Why is so little recognition given to the fact that the EU often attempts to suppress basic liberties, such as the freedom of speech and opinion? For example, on 19 April 2007, the Justice and Home Affairs Council reached a general approach on the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia. This Framework Decision has been discussed since 2001, but this was the third such attempt to reach a consensus. The German Presidency has been able to reach an agreement but it could not get agreement on a Holocaust-denial law as well as an EU-wide ban on Nazi symbols.
Under this Framework Decision, all EU Member States will have to punish “public incitement to violence or hatred , even by dissemination or distribution of tracts, pictures or other material, directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin.” The following intentional conduct will be also punishable in all 27 Member States: “Publicly condone, denying or grossly trivializing crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes as defined in the Statute of the International Criminal Court directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin”, and “crimes defined by the Tribunal of Nüremberg directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin.” Therefore, the conduct is only criminal if it is likely to incite violence or hatred – otherwise, as the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee has argued: “the proposal would make a serious and unnecessary change to the existing law in the UK as it would criminalize the expression of ideas as such.”
Furthermore, “Member States may choose to punish only conduct which is either carried out in a manner likely to disturb public order or which is threatening, abusive or insulting.” The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office, Vernon Coaker, said to the ESC: “in the UK we only criminalise behaviour that is carried out in a threatening, abusive, or insulting manner that constitutes racial hate.” Therefore, this provision will allow the UK to continue adopting its approach.
Moreover, the Decision assures that attacks on religions will be punishable if it amounts to inciting hatred “against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin.”
All 27 EU Member States will have to ensure “that these conducts are punishable by criminal penalties of a maximum of at least between 1 and 3 years of imprisonment.” According to the government, the UK will not be obliged to amend its criminal law or to create new criminal offences. Furthermore, according to the Framework Decision: “Member States will not have to modify their constitutional rules and fundamental principles relating to freedom of association, freedom of the press and the freedom of expression.”
Even if this Framework Decision does not affect UK law, even if it will not have an impact on freedom of speech, the UK already has laws against racial hatred, with clauses for free expression, such as the Labour government's equally problematic The Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 (recall the House of Lords amendments, protecting the freedom of expression). Do we really need further laws on this issue?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment