Motion for a resolution | Doc. 13905 | 06 October 2015
Jurisdictional immunity of international organisations and rights of their staff
International organisations are accorded jurisdictional immunity by virtue of the conventions which brought them into existence, or by headquarters agreements. This immunity allows them not to be arraigned before the courts of the State or States where they are established. But immunity from jurisdictional immunity does not mean creating a place not subject to the rule of law, or of lesser law. Accordingly, a person working for an international organisation cannot be deprived of the right of being heard before a court or of the right to collective action. You should be able to defend yourself both individually and collectively. You should be able to defend yourself effectively without suffering unreasonable procedures and unreasonable delays.
There can be no question that policies at odds with the fundamental rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter are developing under the cover of jurisdictional immunity. The Parliamentary Assembly adopted Resolution 1979 (2014) and Recommendation 2037 (2014) on the accountability of international organisations for human rights violations. Following on from those texts, the issue of respect for social rights, both individual and collective, of the staff of international organisations is worth being kept on the agenda, investigated and strengthened.