New call for human rights commissioner

Date: 10/10/02

THE European Commission is being urged to create a commissioner for human rights.

Campaign group Fair Trials Abroad says such a post, first envisaged by the committee of wisemen who investigated allegations of fraud in the Santer Commission, says such a role is 'long overdue'.THE European Commission is being urged to create a commissioner for human rights.

FTA director, Stephen Jakobi, said: 'Miscarriages of justice occur throughout member states on a regular basis, not because the law doesn't exist to protect the rights of the accused, but because those rights are frequently overlooked.

'We believe a human rights commissioner would help address this issue.'

The group has also written to Romano Prodi, president of the Commission, calling initially for the creation of a panel of legal experts to help protect the rights of EU citizens.

The panel would be funded from EU coffers, served by a secretariat in Brussels, and would meet up to four times per year.

Jakobi said: 'The panel would be made up of practising defence lawyers from member states, translators and academic specialists.

'Its task would be to evaluate current practice across member states and inform Commission representatives of difficulties with implementation.'

The European Commission is being urged to create a Commissioner dedicated to the issue of human rights by the campaign group, Fair Trials Abroad.