COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS

Decisions

CM/Del/Dec(2019)129/3

17 May 2019

129^th Session of the Committee of Ministers
(Helsinki, 17 May 2019)

3. Securing the long-term effectiveness of the system of the European Convention on Human Rights

Reference document

CM(2019)70-final

Decisions

The Committee of Ministers

1. reiterated its firm commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights and its unique system for the protection of human rights in Europe and reaffirmed the principles set out in the Interlaken, Izmir, Brighton, Brussels and Copenhagen Declarations;

2. welcomed the action taken by all relevant stakeholders since 2010, in particular by the European Court of Human Rights and the States Parties, and the positive results that have been achieved including through the efforts made to strengthen the implementation of the Convention at the national level;

3. noted with concern, however, that the Convention system continues to face significant challenges, notably linked to the persistence of serious or widespread violations, to systemic and structural problems of human rights in States Parties, and to the situation in unresolved conflict zones;

4. reaffirmed the unconditional obligation for each State Party to abide by the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and agreed to continue to explore ways and means for better engagement of all actors of the Convention system with a view to securing the effective implementation of all Court judgments in line with the Convention;

5. urged those States Parties that have not yet signed and ratified Protocol No. 15 to the Convention to do so without further delay in order to allow its entry into force and invited those States Parties which have not yet done so to consider signing and ratifying Protocol No. 16 to the Convention;

6. having in mind the Interlaken 2019 deadline and the Copenhagen Declaration, instructed its Deputies to consider, in the light of the measures taken since 2010, any further changes required to continue to secure the long-term effectiveness of the Convention system, and to report back at its next Session.