Danilina, M. V. The Role of the Council of Europe in the Sphere of Human Right Defense and Promotion of Democracy on the European Continent

Abstract: After the second world war the problem of defending human rights became very important. In this regard, a number of international organizations started to work on that problem including the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe was one of the first international organizations established at that period. The CE even declared that protection of human rights was the main goal and task they had. In 1950 the CE passed the European Convention on Human Rights. The Convention set forth the basic essential rights and freedoms of each citizen and obliged the state institution to guarantee the observance of these rights. Today the Convention is one of the main documents in the sphere of human rights protection in Europe. Based on the European Convention on Human Rights, the Council of Europe established particular authorities to ensure and control observance of human rights in countries. Decisions, reports, conclusions, recommendations and opinions of these authorities are very important for EU structures and working groups developing the human protection policy. Therefore, rich experience and well established legislative base in the sphere of human rights protection show success and efficiency of the CE regarding this matter on the European continent. Despite the fact that EU develops the human right policy on their own, they are still behind the CE in this sphere. The human right protection is closely connected with the promotion of democracy. However, despite their important role in human right protection, the CE is not so active in promoting democracy. The CE is not responsible for promotion of democracy in Europe. They only create the environment and background for democratic practices and debates.

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