“The pandemic has accelerated the erosion of the democratic fabric of our societies on which the protection of human rights depends” and “a renewed impetus is needed”, said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights when presenting her annual report to the Parliamentary Assembly on Wednesday 21 April.
According to Dunja Mijatović, “2020 has been a disastrous year”, with the health crisis acting as an amplifier of pre-existing problems, foremost among them the growing inequalities in Europe over the past decades.
The situation of the elderly is, in her view, “ emblematic”. Already weakened against the disease, they have paid a heavy price for being isolated by lockdowns or kept in institutions that are often unsuitable.
In general, the Commissioner stresses, the health crisis has highlighted the “structural problems” that plague European health systems. They need to be more “inclusive and resilient”, she says, stressing the urgency of reforming mental health care not only medically but also psychosocially. We must move from coercion to consent, she insists, opposing the draft Additional Protocol to the Oviedo Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, which could lead to more institutionalisation and forced treatment. This model is “outdated”, said Ms Mijatović, adding that the adoption of this protocol “risks damaging the Council of Europe’s image”.
Turning to the issue of violence against women, a phenomenon also exacerbated by the pandemic, the Commissioner recalled the “terrible signal” sent by Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention and denounced those voices - in Poland in particular - who are spreading misconceptions about this text in order to defend “a misogynist and homophobic agenda”.
LGBTI people, Roma, refugees, and migrants also saw their rights regress in 2020, said the Commissioner, who was also concerned about the attacks - physical, verbal and online - suffered by rights defenders and environmental defenders in several Member States.
She returned to the subject of Afrophobia, which is “widespread yet unacknowledged in Europe”, and spoke of her recent mission to Ukraine, hoping to have the opportunity to carry out a “full country visit”, including in areas not controlled by the government “before the end of this year”.
Link to the report: https://bit.ly/3gpGjR6 (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)