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Resolution 1597 (2008)
United Nations Security Council and European Union blacklists
1. The Parliamentary Assembly reaffirms
that terrorism can and must be fought effectively with means that respect
and preserve human rights and the rule of law.
2. It considers that international bodies such as the United
Nations and the European Union ought to set an example for states
in this respect, given the lofty goals laid down in their founding
instruments and the credibility they need in order to attain those
goals.
3. Targeted sanctions against individuals or specific groups
(“blacklists”) imposed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
and the Council of the European Union are, in principle, preferable
to general sanctions imposed on states. General sanctions often
have dire consequences for vulnerable population groups in the countries
concerned, and generally not for their leadership, whilst targeted
sanctions hurt only those alleged to be personally responsible for
certain wrongdoings.
4. At the same time, targeted sanctions (such as travel restrictions
and freezing of assets) have a direct impact on individual human
rights such as freedom of movement and the protection of property.
Whilst it is not at all clear and still being debated whether such
sanctions have a criminal, administrative or civil character, their
imposition must, under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
(ETS No. 5) as well as the United Nations International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights (UNCCPR), respect certain minimum standards
of procedural protection and legal certainty.
5. Procedural and substantive standards must also be guaranteed
to ensure the credibility and effectiveness of targeted sanctions.
5.1. The minimum procedural standards
under the rule of law are the right for everyone:
5.1.1. to be notified promptly and
fully informed of the charges held against himself or herself, and
of the decision taken and the reasons for that decision;
5.1.2. to enjoy the fundamental right to be heard and to be able
to defend himself or herself;
5.1.3. to be able to have the decision affecting his or her rights
speedily reviewed by an independent, impartial body with a view
to modifying or annulling it;
5.1.4. to be compensated for any violation of his or her rights
5.2. Minimum substantive standards require a clear definition
of grounds for the imposition of sanctions and relevant evidence
to back up these grounds.
5.3. The “blacklisting” procedure should be limited in time.
It is unacceptable that persons remain on the blacklist for years,
whilst the prosecuting authorities, even after a long investigation,
have not found any evidence against them.
5.4. Equally important is the issue of remedy. The Council
of the European Union and the European Union (EU) member states
must implement immediately the decisions of competent European and national
judicial institutions affecting the status of the listed persons
or entities.
6. The Assembly finds that the procedural and substantive standards
currently applied by the UNSC and by the Council of the European
Union, despite some recent improvements, in no way fulfil the minimum standards
laid down above and violate the fundamental principles of human
rights and the rule of law.
6.1. Concerning
procedure, it must be noted and strongly deplored that even the
members of the committee deciding on the blacklisting of an individual
are not fully informed of the reasons for a request put forward
by one member. The person or group concerned is usually neither
informed of the request, nor given the possibility to be heard,
nor even necessarily informed about the decision taken – until he or
she first attempts to cross a border or use a bank account. There
are no procedures for an independent review of decisions taken or
for compensation for infringements of rights. Such a procedure is
totally arbitrary and has no credibility whatsoever.
6.2. Similarly, substantive criteria for the imposition of
targeted sanctions are at the same time wide and vague, and sanctions
can be imposed on the basis of mere suspicions. This is a deplorable
situation, and breaches human rights and fundamental freedoms.
7. The Assembly finds such practices unworthy of international
bodies such as the United Nations and the European Union. Considering
that it is both possible and necessary for states to implement the
various sanctions regimes whilst respecting their international
obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and the
UNCCPR, it urges:
7.1. the UNSC
and the Council of the European Union to overhaul the procedural
and substantive rules governing targeted sanctions, to comply with
the requirements presented in paragraph 5 above;
7.2. those member states of the Council of Europe which are
permanent or non-permanent members of the UNSC, or members of the
EU, to use their influence in these bodies in favour of upholding
the values embodied in the European Convention on Human Rights,
both by ensuring the necessary improvements in procedural and substantive
rules and through the positions they take on individual cases;
7.3. the United Nations (UN) General Assembly and the European
Parliament to take up, respectively, UN- and Council of the European
Union-targeted sanctions regimes with a view to ensuring the necessary
improvements in terms of respect for human rights and the rule of
law.
8. The Assembly invites all member states of the Council of Europe
as well as the European Union to establish appropriate national
and European Community procedures to implement sanctions imposed
by the UNSC or the Council of the EU on their nationals or legal
residents, in order to remedy the shortcomings of the procedures
at the level of the UN or the EU as long as these shortcomings persist.
9. The Assembly reminds all member states of the Council of Europe
that they have signed and ratified the European Convention on Human
Rights and its protocols and have therefore committed themselves
to uphold its principles, and these also apply to the implementation
of sanctions imposed by the United Nations and the European Union