Thomas Hammarberg
Thomas Hammarberg (born January 2, 1942 in Örnsköldsvik , Sweden ) is a diplomat and human rights activist from Sweden . Between April 1, 2006 and April 1, 2012, he was Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg , succeeding the first Commissioner for Human Rights Álvaro Gil-Robles in his office.
Profession and commitment to human rights
Before taking up his position as human rights commissioner, Hammarberg worked for several decades for the enforcement and further development of human rights, both in Europe and worldwide. From 1980 to 1986 he was Secretary General of Amnesty International , from 1986 to 1992 Secretary General of the non-governmental organization “ Save the Children Sweden”, from 1994 to 2002 Ambassador of the Swedish Government for Humanitarian Affairs and from 2002 to 2005 Secretary General of the “Olof Palme International Center” in Stockholm .
In 1977 he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for Amnesty International.
From 2001 to 2003, Hammarberg served as Regional Representative for Europe , Central Asia and the Caucasus for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights . For many years he was the Swedish Prime Minister's personal representative for special sessions on children, and convener of the Aspen Institute Roundtable on human rights issues in peace missions. Between 1996 and 2000 he was the appointed Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General , Kofi Annan , for Human Rights in Cambodia . Hammarberg was also involved in the work of the refugee working group in the context of the multilateral peace process in the Middle East .
In accordance with his mandate, Hammarberg carried out visits to all member states of the Council of Europe to promote respect for human rights.
Commitment to the rights of the Sinti and Roma
Strengthening the rights of the Sinti and Roma in Europe is one of Thomas Hammarberg's main focuses. According to Hammarberg, there is a “shameful deficiency” here. In a series of speeches and statements, Hammarberg actively tried to improve the living conditions of the largest minority in Europe and criticized the alarming extent that the racism against this group had assumed. Hammarberg paints an unadorned picture of the situation of the Sinti and Roma in Europe and, among other things, in his last report on Italy, sharply criticized the dealings with members of this minority on the part of the Italian authorities. In 2011 Hammarberg published a comprehensive position paper on the human rights situation of the Sinti and Roma in Europe, in which he emphasized the need for a unified and comprehensive program to improve the current situation.
In a public letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2009, Hammarberg called for the deportation of Roma, especially to Kosovo, to be stopped , as the deportees were exposed to political persecution there and had to live in camps. A year later he repeated this appeal in a letter to the German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière . A special committee organized by Hammarberg described the situation in a Roma camp in Kosovo as a humanitarian catastrophe.
Thomas Hammarberg was awarded the European Civil Rights Prize on April 3, 2012 in Berlin by the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma and the Documentation and Cultural Center of German Sinti and Roma as well as the Manfred Lautenschläger Foundation for his perseverance and passion in working for the rights of the Sinti and Roma of the Sinti and Roma.
Publications
Hammarberg has published a lot on human rights issues, particularly children's rights, refugee policy, minority issues, xenophobia, Islamophobia, Roma rights, and intergovernmental affairs and security. He is also known for his lectures on human rights at numerous intergovernmental and academic institutions. As Commissioner for Human Rights, he has published a number of articles on the Council of Europe website giving his position on various human rights issues in Europe. He also regularly publishes statements on human rights issues.
Since he was appointed Commissioner for Human Rights in April 2006, Thomas Hammarberg has visited almost all of the 47 member states of the European Council and published a corresponding report.
Individual evidence
- ^ Council of Europe, Commissioner for Human Rights, Biography ( Memento of October 3, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Council of Europe, Commissioner for Human Rights, Country monitoring
- ↑ a b Council of Europe, Commissioner for Human Rights, Speeches and Statements ( Memento from August 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Report by Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, after his visit to Italy from May 26-27, 2011
- ^ Thomas Hammarberg, "The Romani Holocaust and Contemporary Challenges: Tackling Discrimination and Human Rights Abuse of Roma"
- ^ Public letter to Chancellor Angela Merkel
- ^ Appeal to Interior Minister de Mazière
- ↑ European Civil Rights Prize for the Sinti and Roma
Web links
- Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
- Olof Palme International Center
- European Civil Rights Prize for the Sinti and Roma
Peter Benenson (1961–1966) | Eric Baker (1966-1968) | Martin Ennals (1968–1980) | Thomas Hammarberg (1980–1986) | Ian Martin (1986-1992) | Pierre Sané (1992-2001) | Irene Khan (2001-2010) | Salil Shetty (2010-2018) | Kumi Naidoo (since 2018)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hammarberg, Thomas |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swedish human rights activist, UNHCR commissioner |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 2, 1942 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Örnsköldsvik |