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- Ελληνικά
In the context of the first part of the 2024 session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, MEP Mr. Kostis Efstathiou, as Rapporteur of the Assembly on the issue of allegations of systemic torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in places of detention in Europe, presented a report and a resolution to the Plenary, which were unanimously adopted.
In his intervention, Mr Efstathiou said that 70 years after the entry into force of the European Convention on Human Rights, torture and other forms of ill-treatment of persons deprived of their liberty persist throughout the Council of Europe. He noted that the relevant judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Reports of the European Commission for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) document the existence of structural problems and systemic distortions in several Member States. In most cases, he noted, legislative and other corrective measures, appropriate training of the police force and adaptation of the functioning of penitentiary institutions to ensure that the treatment of detainees is fully in line with the existing legal framework, international obligations and CPT recommendations are required. Equally important, he said, is the demonstration of zero tolerance, the investigation of all cases of ill-treatment and the compliance of national authorities with the relevant decisions and jurisprudence of the ECtHR. Efstathiou urged Member States to remedy gaps and weaknesses, to revise their relevant legislation and to adopt measures aimed at both preventing and suppressing practices that violate the human dignity and basic human rights of detainees.
The adopted Resolution includes recommendations for better compliance by Member States with the CPT's recommendations and the establishment of procedures to promote accountability and transparency at all levels.
Moreover, during today's work of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Mr Efstathiou was unanimously elected as a representative to the Special Committee on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law in view of the forthcoming drafting of a Council of Europe Special Convention on the Right to a Healthy Environment.
(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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