COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS -- A PILLAR OF THE COE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STRASBOURG 000015

SIPDIS

STATE ALSO FOR EUR/ERA, EUR/WE, AND DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM COE FR
SUBJECT: COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS -- A PILLAR OF THE COE

REF: STRASBOURG 12

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SBU - NOT FOR INTERNET DISSEMINATION.



Summary

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1. (SBU) The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of
Europe (COE) focuses on national and international trends in the
47 COE member states. Publicizing systematic failures to uphold
the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
promoting the role of national courts and ombudsmen, the
Commissioner communicates through reports and "viewpoints,"
based partially on country visits. Thomas Hammarberg, the
current Commissioner, has recently used such statements to
encourage European states, with some success, to accept former
Guantanamo detainees and to lobby for United States ratification
of the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court.
Hammarberg has also sought to promote the "right of return" of
refugees and IDPs in Georgia. Hammarberg's next reports will
focus on Turkey and Russia. End summary.



Background

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2. (U) Designed as an independent watchdog institution within
the Council of Europe, the office of Commissioner for Human
Rights was created in 1999. Elected by a majority vote of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the COE, the second and current
Commissioner, Thomas Hammarberg of Sweden, assumed the role in

2006.




3. (U) The Commissioner's mandate complements the work of the
European Court of Human Rights. However, the position is
non-judicial. The Commissioner may not respond to individual
complaints against member states, as can the Court. With
reliable information provided by country visits, other human
rights monitoring mechanisms, and the specialized offices of the
United Nations, the Commissioner launches wider investigations
into the any of the COE's 47 member states. Unlike the rulings
of the European Court of Human Rights, none of the
Commissioner's recommendations are binding. While the
Commissioner sometimes "names and shames" human rights violators
in his reports, he prefers more subtle, "quiet diplomacy" to
coax states toward compliance.



Mandate and activities

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4. (U) In order to assist COE member states with the observance
and implementation of Convention standards, the Commissioner
relies on dialogue with governments and country visits.
Dialogue with member state governments tends to be permanent and
executed through member states' ambassadors in Strasbourg. When
human rights violations appear systemic, the Commissioner may
visit any of the 47 COE countries. Used as an
information-gathering mechanism, these missions contribute to
reports proposing structural reforms, presented to the Committee
of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly, relevant NGOs and
policy makers, and often the media.




5. (U) If ever ratified by Russia, Protocol 14 (reftel) will
allow the Commissioner to intervene directly in certain Court
hearings (at the Chamber level) and to submit friend of the
court briefs in such cases.




6. (U) Though designed to act "independently and impartially,"
the Commissioner's office rests within the COE bureaucracy. The
Parliamentary Assembly and the Committee of Ministers may
request a report on a given European human rights issue or on
the situation in a specific member state. Additionally, the

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Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, as a part of the
Council of Europe Secretariat, falls under the auspices of the
Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of the Council.
The Secretary General prepares and allocates the Commissioner's
budget, identifies Court of Human Rights cases in which the
Commissioner should intervene as a third party, and coordinates
the Commissioner's official visits.



Guantanamo

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7. (SBU) In January, Commissioner Hammarberg devoted his
bi-monthly "viewpoint" (a broad recommendation to the COE) to
the closing of Guantanamo Bay, urging member states to accept
some of the detainees held there. Of note are the several
explicit condemnations of the United States that figured
prominently in the report: "Those responsible for devising and
approving the interrogation systems or those involved in
sanctioning torture should be brought to justice ~ we should not
forget that Guantanamo Bay may only be the tip of the iceberg
when it comes to prisoners held beyond the rule of law by the
United States." A June 5 letter to all Permanent
Representatives to the COE following the Commissioner's visit to
Washington once more encouraged European states to accept the
detainees, and was considerably less critical of the U.S.
Several ambassadors to the COE have told us that Hammarberg's
work has helped convince their capitals to consider seriously
accepting some of the detainees.



Georgia

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8. (SBU) Commissioner Hammarberg has visited Georgia four times
since the conflict of August 2008 and in May 2009 released his
most recent report on the ongoing human rights dilemma there.
It was largely a reiteration of his "six principles": all
citizens must be granted the right to return to their homes,
care and support during reconstruction, protection from war, and
protection against lawlessness; the rights of detainees must be
ensured; international humanitarian groups must be granted
access to the conflict areas. The continued failure to meet
these standards falls on both camps, according to Hammarberg,
particularly the restriction of access of humanitarian aid. The
Commissioner pleaded for the two parties to delink the political
issue of status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia from the
international humanitarian effort. The COE views Hammarberg's
work as complementary to the EUMM; indeed, some contacts note
that Hammarberg is one of the few figures who can talk to all
sides in the conflict. Hammarberg himself has expressed
frustration, however, at not having full access to all conflict
zones in Georgia.



Serbia and Kosovo

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9. (U) In March 2009, Commissioner Hammarberg released the
follow-up report to his October 2008 visit to assess the human
rights situation in Serbia. Reticent on the issue of Kosovo
independence, the Commissioner did note the weakening support
for (and even outright attacks on) NGOs encouraging democratic
consolidation within Serbia since the unilateral declaration.
He also noted the apparently stalled progress on returns of
internally displaced persons from the Kosovo war, particularly
Roma; between "an uncertain future in Kosovo and considerable
obstacles to integrate into Serbian society," they are in many
ways "stuck."




10. (SBU) The Commissioner's recent report on the human rights
situation in Kosovo itself was critical. He painted Kosovo's
public institutions, especially its judiciary, as weak and
corrupt. The Commissioner's Chief of Staff indicated that
Kosovo membership in the COE was politically difficult given the
number of COE member states that have not recognized Pristina.
The official added that Kosovo's authorities will probably have

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to address its shortcomings vis-`-vis the European Convention on
Human Rights before it could even be considered a potentially
viable candidate.



ICC

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11. (U) Hammarberg's June 22, 2009 "viewpoint" invited European
countries to defend the International Criminal Court and to
request that the USG withdraw the "idea of impunity" for its
nationals. Acknowledging the "encouraging steps" taken by the
Obama Administration (renunciation of torture, closing of
Guantanamo),the Commissioner called for the United States to
ratify the Rome Statute.



Current Focus: Turkey and Russia

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12. (U) Following a country visit to Turkey at the end of June
2009, Hammarberg will release two reports in the coming weeks,
one on Turkey's minority rights situation and the other
concerning its treatment of asylum seekers and immigrants. He
will travel to Russia in September to investigate various human
rights concerns there, particularly those in the Northern
Caucasus.



Comment

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13. (SBU) Almost all of our contacts have described Hammarberg's
most effective tool as "quiet diplomacy." His office is one of
the most respected parts of the COE. On Guantanamo, Hammarberg
mixes his power of quiet persuasion at (according to his Chief
of Staff) almost every meeting with member state officials with
his more public letters. He will not shy away from criticism of
the U.S., however, and will continue to call for the abolition
of the death penalty.
CARVER