Council of Europe replies Terry Davis on alleged secret detentions

As APA reports, Terry Davis stated: "I sent a list of detailed questions to the 46 governments of our member States asking what laws they have adopted to protect individuals from forced disappearances, secret detentions and extraordinary renditions to places where they may be tortured or exposed to inhuman and degrading treatment, and how these laws have been enforced since 1 January 2002.

The governments of 41 countries replied within the set deadline. I would like to express my satisfaction with the constructive and comprehensive manner in which these governments have responded to my request.

The governments of Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Italy and San Marino have not yet replied, and they have therefore failed to comply with their legal obligation under Article 52 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

I remind all five countries that their failure to reply is a clear breach of the Convention, which underpins the defence of human rights across the continent. The breach should be rectified as a matter of urgency.

Some of the responses are very detailed and will require thorough analysis. The results will be made public within days – not weeks. If we find that laws applying the guarantees of the European Convention on Human Rights are not in place, or they are inadequate, or they have not been effectively enforced, we will make this clear to everyone."

The Secretary General will hold a press conference to present his analysis of CE replies on March 1, 2006.