuts in
welfare programmes that were designed to secure access to
social rights, and notes that the consequences of such
decisions may be dramatic, in particular for the poorest and
most disadvantaged categories of the population.
2. The
Assembly believes that parliaments have a vital role to play
in consolidating and developing social rights in Europe to
counter such developments. Emphasising the principles of
indivisibility and interdependence of human rights (including
social rights), the Assembly calls on the parliaments of
member states to take into account international social rights
standards in the exercise of their main functions, namely
legislation, representation and oversight.
3. The
Assembly underlines, in particular, the importance of securing
the right to health, including the right to a healthy, clean
and safe environment, as one of the fundamental social rights
directly related to the right to life.
4. The
Assembly thus calls on parliaments of member states to:
4.1.
take measures to implement the recommendations contained in
Assembly
Resolution 1792 (2011) on the monitoring of commitments
concerning social rights, and, in particular, continue
promoting, at European and national level, the signature,
ratification and implementation of the European Social
Charter’s Amending Protocol of 1991 (ETS No. 142, the “Turin
Protocol”), the Additional Protocol of 1995 (ETS No. 158)
Providing for a System of Collective Complaints, and of the
revised European Social Charter of 1996 (ETS No.
163);
4.2.
include, as part of parliamentary debates on human rights, a
regular review of the implementation of social rights,
ensuring, in particular, that governments take the appropriate
measures to follow-up on the decisions taken by the European
Committee for Social Rights with regard to the implementation
of the articles of the revised European Social Charter;
4.3.
regularly scrutinise government policies implementing the
right to health, and keep abreast of new developments to
ensure that scientific progress is respectful of human rights
and dignity;
4.4.
take the human rights
perspective into consideration as a primary criterion when
conducting parliamentary scrutiny of public policies and
deciding on budgets, in particular in the social and health
field;
4.5.
ensure parliamentary
oversight of the implementation of international agreements,
programmes and budgets that may have an impact on social
rights, in accordance with Assembly
Resolution 1289 (2002) and
Recommendation 1567 (2002) on parliamentary scrutiny of
international institutions;
4.6.
raise awareness amongst parliamentarians and parliamentary
research staff on social rights, including through the
provision of specialised training and general induction
courses for newly elected parliamentarians;
4.7.
create an all-party group on the development of human rights
with a view to involving parliamentarians and parliamentary
research staff in discussions on the development of a third
generation human of rights with respect to a healthy, clean
and safe environment;
4.8.
strengthen interparliamentary co-operation and improve the
exchange of best practices at international level, in
particular by:
4.8.1.
improving co-ordination and strengthening co-operation
between members of national parliamentary committees whose
actions may have an impact on the consolidation and
development of social rights at national and European
level, including also members of national human rights
committees and European affairs committees.
4.8.2.
improving co-ordination and information exchange on the
implementation of social rights between parliamentarians
from the same country in international fora, including the
Parliamentary Assembly, the European Parliament, the
Nordic Council, the Conference of Community and European
Affairs Committees of Parliaments of the European Union
(COSAC), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the
Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB);
4.8.3.
taking an active part in the Council of Europe Conference
on the environment, climate change and human rights to be
held in Strasbourg in October 2012, with a view to
discussing the development of a third generation of human
rights with respect to a healthy, clean and safe
environment and to exchanging best practices at local,
regional and national levels;
4.8.4.
taking an active part in international campaigns aimed at the
promotion of human rights, including, inter alia, the
Network of contact parliamentarians of the Parliamentary
Assembly committed to combating violence against women and the
Network of contact parliamentarians of the Council of Europe’s
"ONE in FIVE" campaign to combat sexual violence against
children;
4.8.5.
establishing co-operation with the Conference of Community and
European Affairs Committees of Parliaments of the European
Union (COSAC) to exchange best practices in the field of
parliamentary scrutiny of government programmes.
5. The
Assembly believes that member states also need to take urgent
action in order to guarantee effective access to social rights
in line with international standards, obligations and
commitments, and thus calls on them to:
5.1.
take the necessary measures to ensure realisation of the
commitments on social rights enshrined in the Council of
Europe and in the United Nations conventions;
5.2.
apply the principles of equality and non-discrimination as a
lever for the implementation of social rights;
5.3.
make greater use of the Parliamentary Assembly in overseeing
the work of international organisations whose decisions have
an impact on the implementation of social rights, in
particular those that do not have inbuilt parliamentary
bodies, such as the World Health Organization;
5.4.
ensure that national positions expressed at international
level in the field of economics, finance, and trade are
respectful of national commitments under international human
rights treaties;
5.5.
with a view to consolidating and developing the right to
health, which remains a particular priority, take measures
to:
5.5.1.
incorporate into their national legislation and practice the
principles and rights enshrined in the revised European Social
Charter, paying particular attention to the principle that
everyone has the right to benefit from any measures enabling
him or her to enjoy the highest possible standard of health
attainable;
5.5.2.
contribute to the drafting, signature and implementation of a
new protocol to the revised European Social Charter on the
right to health, including the right to a healthy, clean and
safe environment;
5.5.3.
guarantee the implementation of international treaties on the
right to health with regard to specific target groups
(children, women, people with disabilities, the elderly), in
specific contexts (occupational health) and through the
improvement of the enabling conditions with regard to the
right to health (environmental effects on health);
5.5.4.
implement the Council of Europe conventional instruments that
have an impact on the right to health, including the
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of
the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and
Medicine (ETS No. 164, "Oviedo Convention"), and its
Protocols;
5.5.5.
in line with Assembly
Recommendation 1614 (2003) on environment and human
rights, sign, ratify and implement the United Nations
Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in
Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters
and its Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer
Registers ("Aarhus Convention").
1 Assembly debate on 23 June
2011 (25th Sitting) (see Doc.
12632, report of the Social, Health and Family Affairs
Committee, rapporteur: Mrs Ohlsson, and Doc.
12658, opinion of the Committee on the Environment,
Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs, rapporteur: Sir
Alan Meale). Text adopted by the Assembly on 23 June
2011 (25th Sitting).
See also
Recommendation 1976 (2011). |