Economic Pain Inflicted, Austerity-Pushers Now Targeting Human Rights

The political drive to enact economic austerity across Europe is not only harming the financial position of millions upon millions of people, it is also undermining human rights protections across the continent and beyond.

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That is the message from the Council of Europeans on Wednesday, backed up by a new report (pdf) highlighting how the misguided policies implemented by governments in the name of fighting back against the financial crisis that began in 2008 have had the unintended (though predictable) consequences of harming fundamental social protections, especially for those most needy in society.

“Many governments in Europe imposing austerity measures have forgotten about their human rights obligations, especially the social and economic rights of the most vulnerable, the need to ensure access to justice, and the right to equal treatment,” said Nils Muižnieks, the council’s Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Council of Europeans—which is separate from the governmental body of the European Union but acts as a watchdog and adviser to the nation states and the collective body—says Europe’s social model, historically “based on the foundations of human dignity, intergenerational solidarity and access to justice for all,” is now under severe threat by the anti-democratic nature of top-down austerity and a spate of policies enacted under the threat from large creditors and business elites.

As Muižnieks statement continues:

And highlighting recent developments in Spain, the EU Observer explores the report’s argument that assaults on public dissent and democratic freedoms, such as the right to assemble and free speech, have been most severely squelched by the same governments who have most aggressively pushed austerity on their citizens:

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