SECRETARY GENERAL WELCOMES FORTHCOMING ENTRY INTO FORCE OF PROTOCOL NO.14

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13:59:01 – 19/02/2010

Interlaken (Switzerland), 2010-02-18

`Today Russia ratified Protocol No. 14 to the European Convention on
Human Rights and thereby confirmed its commitment to Europe. The
Protocol, already ratified by the other 46 member countries of our
Organisation, will come into force on 1 June’, said the Secretary
General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland.

`We are in Interlaken, at the initiative of the Swiss Chairmanship of
the Committee of Ministers, to discuss the future of the European
Court of Human Rights. This final ratification is the result of a
dialogue conducted with the highest Russian authorities and signals
the start of a genuine reform of the Court’, he continued.

The provisions of the Protocol will make the Strasbourg Court more
efficient and help reduce the backlog of applications submitted to it.

`Pending accession of the European Union to the European Convention on
Human Rights, which will also strengthen significantly the protection
of human rights on our continent, I invite European governments to
reaffirm their attachment to our fundamental values. I invite them to
support the reform of the Court and to ensure compliance with the
Convention and its case-law’, the Secretary General concluded. CoE
Yerevan Office reports.