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Council of Europe Secretary General ThorbjÃ¸rn Jagland and Committee of Ministers Chair, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄŸlu issue joint statement

10 December 2010 11:11 (UTC +04:00)

The statement says:

â€œ2010 is the year of the 60th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights but also the year of consolidation and expansion of its unique mechanism for the protection fundamental rights and freedoms.
The reform of the European Court of Human Rights is well under way. In parallel, the negotiations on the accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights are progressing, and will hopefully be completed in the first half of 2011. With the European Union becoming the 48th party to the Convention we will create a new, continent-wide zone of dialogue, co-operation and interaction in the areas of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
A consolidated and genuinely pan-European area of common standards and human rights will be a historic step forward in the struggle to promote and protect human rights throughout Europe. At the same time, Europe continues to face new and difficult challenges, including those stemming from the need to ensure best ways of integration, for living together with different cultural and religious backgrounds, while respecting our fundamental values and human rights, and preventing the spread of intolerance and discrimination. For the Council of Europe, this is a political necessity, a moral imperative and a legal obligation.â€