ZAGREB, May 11 (Hina) - German Parliament President Wolfgang Thierse presented a draft charter on world states' commitments at a conference of European parliamentary presidents in Zagreb on Saturday.
ZAGREB, May 11 (Hina) - German Parliament President Wolfgang
Thierse presented a draft charter on world states' commitments at a
conference of European parliamentary presidents in Zagreb on
Saturday. #L#
The charter is aimed at introducing a moral, although not a legal
commitment for world states to respect and protect, on a voluntary
basis, basic human rights and values which are the common heritage
of all world civilisations and cultures, Thierse said.
All states should base the legitimacy of their actions on those
universal values. The commitments and moral principles stated in
the charter reflect the existing basic values contained in numerous
European and international conventions, the German official said.
The appeal for the adoption of the "Charter on the States'
Obligations" is the second central topic of the two-day Zagreb
conference.
The charter, drafted by Thierse and French Parliament President
Raymond Forni, calls on all states to respect the following
commitments:
1. protection of the right of every human being to life and non-
application of the death penalty;
2. prevention of torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment
or punishment;
3. respect for judicial autonomy and guaranteeing everyone the
right to a fair trial, including the right to appeal and legal
counsel;
4. organisation of free elections in a secret ballot, under such
conditions that enable a free expression of opinion and
international monitoring;
5. organisation of public authority in an equal and proportional
manner;
6. the right to freedom of opinion and expression, thought,
conscience and religion, and the right to peaceful assembly and
association;
7. the right of the child to protection from economic exploitation
and performance of dangerous work and the prevention of slavery and
people smuggling;
8. rejection of and fight against all forms of racial
discrimination, respect for equality before the law, and fair and
efficient protection of all human beings against any form of
discrimination;
9. earmarking funds for the fight against poverty, and health and
education;
10. the ratification of the Agreement on the protection of human
rights and respect for the statute of the International Criminal
Court.
The draft charter does not essentially contain any innovations,
Thierse said, adding that the document was based on widely accepted
principles that were already contained in binding conventions on
human rights. Due to lack of legal force, the charter is binding
only in the political sense and is aimed at improving and
strengthening the existing protection regimes, Thierse said.
That purpose can be achieved by using the function of parliaments,
which in national legislation can complement and reinforce
international conventions, thus securing respect for those
principles, he added.
Thierse's speech was followed by a debate on the charter. The
conference is later to be addressed by Croatian President Stjepan
Mesic. A joint declaration will be adopted at the end of the
conference, after which Parliament President Zlatko Tomcic and the
President of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, Peter
Schieder, will deliver closing speeches.
(hina) rml