The Council had effective mechanisms like the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, monitoring of corruption, human trafficking & money laundering, and oversight of prisons across members countries. But the Council needed to work better with the European Union and OSCE; there was a lot of overlap between the three. The Court of Human Rights needed to become much more efficient, and help countries to improve their own judicial systems. The Council of Europe was absolutely committed to the maintenance of what Sir Winston Churchill in 1949 had called “soft security” – the rule of law, maintenance of human rights and promotion of democratic institutions. Fighting terrorism, while absolutely necessary, should never be at the expense of human rights and the rule of law. Mr Jagland said it was so important that Turkey was part of Europe; Turkey’s leadership should be praised for understanding that democracy and being a Muslim were entirely compatible.
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Christopher Wyld