Talking Europe – ‘Democratic backsliding has accelerated’: Council of Europe chief Pejcinovic Buric

Issued on: 16/06/2023 – 14:18Modified: 16/06/2023 – 14:20

Council of Europe chief Pejcinovic Buric says there has been a clear trend of democratic backsliding over the last ten years at least, but that there are also some positive stories such as the adoption of the Istanbul Convention against domestic violence.

“We can see over the last decade at least, that democratic backsliding in parts of Europe has accelerated,” Pejcinovic Buric says. She goes on: “If you read this year’s report on the State of Democracy, which I issued in May, you can see that there are some good stories, such on the Istanbul Convention against domestic violence and violence against women, or on child issues, and some others. However, there are places in Europe where backsliding is happening. We’ve seen increasing attacks on journalists, for example. Not only because of the war in Ukraine, where around a dozen journalists have lost their lives, but also in other parts of Europe. Were also seeing backsliding on the rule of law, as well as an increasingly polarised political life that is overheated with hate speech, both online and offline.”

On Ukraine, which Pejcinovic Buric says was “front and centre” at the recent Reykjavík summit of Council of Europe heads of state and government, she states that “the tangible deliverable is the register of damages that we put together. We have 45 state parties participating, not only from the Council of Europe but also beyond. We have the G7 participating, and the EU as an entity. I’m convening the next meeting on June 27. The register is meant to give accountability. It’s the first legally binding document on accountability, which should provide a place for victims who have moral or material damage to be deposited. This is the first step in the overall comprehensive mechanism aimed at compensation. But the register is a very important and urgent first step.”

On the issue of missing Ukrainian children, Pejcinovic Buric asserts: “There is a general problem of children that had to flee Ukraine. For the Ukrainian children that are found in our 46 member states, we plan to establish a register mechanism. But what is more worrying is the horrible abduction of Ukrainian children, who were taken to the Russian Federation. For that, we have another tool; the Lanzarote Convention, which the Russian Federation is still a party to. We intend to use that Convention to find the whereabouts of these children. They need to be brought back to Ukraine, and I think this mechanism can help to do that.”

Asked more about the Istanbul Convention, which has not been ratified by six members of the EU, the Council of Europe chief says: “It’s great that we have 38 parties to the Istanbul Convention. But there are several member states that have not ratified the Convention, or not even signed it. We see some movement in the Czech Republic, that I hope will result in ratification. I hope that our current chair, which is Latvia, will use the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers to move ahead with ratification. So things are moving. But there are a couple of countries where I think there will be a longer fight. But it’s worthwhile, because this is a gold standard in protecting women.”

Pejcinovic Buric has long argued that human rights standards should be applied to artificial intelligence (AI). “We’re working on a comprehensive set of instruments on artificial intelligence and human rights,” she affirms. “And we want this to have global reach. This will be finished, I hope, by the middle of next year. We’re negotiating not only with our member states in the Council of Europe, but also with our observer states: the US, Mexico, Canada, Japan, Israel. We also have civil society and the private sector represented. I think we need to harness all the technological good that artificial intelligence brings, but we also need – even more so – to make sure that AI doesn’t take away individual rights or democratic norms or the rule of law.”

Programme produced by Perrine Desplats, Sophie Samaille and Juliette Laurain.