The Council of Europe’s secretary general, Thorbjørn Jagland, has described draft abortion legislation as an “important step” and said it will be “good news for us” if the recently published Bill becomes law.
The former prime minister of Norway also said he agreed with other senior figures who have expressed sentiments similar to President Michael D Higgins’s recent robust criticism of the handling of the euro zone debt crisis, while stressing that the council could not dictate economic policy.
In Dublin this week for meetings with Minister for Justice Alan Shatter and Minister of State for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton, Mr Jagland said he was aware of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013.
“I’ve looked at the law that is on the table,” he said. “If it passes the parliament it will be good news for us because it means that a judgment from the court in Strasbourg is being implemented.”
In April, a report from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Committee of Ministers urged the Government to expedite the implementation of the A, B and C judgment on abortion, delivered by the court in 2010.
Collective responsibility
Asked if he believed the planned law would satisfy the ECHR, which is attached to the Council of Europe, Mr Jagland said it was not a matter for him to assess. He said there was a collective responsibility for upholding human rights.
“It is up to the committee of ministers that is in charge of getting judgment from the court implemented. So it is a collective responsibility, so I cannot say anything about that but obviously this is an important step,” he said.
“It’s important to understand that implementation of the judgments of the court is first of all an obligation and secondly it is a collective responsibility to see to it that all judgment from the court is being implemented.”
Mr Jagland, who heads the committee that awards the Nobel Peace Prize, said he believed Mr Higgins's remarks on euro zone policy in a forthright interview with the Financial Times reflected a growing trend in commentary by senior figures, including European Commission president José Manuel Barroso.
“My only thought was that frustration is now growing in many places. Not only he (Mr Higgins) has talked about it but many others as well: the new prime minister of Italy, the prime minister of Spain.
“Many are now saying exactly the same: that one has to do something more than only to impose austerity measures and savings. It has severe consequences of course on social rights and human rights.”
He added: “I saw that President Barroso a couple of weeks ago also said that austerity policy had come to a kind of end and one had to do something in addition, which I agree on.”
