Council of Europe refuses to water down Human Rights Convention

Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset today rejected any watering down of the European Convention on Human Rights, following calls from nine states, led by Italy, to reconsider the interpretation of the convention in its section on migration.

"Faced with the complex challenges of our time, our role is not to weaken the Convention, but on the contrary, to keep it strong and relevant," said the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, which, with 46 member states, is the guardian of democracy and human rights on the old continent.

Italy and eight other European states published an open letter on Thursday calling for a review of the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights, particularly with regard to migration.

"We want to use our democratic mandate to launch a new, open discussion on the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights. We need to restore the right balance. And our countries will work together to achieve this ambition," the text, published by the office of Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni, reads.

The text is intended for the European Court of Human Rights, a branch of the Council of Europe, both based in Strasbourg, which is responsible for ensuring compliance with the convention of the same name in the 46 signatory countries.

Berse responded that the debate is healthy, but that the court should not be politicized.

"Maintaining the independence and impartiality of the court is essential," said Berset, who was once the president of Switzerland.

The letter from the nine countries was published after a meeting in Rome on Thursday between Giorgi Meloni and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. It was also signed by the leaders of Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Czech Republic.

"We belong to different political families and come from different political traditions. But it is necessary to initiate a discussion on how international conventions respond to the challenges we face today," the signatories stated.