INTRODUCTION / WORK WITH INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
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safeguards in these texts to protect the rights of asylum-seekers and refugees and the absence of sufficient public discussion and parliamentary consultation.
The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE)
The second session of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE was convened in Copenhagen from 5 to 29 June (see Amnesty International Report 1990, Introduction/Work with International Organizations). Albania, the only European country which does not participate in the CSCE, expressed an interest in joining this body and attended the Copenhagen Conference as an observer. Amnesty International attended the Conference, following the liberalization of access for NGOs. Before the Conference the organization circulated its recommen- dations to all participating states. A detailed concluding document was adopted reaffirming the commitment of participating states to ensure full respect for human rights with particular reference to democracy, the rule of law, minorities, the rights to freedom of conscience, expression, assembly and association and conscientious objection. It was also agreed to keep the death penalty under review and to strengthen the mechanism established in 1989 to monitor com- pliance with the CSCE human rights agreements.
A summit meeting of CSCE heads of state and government was held in Paris in November, which Amnesty International and other NGOS attended as observers. The Charter of Paris for a New Europe was signed covering the full scope of issues dealt with by the CSCE, including human rights. The Charter also established a more formal structure for the CSCE, with a secretariat based in Prague, biennial Follow-Up Meetings, annual meetings of a Council composed of Foreign Ministers, a parliamentary assembly and provision for ad hoc emergency meetings.
Commonwealth
At the last biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 1989 it was decided to establish two groups to study Commonwealth policy: a governmental Working Group of Experts on Human Rights and a High Level Appraisal Group on the Future of the Commonwealth in the 1990s and Beyond. The High Level Group consists of 10 states: Australia, the Bahamas, Canada, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Nigeria, Singapore, the United Kingdom and Zambia. The Working Group of Experts presented its report in August, which recom- mended ways in which the Commonwealth could strengthen its promotion of human rights, particularly in the field of education and in encouraging ratification of human rights treaties. Amnesty International prepared a paper setting out ways in which the Commonwealth could strengthen its protection and promotion of human rights in its member countries, and this was brought to the attention of all member countries and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association at its meeting in September. Amnesty International also met the new Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, in November to discuss its proposals.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 1991