Human rights in Europe are generally upheld. However, several human rights infringements exist, ranging from the treatment of asylum seekers to police brutality. The 2012 Amnesty International Annual Report points to problems in several European countries. One of the most accused is Belarus, the only country in Europe that, according to The Economist, has an authoritarian government. All other European countries are considered to have "some form of democratic government", having either the "full democracy", "flawed democracy", or a "hybrid regime".
Unlike its member states, the European Union itself had not yet joined the Convention on Human Rights as of 2011.
History
The history of human rights in Europe is marked by a contradictory combination of legislative and intellectual progress and violations of fundamental human rights in both Europe and its colonies.
Pre-1945 1215: Magna Carta 1222: Golden Bull of 1222 of Hungary defines the first time the rights of the nobility. 1264: Statute of Kalisz – the General Charter of Jewish Liberties introduces numerous right for the Jews in Poland, leading to an autonomous "nation within a nation" 1367: Statutes of Kilkenny 1463: Sultan Mehmed II's firman grants freedom to Bosnian Franciscans after the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia 15th to 19th centuries: African slave trade 1505: Nihil novi in Poland forbids peasant from leaving their lands without permission from their feudal lord 1525: Twelve Articles of Memmingen, Bavaria, Germany 1529: Statutes of Lithuania 1550–1551: Bartolomé de las Casas debates Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda on human rights (Valladolid debate) 1573: The Warsaw Confederation confirms the religious freedom of all residents of Poland 1650–1660: Jesuit priest António Vieira fights for the human rights of the indigenous population of Brazil and obtains royal decrees against their enslavement 1689: The English Bill of Rights is established 1689: The Claim of Right Act 1689 is passed by Scottish Parliament 1690: The Second Treatise of Civil Government by John Locke 1772: British court ruling by William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield sets a precedent that slavery had no basis in law 1773: The Inclosure Act 1773 (13 Geo. 3. c. 81) is passed by the Parliament of Great Britain, enclosing common land and assigning private property rights to lands which formerly had not been private 1781: Serfdom is abolished in the Habsburg countries through the emperor Leopold II ( Bohemia, Moravia and Austrian Silesia) 1783: Serfdom is abolished in the first German state, Baden Poland-Lithuania abolishes corporal punishment 1789: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is introduced in France 1790: Rights of Man by Thomas Paine 1792: Denmark made transatlantic slave trade illegal but the prohibition would not take effect before 1803 (slavery was still legal). 1794: France abolishes slavery The Proclamation of Połaniec, Poland, partially abolishes serfdom and grants substantial civil liberties to peasants 1802: France re-introduces slavery 1804: The Napoleonic Code forbids privileges based on birth, establishes freedom of religion, and specifies a meritocratic system for government jobs 1807: Britain abolishes the slave trade (but not of slavery itself) 1810: Prussia abolishes serfdom 1832: The British Reform Act 1832 extends voting rights and legalizes trade unions 1833: Britain abolishes slavery 1845: Another United Kingdom Inclosure Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c. 118) allows for the employment of Inclosure Commissioners, who could enclose land without submitting a request to Parliament. Private property rights over formerly unenclosed lands expand. 1848: France abolishes slavery 1859: On Liberty by John Stuart Mill 1861: Russia abolishes serfdom 1863: The Netherlands abolishes slavery 1867: Britain's Second Reform Act extends voting rights to all urban male homeowners 1884: The British Representation of the People Act 1884 extends male voting rights from the town to the country 1906: Finland is the first European country to introduce universal suffrage in national elections 1917: Finland extends universal suffrage to local elections 1918: Another British Representation of the People Act 1918 grants suffrage to nearly all men, along with property-owning women over age 30 1933–1945: The Holocaust
1945–1984 1954–1956: Britain tortures and kills at least 50,000 Kenyans in the Mau Mau Rebellion 1954–62: Both France and the FLN use torture in the Algerian War of Independence 1961: French police massacre pro-FLN Algerians in a peaceful demonstration later known as the Paris massacre 1972: British Army shoots unarmed protesters in Northern Ireland, later known as Bloody Sunday 1974: Turkey invades and ethnically cleanses 80–87% of the population of Kyrenia, Ammochostos, Rizokarpaso and parts of Nicosia Cyprus. Turkey's use of Napalm on civilians is condemned. Systematic Rape requires the passing of emergency legislation by the British Parliament to allow Medical Officers to perform emergency abortions of raped women. Missing people number about 1,652. Footage of civilians taken to Turkey reveal some people were taken alive but still remain unaccounted for. 1978: European Court of Human Rights rules that torture by the British government of suspect IRA members constitutes "cruel and inhuman treatment"
1984–present The states of the EU, as well as Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and the European microstates, generally have clean human rights records. The prospect of EU membership (which also entails subscription to the European Convention on Human Rights) has encouraged several European states, most notably Croatia and Turkey, to improve their human rights, especially on freedom of speech and banning the death penalty. However, certain laws passed in the wake of the war on terrorism have been condemned for encroaching on human rights. There has been criticism of the French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools and the French legislation for protecting the public against certain cults. In the UK, a new British Bill of Rights has been advocated to: protect wider range of economic, political, judicial, communication, and personal rights and freedoms; extend normal rights and freedoms to presently unprivileged business-economic minority classes; strengthen and extend the liberal social order; and establish a new independent Supreme Court with the power to strike down government laws and policies that violate basic rights and freedoms.
Latvia
In Latvia, citizenship, usage of mother tongue, and ethnic-based discrimination are the most acute problems for its Russian minority. Currently, half of the Russian-speaking community of Latvia are Latvian citizens, while the other half do not have citizenship of any country in the world. They form the unique legal category of "Latvian non-citizens". In some spheres their status is similar to that of citizens of Latvia (for example, in receive consular support abroad), while in some spheres they have fewer rights than foreigners (recent immigrants from EU countries can vote at municipal and EP elections but Latvian non-citizens cannot).
The Russian minority in Latvia is on the decline due to emigration and the negative birth rate. The death rate among Russians in Latvia is higher than that of Latvians in Latvia and Russians in Russia, in part due to the unfavourable social conditions that have come about in Latvian cities following the enforced destruction of the industrial economy in the beginning of the 1990s.
Former USSR states Following the collapse and break-up of the Soviet Union, its history of severe human right abuses were laid in the open. The situation has since improved in the majority of formerly communist states of Europe, especially of those in Central Europe. These Central European states have aligned themselves with the EU (most of them becoming members in 2004) and have undergone a rigorous reform of human rights laws, most notably regarding freedom of speech and religion and the protection of minorities, particularly of the Romani. However, the former USSR states have made slower progress. Despite all but Belarus becoming members of the Council of Europe, constant conflict between minority group separatists in the Caucasus has led these states to pass strict laws with the aim of limiting rebellions.
Armenia
A series of mass protests were held in Armenia in the wake of the Armenian presidential election of 19 February 2008. Mass protests against alleged electoral fraud were held in the capital city of Yerevan and organised by supporters of the unsuccessful presidential candidate and first President of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan. After nine days of peaceful protests at the Opera Square, the national police and military forces tried to disperse the protesters on 1 March."Report by the Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr Thomas Hammarberg, on his special mission to Armenia, 12 – 15 march 2008", Council of Europe, March 20, 2008. The protests began on 20 February, lasted for 10 days in Yerevan's Freedom Square, and involved tens of thousands of demonstrators during the day and hundreds camping out overnight. As a result, 10 people were killed. Despite the urges of the government to stop the demonstrations, the protests continued until 1 March. On the morning of 1 March, police and army units dispersed the 700–1,000 persons who remained overnight, beating them with truncheons and electric-shock devices."Protestor on scene tells of melee" , ArmeniaNow.com, March 1, 2008"Armenia: Police Beat Peaceful Protesters in Yerevan", Human Rights Watch (NY), March 2, 2008.Ter-Petrosyan ‘Under House Arrest,’ Rally Broken Up, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, March 1, 2008. As of 4 March, many protesters are still missing."Human Rights Watch Demands Probe Into Armenian Crackdown", Armenia Liberty (RFE/RL), March 4, 2008. Since 1 March, Ter-Petrosyan was placed under de facto house arrest."Armenia: At Least 2 Dead in Yerevan Violence, as Kocharian Declares State of Emergency" , Armenia: Vote 2008 (EurasiaNet.org), March 1, 2008.
Belarus
Belarus is often described as "Europe's last dictatorship". The press is strictly censored by the government, and freedom of speech and protest have been removed. Although Belarus' post-independence elections match the outward forms of a democracy, election monitors have described them as unsound.
Russia
Russia has partaken in some questionable acts, such as replacing elected governors with appointed ones and censoring the press, claiming many of these measures are needed to maintain control over its volatile Caucasus border, where several rebel groups are based. The Economist`s Democracy Index classified Russia as a "hybrid regime" in 2007. Since then Russia was downgraded to an authoritarian regime, which the report attributes to concerns over the 4 December legislative election and Vladimir Putin's decision to run again in the 2012 presidential election."Democracy index 2011: Democracy under stress". Economist Intelligence Unit. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2011. 2015 Democracy Index showed the same result.
Former Yugoslavian states Following the collapse of communism in Yugoslavia, the state held together by the strong rule of Josip Broz Tito, several of the nations which made it up declared independence. What followed was several years of bloody conflict as the dominant nation, Serbia, attempted at first to hold the state together, and then instead to hold onto Serb-populated areas of neighbouring nations in order to create a "Greater Serbia". Within Serbia itself there was conflict in Kosovo, where Serbs are a minority.