Brussels, 23/02/2000 (Agence Europe) - Observing that the first discussions by the Convention charged with drafting the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights leave "some ambiguity" regarding the extent of such rights, eight NGOs (International Federation of Human Rights, Justice and Peace Commission, EU Migrants' Forum, International Catholic Immigration Commission, Kairos Europe, Pax Christi International, Presence of Communities of African Origin, and the Quaker Council for European Affairs) have issued an appeal in favour of the full recognition of the fundamental rights of non-Community nationals living on EU territory.
These eight non-governmental organisations stress the universal nature of human rights, non-discrimination and the harmonisation of protection instruments. They recall that, as the European Court of Human Rights has ruled on several occasions, distinctions between EU citizens and non-citizens can only be made if objectively justifiable and proportionate to the objective being sought. The signatory organisations therefore urge the Convention to examine the best possible wording for the non-discrimination clause. They call in particular on those drafting the Charter to extend the right to vote and stand in European and local elections to persons residing legally on EU territory, matched with certain conditions (such as five years of legal residence). While a form of diplomatic protection (Article 20 of the EC Treaty) could be reserved to EU citizens, all persons residing on Union territory must be recognised as having the right of petition and the right to lodge a complaint with the European Ombudsman. The eight NGOs also consider that freedom of movement and freedom of establishment on the territory of the Member States should be extended to all residents and that the future Charter should include an explicit reference to the right of asylum seekers, stateless persons and persons eligible for family reunification to enter the territory of Member States. Other rights, such as the ban on collective expulsion of foreigners (established by Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights) should also be included in the Charter.
The signatory organisations consider that fundamental economic and social rights must have the same scope of application as civil and political rights. Rights to medical and social assistance (including decent housing and sufficient food), children's right to education and equality of the sexes should apply to all persons under Member State jurisdiction, regardless of their nationality or whether or not they are legal residents. On the other hand, certain social rights are linked to the exercise of employment (vocational training, for example) and others require legal residence (right to work, right to social security for aspects not falling under medical and social assistance), and the eight NGOs observe that since illegal residents may not benefit from them, an explicit exclusion clause is neither necessary nor desirable.
The NGOs are also convinced of the complementarity between development of the Charter and ratification by the EU (or the Community) of the European Convention on Human Rights and the revised Social Charter of the Council of Europe. They consider that only a combination of these two measures will make it possible to avoid contradictory case law and call for the issue of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and accession to the Convention on Human Rights to be examined by the Intergovernmental Conference.
The Convention will be examining some ten articles on Thursday and Friday. Following is a list of the rights these articles could address: the dignity of the human person; the right to life (reference to abolition of the death penalty); the right to physical, psychological and genetic integrity (which could cover the principle of consent to medical acts and the ban on cloning and patentability of the human body); the right to freedom and security; the right to a fair trial; the non-retroactivity of laws; respect for privacy; legal, economic and social protection of the family. The Convention could also deal with certain horizontal aspects that could be settled in the preamble to the Charter, such as the extent of protection, rights reserved to EU citizens and the fact that no provision may be interpreted as restricting the protection guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.