Accountability of international organisations for human rights violations – COE Resolution

The resolution adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recognizes that international organizations are subject to human rights obligations under international law. It also notes that States may be shielded from the obligation to comply with human rights obligations when they act as members of international organizations.

The resolution expresses concern regarding the absolute immunity often recognized to international organizations, stressing that “the existence of “non-functional” immunity interferes with the duty of States and organizations to scrutinize alleged human rights violations”.

In light of these consideration, the resolution invites all Council of Europe member States, and international organizations of which they are a part, to:

1) ensure that international organizations are subject, as appropriate, to binding mechanisms to monitor their compliance with human rights norms and, where such internal accountability mechanisms exist, to ensure that their decisions are enforced;

2) and, formulate clear guidelines regarding the waiver of immunity for international organizations or otherwise limiting the scope of the immunity they enjoy before national courts, in order to ensure that the necessary functional immunity does not shield them from scrutiny regarding, in particular, their adherence to standards concerning non-derogable human rights.