ECRI On 5 October 2021, ECRI made public its conclusions on the implementation of its priority recommendations by Latvia and the Russian Federation. In its conclusions on Latvia, ECRI finds that the country has implemented one recommendation, namely to provide for the automatic recognition of Latvian citizenship for children born to “non-citizens”. However, ECRI considered that measures taken to address hate crimes are insufficient. In particular, community policing does not constitute an acceptable alternative to the creation of a specialised unit within the State Police, as recommended in its 2019 report. Community policing, if implemented effectively, can be a useful measure in addition to the creation of a unit specialised in the handling of racist and homo-/transphobic hate crimes, but not an adequate replacement. In its conclusions on the Russian Federation, ECRI expresses its concern by the non-implementation by Russia of the priority recommendations to set up a body independent of the police and prosecution authorities to investigate all complaints against the police, as well as to abolish the legal ban on the provision of information about homosexuality to minors, in line with the 2017 judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case Bayev and others v. Russia. The conclusions published by ECRI on 5 October concern only the two specific recommendations for which priority follow-up was requested. They do not aim at providing a comprehensive analysis of all developments in the fight against racism and intolerance in these two Council of Europe member states.
FCNM
On 6 October, the Advisory Committee on the FCNM held an exchange of views with the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Kairat Abdrakhmanov. The High Commissioner presented current priorities in his work to prevent conflicts involving national minorities and thanked for the “fruitful and positive co-operation with the Council of Europe in the field of national minority protection”, noting that both institutions complement each other. The President of the Advisory Committee, Marie B. Hagsgård, noted common approaches in different fields such as participation of national minorities. She underlined that the Advisory Committee focuses on dialogue between those stakeholders involved in the implementation of the Framework Convention. Therefore, country monitoring visits and subsequent follow-up meetings involving representatives of national minorities and authorities are of particular importance.
Publication on 6 October of the 5th opinion of the Advisory Committee on the implementation of the FCNM by the Czech Republic The Fifth Opinion on the Czech Republic of the Council of Europe Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities was published on 6 October. A summary of the Opinion’s main findings is available in Czech.
CDENF
At its 4th Plenary meeting (13-15 October 2021), the Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child (CDENF) approved the draft Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022-2027) before its submission to the Committee of Ministers. The final draft included proposals prepared by 220 children consulted in ten member states with the support from national delegations on the CDENF and their national child consultation partners. Children and national delegations provided individual (video) presentations on some of their key messages, and had a fruitful exchange with CDENF members directly. The Committee also discussed the follow-up of activities led under the current Strategy, and held the usual exchange with internal and external partners.
Lanzarote Committee
At its 34th meeting the Lanzarote Committee (4-7 October 2021) continued its work on the draft implementation report on “The protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse facilitated by information and communication technologies (ICTs): addressing the challenges raised by child self-generated sexual images and/or videos”. The Committee also adopted 3 compliance reports in the context of its monitoring round on “Protecting children affected by the refugee crisis from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse”. Finally, the Committee exchanged views on the recommendations of the independent experts report “Respecting human rights and the rule of law when using automated technology to detect online child sexual exploitation and abuse” and ask the Bureau to respond to them.
Reinforcing the fight against the manipulation of sport competitions - KCOOS+ gathers National Platforms from Europe The unique project ‘Keep Crime Out Of Sports’+ (KCOOS+) which promotes the Macolin Convention and its effective implementation enabled a rich and dynamic exchange of best practices and experiences between 40 representatives of National platforms of European countries, members of the “Group of Copenhagen”. This online session aimed at allowing in-depth updates on national developments and presentations of best practices, including in the cooperation with betting industry and sport organisations, key stakeholders of the fight against the manipulation of sports competitions. More information : www.coe.int/en/web/sport/t-mc |