NGOs under European Convention on Human Rights / Tymofeyeva

Asian human rights mechanisms Despite the apparent lack of an Asia-Pacific wide human rights instrument, there are a number of entities, which were set up by states to strengthen the cooperation in the fields of human rights. 97 Among these entities are the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), 98 the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) 99 and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). 100 The last body is the most prominent in the region. The ASEAN adopted its Human Rights Declaration , 101 which contends with a wide range of civil, political, economical and social human rights. Nevertheless, the ASEAN Declaration does not foresee the term ‘non governmental organisation’ in its text. On the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1998, a group of individuals and NGOs from all over the continent adopted the Asian Human Rights Charter (Peoples Charter) . The Charter is specific in that it was not implemented by an intergovernmental organisation, consisting of member states, but by natural and legal persons within the state. The Asian Human Rights Charter remembers NGOs in its text, but only as an initiator: “…more than 200 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) directly took part in the drafting process, and many other NGOs and people’ and people’s organizations (POs) have endorsed the document…”. 102 Regrettably, this information is insufficient for giving a particular definition of the term ‘NGO’ for the purposes of this document. In view of all the about-mentioned documents, it is possible to conclude that human rights treaties in Asia do not contain any explanation of the expression ‘non governmental organisation’. 1.1.3.2 European human rights documents In Europe, the significant role of protecting human rights belongs to bodies established by the three main intergovernmental organisations: 1) the Council of Europe, 2) the European Union and 3) the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The largest organisation concerned with human rights is the Council of Europe. Therefore, we will primarily focus on the term ‘NGO’ in different CoE treaties. In view of the fact that the Convention is a treaty introduced by the Council of Europe and there exist a special interest in comparing the expression ‘non-governmental 97 The Role of Regional Human Rights Mechanisms. The European Parliament. Directorate-General for External Policies. 2010, p. 83. URL: accessed 20 July 2015. 98 The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation was founded in 1985. URL: accessed 20 July 2015. 99 The Pacific Island Forumwas founded 1971. URL: accessed 20 July 2015. 100 Association of Southeast Asian Nations. URL: accessed 20 July 2015. 101 ASEAN Human Rights Declaration. URL: accessed 20 July 2015. 102 Asian Human Rights Charter (Peoples Charter): accessed 20 July 2015.

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