The Council of Europe

The UK contributed fully to the negotiations and final agreed Declaration at

the High Level Conference at Interlaken in February on reform measures to
improve the efficiency of the European Court of Human Rights. This
Declaration included a set of specific measures to be introduced by mid-2012.
In June, Protocol 14 to the European Convention on Human Rights came into
force. This Protocol streamlines the way certain cases are dealt with in the
Court and will contribute to the longer-term aim of reducing the backlog, and
the time taken to process cases.

We also championed an initiative on measures to combat discrimination on

the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, which was adopted by
the Committee of Ministers on 31 March. This was a notable landmark, as it
is the first international instrument to protect the rights of individuals from
discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity.

In July, talks began on EU accession to the European Convention on Human

Rights. This process will ensure that the institutions of the EU are covered by
the same human rights standards under the convention as all Council of
Europe member states. The successful conclusion of these negotiations will
complete a commitment in the Treaty of Lisbon.

In October, a high-level meeting on the Roma resulted in Council of Europe

member states adopting the Strasbourg Declaration on protecting Roma
across Europe. This Declaration included actions on discrimination,
citizenship, social inclusion and better joint working between international
organisations and Roma communities. The UK played a key role in bringing
together those with differing views.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, a key consultative and

advisory body in the organisation, held debates at its four regular meetings in
2010 on a number of human rights issues. Key outcomes from these debates
included recommendations urging Russia to stop terrorism in the North
Caucasus in line with human rights and calling on the authorities in Armenia
to revise media legislation.

Each of the 47 member states of the Council holds the chairmanship in turn
for six months. This is effectively the executive presidency of the
organisation. We will hold this position from November 2011 to May 2012,
and the promotion and protection of human rights will lie at the heart of our
priorities. We will focus on reform of the European Court of Human Rights
during our chairmanship to ensure it fulfils its work appropriately and
effectively. We also want to see the conclusion of negotiations on the
Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and
Domestic Violence in 2011.