Democracies facing the Covid-19 pandemic
Resolution 2337 (2020)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 13 October 2020 (see Doc. 15157, report of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, rapporteur: Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger, and Doc. 15164, opinion of the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee), rapporteur: Ms Yuliya Lovochkina).See also Recommendation 2179 (2020).
1. The Covid-19 pandemic is the greatest
public health crisis the world has faced in recent history. It has already
claimed more than 1 million lives across all continents and has
had unprecedented multifaceted, wide-ranging and possibly lasting
consequences for the social, economic and political life of our
societies. It has also been a crash test for governance systems
and institutions at national and international levels.
2. In view of the exceptional nature of this public health crisis,
governments in Europe enacted, under time constraints, a variety
of immediate and extraordinary measures aimed at stopping, delaying
or limiting the spread of the virus. These measures, whether or
not introduced under a state of emergency or other special situation
status, have had a significant impact on people’s daily, professional
and social lives, on their enjoyment of fundamental rights and on
the functioning of, and balance between, democratic institutions
and processes.
3. The Parliamentary Assembly, while supporting States and public
authorities in giving priority to saving lives and protecting populations,
stresses that democracy, human rights and the rule of law cannot
be allowed to become “collateral damage” of the pandemic. No public
health emergency may be used as a pretext to destroy democratic acquis.
4. The Assembly notes that emergency situations, especially when
a state of emergency is formally declared, generally have a detrimental
effect on the system of checks and balances. It warns against the
risk of abuse of emergency powers by governments to, inter alia, silence the opposition
and restrict human rights. In this context, the Assembly stresses
that all emergency measures introduced in response to the pandemic must
be limited in duration and not exceed the duration of the emergency
situation warranting them.
5. The Assembly underlines that, as cornerstone institutions
of democracy, parliaments must continue to play their triple role
in terms of representation, legislation and oversight, the latter
being even more essential in times of emergency, when the executive
acquires additional powers. The continuity of parliament and the media
coverage of its work during a public health emergency are also essential
insofar as they allow all major political forces to be represented
and to participate in democratic decision making, thus also ensuring
the legitimacy of government. Rising above party divisions, politicians
must act with the utmost responsibility to minimise the harm to
the population, economy, social structures and public institutions;
address the causes of the crisis; and work in concert on a post-pandemic
recovery plan which also prepares for future crises.
6. The Assembly is aware that assessment of the compliance of
emergency measures with democratic standards cannot be undertaken
without taking account of a specific country’s constitutional framework
and legal order, as well as its democratic practice. While no internal
context can justify departure from the democratic process and principles,
the specific national context should be taken into account when
evaluating a country’s conformity with its commitments and obligations.
7. Citizens’ confidence in public authorities and democratic
institutions and processes is essential in times of crisis. Curtailing
public debate and restricting the functioning of key elements of
the democratic system may not only undermine democracy as such but
also damage people’s adherence to, and the effectiveness of, any emergency
policies and actions taken to address the primary causes of the
crisis and protect the population.
8. In view of these elements and in line with the principles
applicable to states of emergency drafted by the European Commission
for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), the Assembly calls
on Council of Europe member and observer States, as well as States
whose parliaments enjoy observer or partner for democracy status,
to respect the system of democratic checks and balances and, in
particular, to apply the following principles when facing a public
health emergency:
8.1 limit, both
in time and in scope, the declaration of the state of emergency
and/or the application of emergency legislation and executive decrees,
which must be adopted within the constitutional framework and comply
with international standards, in particular those set by the European
Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5) where appropriate;
8.2 ensure that parliaments have the power to:
8.2.1 exercise
regular control at all stages of the procedure related to a public
health emergency (namely its declaration, prolongation or termination);
8.2.2 review, and where necessary repeal, any emergency decrees
where the executive has used powers normally belonging to the legislator;
8.2.3 conduct inquiries and investigations on the execution
of emergency powers, even after the public health emergency has
come to an end;
8.3 refrain from permanent changes to legislation, in particular
concerning the electoral system, as well as constitutional amendments,
organic laws or other long-term and fundamental reforms and referendums,
especially constitutional referendums, until the end of the emergency;
8.4 enable the opposition to participate effectively in the
approval or any extension of the state of emergency as well as in ex-post scrutiny of emergency decrees,
in particular by introducing a requirement for qualified majority
voting when prolonging the state of emergency;
8.5 respect the principle of loyal co-operation and mutual
respect between national, regional and local authorities;
8.6 ensure, as regularly as possible, the availability of
easily understandable, full and accurate information to citizens,
by providing the media with access to State institutions, thus guaranteeing transparency
and encouraging public debate.
9. The Assembly welcomes the fact that, since the outbreak of
the Covid-19 pandemic, most parliaments of Council of Europe member
States have continued to exercise, without interruption, their statutory
duties relating to representing the interests of citizens, considering
new legislation to alleviate the effects of the pandemic and overseeing
the emergency measures introduced by governments. Parliaments have
responded with flexibility and creativity by adapting their work
to the extraordinary circumstances resulting from the pandemic and
implementing, to various degrees, a combination of measures such
as reducing the number of plenary sittings and limiting the number
of members who can attend them; limiting work in plenary to a strict minimum
(namely consideration of emergency legislation related to the pandemic
and overseeing the emergency measures introduced by the government);
increasing the use of modern communication technologies and platforms,
and allowing online participation in committee meetings, plenary
sittings and even in voting; and setting up new ad hoc structures
for scrutiny and accountability regarding actions taken by the government
in response to the pandemic.
10. The Assembly is aware that finding ad hoc solutions to continue
carrying out parliamentary work has not been an easy task and may
have raised issues of procedure, competence, authority, priorities,
relations between majority and opposition parties and within party
groups, as well as with government and citizens. It therefore calls
upon the parliaments of Council of Europe member and observer States
and parliaments which enjoy observer or partner for democracy status
to take stock of their experience gained during the pandemic and
use it to prepare for any future crises by:
10.1 introducing, preferably on the basis of a cross-party
agreement, necessary changes to their internal structures, rules
and procedures with a view to allowing an uninterrupted exercise
of parliamentary duties in emergency situations;
10.2 carefully assessing the management of pandemics by governments,
namely the execution of emergency powers, implementation of an exit
strategy and preparedness for possible new waves of pandemics;
10.3 reviewing and, where necessary, revising legislation on
emergency situations in a way that would ensure maximum efficiency
while being fully compliant with fundamental principles of democracy, respect
for human rights and the rule of law;
10.4 considering granting the opposition the right to chair
relevant inquiry committees;
10.5 sharing experience and good practice of pandemic management
with other parliaments using, in particular, multilateral parliamentary
assemblies as platforms, and co-operating with international partners.
11. The Assembly notes that, since the outbreak of the Covid-19
pandemic, elections at various levels have been postponed in a number
of Council of Europe member States, while in others their organisation
has given rise to controversies either about the principle of holding
elections during the pandemic or the specific modalities involved.
The Assembly calls upon member States to apply the following principles,
as devised by the Venice Commission, when deciding whether to hold
or postpone elections during a public health emergency:
11.1 ensure that postponement is
foreseen by law, that it is necessary, proportionate and limited
in time;
11.2 involve all political parties, candidates and other stakeholders,
including health authorities and experts, in the discussion concerning
a possible postponement; a qualified majority in the parliament may
be required, especially for longer postponements; judicial control
by an independent and impartial national court should be possible;
11.3 ensure that the conditions for universal, equal, free,
secret and direct suffrage are met, including by guaranteeing an
open and fair electoral campaign and a meaningful public debate;
11.4 assess how far it is possible to compensate for limitations
on door-to-door campaigning or public rallies by means of public
or private media or the use of the internet, including social media;
special attention should be paid to the authorities’ duty of neutrality,
as well as to the obligation of the broadcast media to cover election
campaigns in a fair, balanced and impartial manner in all of their
programmes;
11.5 consider using different voting modalities such as postal
voting, mobile ballot boxes, voting by internet or proxy voting,
if provided for by law and if the conditions for universal, free,
secret and direct suffrage are met.
12. The Assembly notes that the organisation of elections during
a public health emergency raises legal and practical challenges
for election observation, thus increasing the risk of possible fraud
and manipulation of election results. In view of the importance
of its election observation role, the Assembly resolves to consider modalities
which would allow it to carry out election observation missions
during such an emergency situation, in co-ordination with its institutional
partners, in the framework of international election observation
missions.
13. The observation of elections should continue to be an important
tool for the assessment of the electoral process. Given the possible
limitations on the presence of international observers, as well
as the increased use of alternative voting mechanisms to replace
voting in person, as a result of the pandemic, the Assembly should develop
alternative modalities for the assessment of elections. The Assembly
underscores that the assessment of the electoral process goes well
beyond the physical observation on election day(s).
14. The Assembly, in line with its Resolution 2329 (2020) and Recommendation 2174 (2020) on
lessons for the future from an effective and rights-based response
to the Covid-19 pandemic, stresses the urgent need for an evidence-based,
internationally co-ordinated and human rights compliant approach
to public health crises. In the face of a pandemic – and the inevitable
next one – that threatens humanity, the current international context
must shift from rivalry among powers to an opportunity for multilateral
co-operation that goes beyond partisan divisions.
15. Genuine and constructive multilateralism is essential for
anticipating and addressing real threats and for restoring confidence
in intergovernmental institutions, as well as for tackling the far-reaching
health, economic, political, infrastructural and social implications
of the current crisis. In this context, multilateral organisations, such
as the World Health Organization (WHO), are central to finding common
solutions to common problems and require support from all member
States, including proper funding in order to act swiftly and issue recommendations
based on evidence.
16. In light of the above, the Assembly calls upon member and
observer States as well as States whose parliaments enjoy observer
or partner for democracy status to:
16.1 seek and maintain a united global focus on pandemic preparedness
and response, and to commit to building trust and a shared sense
of purpose among all States;
16.2 positively respond to the United Nations Security Council’s
call for a general and immediate cessation of hostilities in all
situations and for the urgent need for unity and mutual support
in the battle against a common enemy;
16.3 carefully scrutinise the way their national healthcare
system coped or failed to cope with the pandemic, with a view to
enhancing preparedness, resilience and responsiveness in the future;
16.4 share good practice in handling the pandemic;
16.5 raise awareness of disinformation and misinformation about
the pandemic and ensure that individuals stay alert and abstain
from spreading false or misleading content;
16.6 support the independent review of WHO’s co-ordination
of the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic, ensure adequate
funding for the organisation to make it independent of voluntary contributions
and provide it with appropriate tools to effectively monitor the
health situation in all member States;
16.7 strengthen the International Health Regulations (IHR)
to improve preparedness and create a more efficient early alert
and response system;
16.8 ensure that diagnostic tools, treatments and vaccines
are accessible and affordable for everyone, in all countries, starting
with those persons at highest risk, and adopt a common European
approach, so that each of Europe’s 830 million citizens can benefit
from equal protection from Covid-19.
17. The Assembly welcomes the fact that, in the face of the challenges
raised by the pandemic, the Council of Europe bodies and institutions
– in particular, the Parliamentary Assembly, the Committee of Ministers
and the Venice Commission – as well as the Secretary General and
the Commissioner for Human Rights have provided timely and adequate
support to member States by sharing with their governments and parliaments tools,
standards and guidelines aimed at ensuring compliance with the principles
of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in their response
to the pandemic.
18. Therefore, the Assembly resolves to develop further its co-operation
with national parliaments by encouraging national delegations to
share good practices and organising peer reviews on various aspects
of the measures taken to address the consequences and implications
of the pandemic, inter alia,
through the organisation of parliamentary hearings with the participation
of Council of Europe experts, with a view to developing viable and
sustainable solutions and approaches for addressing similar crisis
situations in the future.
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