CoE Chair Belgian v.Prime Minister Reynders to ERFRA: Equal ECHR respect.Democratic Security+Ukraine

*Strasbourg/CoE/Angelo Marcopolo/- Speaking to "EuroFora", the incoming CoE's Chairman for the period of November 2014 - May 2015 , new vice-Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Belgium, Didier Reynders, stressed in substance that the PanEuropean Organisation needs to tackle UnEqual respect to ECHR's Judgements, while moving also towards more Democratic Security tasks, in view of the preparation of a New CoE Summit, probably after 2015. This can be achieved by Developing adequate Cooperation between CoE, the EU and OSCE, which has just Started in view of imminent attempts to help Solve the Ukranian Crisis. Something which needs, inter alia, a real DeCentralisation inside that Country, that both Reforms respecting CoE's Principles, as well as a Series of Top Political Meetings, during Next Weeks, in view of a possible Collective Political Gathering at the Beginning of 2015,  might Help to realize, as he added, later-on.

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A First part of Reynders' statements to Media, made just after he officialy took over, earlier Today in Strasbourg, the PanEuropean 477 Member States-strong Organisation's rotating Chairmanship from the outgoing Chair, Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, was followed, later-on, also by a Collective Press Point, together with CoE's Secretary General, Thornbjorn Jagland, with Strasbourg's Journalists, including "EuroFora", also on various Topical issues, focusing ar Ukraine,  (See further Infra).

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- Yes, the Execution of ECHR Judgements is among our (Belgium's) Chairmanship of CoE's Committee of Ministers) Priorities, in line with the Interlaken - Brighton logic", of a series of ECHR-related reforms, in order to augment the efficiency of the PanEuropean mechanism for the protection of Human Rights, which started back on 2010, (Comp. relevant "EuroFora"s NewsReport from the initial CoE's Ministerial Conference at Interlaken, under Swiss Presidency : ....).

- Because, even Today, almost 3 Years after (the) Brighton (April 2012 CoE's Conference, organised by the rotating, Brittish Presidency of the CoE, which focused, indeed, also on ECHR's Judgements' implementation), there are still great problems, in this regard, he observed.

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    - A large part of the Problem consists to the Fact that ECHR Judgements' Execution is generally UnEqual :

- In fact, it's specialy because "Some are used to do far Less than the Others !", among the PanEuropean CoE's 47 Member States , the incoming CoE's President in office, critically denounced from the outset, obviously pointing at a well-known ECHR's problem.
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Indeed, according to CoE's Annual Reports on ECHR Judgements' execution, including the latest one, (published on Spring 2014, with Statistics including all the Year 2013) :

>>> 1st comes Turkey (which has a Population of 76 Millions) with the Biggest Number of "Leading" cases, revealing "Structural Problems", which remain still "Pending" for Execution at CoE's Committee of Ministers, during many years : 188 affairs. While Russia (with an almost double population of 146 Millions) comes Second with 170 such cases. Followed by Ukraine : 127, Bulgaria : 99, Romania : 84, Moldova : 72, Italy : 69, Greece and Poland : 61 and 60 respectively, Croatia : 55. Latvia, Hungary and Azerbaijan : 38, 35 and 32 respectively ; Serbia, France, FYROM, Austria, Belgium and Georgia, with 29, 27, 24, 23, 21 and 21 respectively. Many other CoE Countries have just between 19 and 10, such as (in Decreasing order) : the UK, Armenia, and Luxembourg, Albania, Germany and Spain, Slovenia and Slovakia,    Netherlands and Malta, Bosnia, Finland, Montenegro, (etc).

Finally, the .. Smallest Number of leading cases pending at the CoE is that of Liechtenstein, Andora, Luxembourg as San Marino, and Norway : 0 or only 1, 2 (bis) and 3, respectively;  followed by Sweden : 4, as well as Iceland, Ireland and Estonia : 5 each;  Cyprus : 6, and Switzerland : 8.

+ Morover, this Gap is Aggravatring recently, since it's even Today, on "New cases" Pending for Execution, that Turkey continues to come First among all 47 CoE Countries, adding to the overload more 244 + 192 incoming, brand new affairs on 2012 and 2013. Followed, from a Distance, by Poland with 145 + 134 new cases, respectively. Third comes Russia with 125 + 122. Fourth and Fifth Ukraine and Hungary with 114 + 78, and 77 + 100, respectively. Sixth Romania with 77 + 100. Further down are:  Bulgaria with 62 + 49, Serbia : 56 + 49, Greece :  56 + 41, Croatia and Italy : 32 + 51 and 49 + 34, respectively, as well as FYROM : 52 + 22, (etc). Finally, some Twenty One (21) other CoE's Member States add Less than 39 down to 1 new pending cases only, (including Big Countries, such as Germany, France, the UK, Spain, etc).

=> Thus, all in all, Turkey alone had ... 1.861 and 1.727 Condemnations by the ECHR, still "Pending" for Execution at CoE's Committeeé" of Ministers, on 2012 and 2013, after many years, i.e. much more than all the other 46 more CoE's Countries, (including even New Members of the CoE, who didn't have had yet so much Time for Reforms in the Past, as had Turkey one of the Oldest CoE Members, since the Cold War era...). It was Followed by Russia, with 1.211 and 1.325 ; Ukraine : 910 and 957 ; Poland : 908 and 764 ; Romania : 667 and 702 ; (etc. All the Other CoE's Countries having Less than 500, until only 1, 2 or 3 ECHR Judgements Pending for Execution, after all these years, (such as Andora, Monaco and Denmark, San Marino, Norway, etc, among the least.  (NDLR : Italy's case is a notoriously "Special" one, since the Big Number of Pending cases is Misleading comparisons, mainly because it concerns a repetition of individual complaints for only one problem : Judicial Delays, comparatively far less serious than many of other Countries : Comp. also Infra).
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>>> Most Important : Even the Gravity of Violations is very UnEqual too :
Thus, here too, Many among the ECHR Judgements condemning Turkey, which are still "Pending" for Execution under a "Pilot" ruling,  concern certain very Serious Violations of Human Rights, such as Inhuman/Degrading Treatments by the Police/Gendarmerie : 103 cases, Excessive Length of Detention : 186 cases, and Ujustified Interferences with Freedom of Expression : 96 cases, Violations of the Freedom to Assembly and/or Excessive Force during Demonstrations : 46, (etc).

While concerning Russia, which follows as Second, it's Both Ill-Treatment by the Police, together with Excessive Length of Detention, which are behind 58 cases Pending under a Pilot judgement, (in addition to an Exceptional Group of "1999-2006 Anti-Terrorist operations in Chechnya, which includes Torture and ill-treatment, together with  Disappearances and unaknowledged Detentions, etc., without any equivalent case in Other areas and/or Times). Comme afterwards Moldova with 25, and Romania with 23 Pending cases of Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Torture by the Police ; Bulgaria with 22 cases of Excessive use of Fire-Arms b Police during Arrests; (etc)...

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++ In addition, the Delays in Executing ECHR's Judgements are also very UnEqual between various CoE's Member States, the latest Annual Statistics  published earlier this year, remind :

It's again Turkey which still has the Most Problems, with 87 Pending "Leading" cases, reflecting "Structural Problems" against Human Rights, where ECHR's Judgements have been already Delayed for More than 5 Years. Follows Russia with 69, Poland with 47, Italy and Moldova with 34, (etc).

On the contrary, France, Germany, the UK, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Montenegro, etc., generaly use to Settle the issues much Faster, by executing ECHR's judgements normally in Less than just 2 Years time...

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=> Thus, in consequence, Turkey comes 1st among 47 CoE's Member States in Cases of Unimplemented ECHR's Judgements, which have been placed "Under Enhanced Supervision" by the PanEuropean Organisation's Committee of Ministers, according to the Number of "Leading" cases which reveal Structural Problems, with 13 % of the Total, followed by Russia (which has, however, a Population Twice Bigger than that of Turkey : 146 instead of 76 Millions) with 11% ; Ukraine with 8%, Bulgaria 7% and Romania : 6%, which, together with Moldova : 5%, correspond almost to Half - 50% - of CoE's Total such cases, since the Number of these 6 Countries' "Leading" cases Pending for Execution, is Similar to that of All the Other 41 Countries' such cases...

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        + By a Timely Coincidence, ECHR reminded, this same Day, that all these Facts obviously Single-out Turkey, as persisting No 1 Problem faced by CoE's efforts to impose Respect of Human Rights among its 47 Member Countries, by a Fresh Condemnation of the Turkish Authorities for Torture and Impunity, as well as abusive Deprivation of Liberty, etc, in one more such case, Today.

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    The Brighton's 2012 Declaration, mentioned by Reynders, points both at the "Execution of Judgements of the Court" of Human Rights,  and, in wider terms, at the "Shared Responsibility" between the Supra-National level of Strasbourg's Court, and National Authorities' preventive action (Comp. Supra) :

Regarding the 1st, and most crucial isssue, (where Turkey is the Counter-Example No 1, as CoE's Statistics prove : Comp. Supra), CoE's Ministerial Declaration adopted at Brighton in 2012 stresses that "the Committee of Ministers should ...take Effective Measures in respect of a State Party that Fails to Comply with its Obligations", "pay(ing in) particular attention to Violations disclosing a Systemic issue at national level", in order to  "ensure that States Parties, Quickly and Effectively implement "Pilot" Judgments", ", including by ...General Measures to resolve Wider Systemic issues", (f.ex. a Reform of Legislation, etc).

+ But it also calls for "Implementation of the Convention (on Human Rights")  at National Level", which "requires States Parties to take effective measures to Prevent Violations".

    => For that purposse, the incoming Belgian CoE Presidency announced its intention to organise, on March 26-27 in Brussels, a 4rth "High-Level Conference" on the European Convention of Human Rights', with the "purpose to adopt" a New "Political Declaration", able to give "Fresh Impetus" to the Interlaken process (2010-2014 : Comp. Supra), by "emphasizing both the (CoE's Member States') Shared Responsibility for Implementation of the Convention", also by Preventive National measures, as well as "the Execution of the Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights" decided in Strasbourg, by Subequent Remedies to the Violations by the Condemned States.

    - "The Belgium (CoE's Committee of Ministers') Chairmanship comes at the Right Time, with the Right Agenda", observed, later-on, CoE's Secretary General, Thornbjorn Jagland, pointing, in particular, at the 1st among the above mentioned 2 points :

    - Indeed, "I'm very glad that Belgium is Focusing to strengthen the whole (PanEuropean Human Rights') Convention System" f.ex. "by putting in Practice the Principle of <<Shared Responsibility>>, .. Which means that (CoE's) Member States have to do whatever possible in order to ensure that they have the Right Legislation, the Right Judicial Practices, so that Not so many Applicants might come to Strasbourg's ECHR. "This is incredibly Important, Actually it's at the Core of the Reform that we Started some years ago" since Interlaken (2010), Jagland stressed.

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EU - CoE cooperation +on Human Rights
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    + Questioned by "EuroFora" on "How" he believes that these Problems could be tackled more Efficiently, and whether this included an Enhanced Cooperation between the COE and the EU, (according also to New EU Commission's President, experienced former long-time Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker's main Advise at his Landmark Report on EU - CoE relations, that he prepared and published at the Official Request of CoE's Heads of State/Government's Summit of April 2005 in Warsaw -Comp. "EuroFora" Co-Founder's NewsReports both from Warsaw, then, and from Strasbourg, a few years later, when Juncker presented his Recommendations during a Press Conference at the CoE in Strasbourg, as published then by "TCWeekly" and "MPA" Agency), Reynders was absolutely Positive on this Key point :

    - Yes, because the EU has certain relevant Competences, already Inside the Union, i.e. vis a vis the 28 Member States, the incoming CoE's Chairman stressed in Reply to our Question.

    + Before Adding also, that, as far as the 3rd Countries, Non-EU Members, but covered by the PanEUropean CoE, are concerned, (such as Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, etc), this was, precisely, one of the main reasons for which "I met with (EU's New High Representative on External Actions) Federica Mogherini, yesterday in Brussels", to discuss both that and other Topical issues, such as Ukraine (See Infra), as he said.

     -  Indeed, " We intend to "organise a Good EU - CoE Collaboration, including the OSCE,  in Differend Fields", Reynders added, later-on (See Infra) :

    - F.ex. "to Monitor the Situation about Human Rights (even) inside the EU" : In this regard, "we have some Specific Roles in the EU about that", and "we also have Capacities to Share the Same Values. but we are seeking a New Mechanism : How is it possible to manage relations among such a Mechanism, and the Monitoring by the CoE ?", he wondered, (Comp. Supra).

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Next CoE's Summit would focus on Democratic Security, and may take place after 2015.
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    + Such issues being obviously linked also with the development of CoE's own role inside the overall Structure of European/PanEuropean and International Organisations, Advancing further ahead, these"EuroFora" asked also the incoming, New CoE's Chief to explain his views on the recent Proposal by CoE's Secretary General, Thornbjorn Jagland, to organise a New, 5th  PanEuropean Head of States/Government Summit during his recently renewed Mandate (2014-2019).

    - I think that now, 10 Years after the Latest CoE's Summit, back on 2005 in Warsaw, and given the overall developments that have taken place meanwhile, it's Time for a New PanEuropean Summit of Heads of State/Govenment, in order to give Fresh Impetus and Review CoE's main Tasks for the foreseable Future, positively replied Reynders.

   + Even if this might not happen immediately, i.e. in just 1 Year (2015), I really believe that such a New CoE's Summit should start to be Prepared from now on, the November 2014 - May 2015 Chairman of the CoE also told "EuroFora".

    - Already, as far as the possible main Content of such a PanEuropean Summit is concerned, "it has been decided", Reynders added, pointing at the issue of "Democratic Security", as he told us.

    Therefore, We shall Try to reinforce "CoE's capacity to organize, one day, a new Summit, may be not next year, but in the foreseable Future", he resumed, later-on.

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=> Meanwhile, CoE - OSCE (and EU) Coordination is due to step up, particularly on Ukraine :
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    + Meanwhile, such a Perspective naturally implying a Larger scope for COE's role throughout all Europe, Questions are naturally raised about CoE's Future relations vis a vis all the other European and/or PanEuropean/International Organizations present at this area are concerned :

    - "The more European/International Organisations we (CoE) can Cooperate with, the Better it will be !", positively replied, smiling, Reynders, in reply to an"EuroFora"s Question on the current and foreseable perspectives to develop a more systematic cooperation with the OSCE, particularly in order to tackle, f.ex., the Ukranian Crisis' issue.

    + By the choice of the wider Formula used for his Reply, Reynders obviously pointed both to the EU and to the OSCE, speaking to "EuroFora" at the CoE in Strasbourg shortly after organising a Personal Meeting between EU's High Representative Federica Mogherini and CoE's Secretary General Thornbjorn Jagland, Yesterday Afternoon in Brussels, the same Day that even OSCE's Secretary General, Lamberto Zannier, was meeting also with EU Parliament's President, Martin Schulz, there.

    - Indeed, the incoming Belgian CoE's Chairmanship for the period of November 2014 - May 2015, has the Intention to boost CoE's Cooperation both with the EU and the OSCE, Reynders confirmed to "EuroFora", pointin at "my Speech", earlier Today, to Strasbourg's PanEuropean Organisation's Committee of Ministers :

    - "Belgium plans political consultations between the Council of Europe and other international organisations, particularly the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)", in order to "Strengthen a Stable and Democratic Europe", and at the same time, "Safeguard our (CoE's) fundamental Values for all European Citizens", particularly after recent "Political, economic and societal developments" which "call for greater Vigilance", as the relevant text says, announcing "Complementarity and Synergy" between Organisations due to "Mutually ReinForce eachother", while "each having its own expertise", mainly "through Practical Programmes and Projects".
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    - "We shall try to organize also a Better Coordination among the work of International Institutions and Organisations, as we already Started to do Yesterday (in Brussels), with a 1st meeting between CoE's Secretary General, Thornbjorn Jagland, and EU's new High Representative, Federica Mogherini. Because we are Sure, on the basis of the already existing programs among EU and CoE, as well as the OSCE, that it's possible to have some Concrete Examples of that. So that, we have discussed yesterday with CoE's Secretary General, if it could be possible to launch some Cooperations at the Beginning of Next Year" (2015), Reynders announced, later-on.

    + "And we shall try to do the same also with the OSCE, as we'll have soon in Brussels (on Friday) a first contact with the President of the Swiss Federation, Mr Burkhalter, who is at this moment in charge of the Chairmanship of the OSCE, in order to have some very good Coordination between the two Institutions", he added.

    There are, maybe, other possibilities" f.ex. "to avoid a lot of Complications between differend organisations. As for "the Content of our (CoE's) Mission on Democracy, Human Rights and Rule of Law", we shall see if it's possible to do that in some Specific cases.

    => - "F.ex. I know that the Secretary General (of the CoE, Jagland) will be in Moscow at the End of the Month (November 2014), and we shall try to organise a Visit, at the Beginning of December, in Kiev and in Moscow, to try to help implement Reforms and Monitor the situation in the two Countries, but also to Discuss about the actual Crisis" in Ukraine, Reynders revealed, later this afternoon, during a subsequent Press Point together with Jagland.

     => -  "I will be on the 7th of December in Kiev, and then, I will be on the 9th of December to Moscow", announced in particular, Reynders, in reply to another Question by a Collegue from "ITAR-TASS" Russian Press Agency. On these occasions, "we shall try, of course, to focus on the (Eastern Ukranian) Crisis, but also on Internal Reforms" in the two Countries, he also announced further on, (particularly while the promissed Constitutional and Legislative Reforms for an important "DeCentralisation of Power", as had announced Ukranian President Poroshenko, notoriously Crucial for brokering Peace at the Eastern Regions of Donetsk - Luhansk.

    + Meanwhile, it's also CoE's Secretary General, Thornbjorn Jagland, who has planned to visit Moscow "on the 28th of November", as he announced, where "we (COE) have a Broad Agenda with the Russian Federation", together with "an Official in Moscow", "to help complete the Implementation of concrete Cooperation Programs for Reforms", and "we'll have to Discuss all this", as he said for that 1st new visit.
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     + Another collegue, from a German Radio, asked whether, in the framework of the "EU and CoE cooperation also on Ukraine", that Reynders had anounced earlier (Comp. Supra), he might "intend to discuss also about Mechanisms to make Russia will implements CoE's Committee of Ministers' Decisions on Ukraine", as she unilaterally said.

    - "Yes, or course", replied the Belgian Foreign Minister, in his new capacity as CoE's Chairman. +But, "More than that : .....  About Ukraine, it's sort about to find how to have a Role and Action Together" : F.ex., "it's possible for the EU to help Ukraine in the Implementation of some Reforms" "and, we know that  there are a Lot of Reforms needed in Ukraine. It's possible for the EU to deliver that. But we are also Interested to discuss with the CoE about the Situation inside Ukraine, about the Human Rights".

  + "And, then, it's true, how it's possible to Convince Russia to have a Discussion about the Future of Ukraine".

    => -  "Because I'm Sure, that we need to find ... a New Internal Organisation for the entire Country", the incoming CoE's Chairman stressed, a Month after CoE's Watchdog on Constitutional Law, known as "Venice Committee", decided on its appraisal of Ukranian President Poroshenko's initial Proposals of a Constitutional Reform for a promised DeCentralisation of Power, as a Basis for a Political Agreement to solve the Eastern Ukraine Crisis.

 - "And, so, we'll try to do that After Different Visits in the 2 Capitals, of myself (as Chairman of CoE's Committee of Ministers) and of the Secretary General,

>>>  so that, "at the Beginning of Next Year (2015) we shall discuss a possible Meeting of Foreign Ministers, in presence of the (CoE's) Secretary General" (Jagland), Reynders announced.

- So, we are trying to defuse a lot of issues, not Theoretical, but Concrete issues". - "Of what kind ? But I'll give more answers to Questions at the Beginning of Next Year, after that work, because it's quite Difficult to say Before, what possibilities are to influence the situation there", he carefully concluded for now.

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    + "And then, we'll see, at the Beginning of the Next Year (2015), if it's possible to do the same also with anOther Country". F.ex., "I heard Today", at CoE's Committee of Ministers, "some Interesting Discussions about Azerbaijan and Armenia, so, why not, a Visit in those 2 Countries, if it's possible to do that", he suggested, Widening the scope also to other possible issues.

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+ Other EVENTS :
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    ++ Meanwhile, the Belgian CoE's Presidency will also organise several Conferenecs to protect Human Rights in more Difficult Situations : Such as those of Immigrants, Children, Handicaped people, etc, and try to go further, f.ex. by organizing, together with the UNO, a Campaign about the Future.

    - There is "a lot of things to do", f.ex. "also with the Media, Social Networks, etc, : We've started the proces and shall try to pursue that further, Reynders added, pointing at a long list of various Events during the Next 6 Months, between November 2014 and May 2015. (Including an Interesting, last-minute addition for a CoE's Conference on Emerging Bio-Technologies and Bio-Ethical Issues : Comp. a recent "EuroFora"s NewsReport with a relevant INTW of CoE's Committee Experts in BioEthics, who had announced also a Pioneer 1st Investigative Report on Risks and Potentialities of various New, emerging such Technologies, from Genetics up to Brain Monitoring, etc).
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But, in the meantime, it's Today's inauguration of a Photo Exhibition on "Birth-Day", i.e. on how Different Countries, throughout the World welcome Children, prepared by Belgian Artist Lieve Blancquaert and placed at CoE's Committee of Ministers' prestigious ante-chamber, which stroke the imagination : While the incoming Belgian CoE's Chairmanship anounced its intention to also examine the issue of "the Future of fundamental Social Rights in Europe", convinced that they are "intimately Linked to Human Rights as a whole, and an Integral Part of the European Social Model", particularly in this "year of the 50th Anniversary of the entry into force of the Social Charter" of the CoE, (several Member States of whom haven't yet not even signed or ratified  the "Revised" version of that Charter, neither its Protocol on Collective Complaints, at a moment when even the EU reportedly considers how it might, eventually, accede in the PanEuropean CoE's Social Charter, these authentic Photos topicaly some Gross InEqualities which exist between Babies born at Different places in the World :

 

    It's enough, f.ex., to compare a Happy Norwegian Mother, welcoming with her Lady Doctor her Healthy Boy with smiles inside a Comfortable Private Room, plenty of Space and respectful of each Person's intimate life, with the Striking Contraste of Numerous Indian Mothers, thrown all Together in only one old bed, together with many of their various Babies, Kitchen tools, Clothes, etc., in a Corridor-Room full also of several other such overloaded, old beds, amidst a heavy Promiscuity...  - "How on Heaven's name, are we going to Survive ?", wonders there a "Desperate Mother", after giving Birth to Twin Girls. - "We are Human Beings... The Fact that we have No Possessions, or do Not belong to any Caste, does Not mean that we are Not Human", revendicates, however, another Indian Mother, according to that Belgian Exhibition at the PanEuropean Organisation for Human Rights. Moreover, side by side, two Groups of Babies born the same Day, one in African Kenya, and another in the European Belgium, also face Striking Differences of treatment, immediately after their Birth : Kenyan Babies are thrown, all together, at One old and rather Dirty Bed, crying loudly almost piled up, without any free space to move, not even a cm, while, on the contrary, those Belgian Babies have, each one a Personal, High-Tech and apparently clean bed, fully equiped with whatever they need and well protected, without any noise or weeping being allowed to ever disturb the Calm Sleep of anyone among them... (etc).

 

 

 

 

 

    => With such Striking Differencies of Treatment between Human Babies, right from the Start of the very First Moments of their Lives, Hard Questions about the Future of Humankind are inevitably raised, when one sees, also, at the same moment, a Video constantly going on, which pictures the very Fast Growing Number of Babies born, accross the whole World, each Day : More 360.000, it seems, persistently reproducing such or even more serious Inequalities, massively, from Kenya to Norway, (and/or from a Dangerous Poor Suburb, to a Safe and Luxurious Private Clinic, a fortiori)...