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Co-operation and confidentiality The CPT has two guiding principles - co-operation and confidentiality. Co-operation with the national authority is at the heart of the Convention - the object is to protect detainees rather than to condemn States for abuses. Therefore the Committee meets in private and its reports are strictly confidential. Nevertheless, if a country refuses to co-operate or fails to improve the situation in the light of the Committee's recommendations, the CPT may decide to make a public statement. Of course, the state itself may request publication of the Committee's report, together with its comments - to date, 83 reports have been published in this way. In addition, the CPT's annual report to the Committee of Ministers is made available as a public document. These documents may be found online at: http://www.cpt.coe.int/en/ New provisions There are two amending protocols to the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Punishment. The first protocol "opens" the Convention to non-member States which the Committee of Ministers invite to accede to it. The second protocol introduces technical changes, including provisions to renew half the CPT's membership every two years. It also allows members to be re-elected twice, instead of once, as at present. These protocols will be effective when all Contracting States agree to them. Introduction to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine: Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine 25 Open for signature by the Member States of the Council of Europe, the non-member States which have participated in its elaboration and by the European Community, on 4 April 1997 and Entered into force 1 December 1999. Summary of the treaty The Convention is the first legally-binding international text designed to preserve human dignity, rights and freedoms through a series of principles and prohibitions against the misuse of biological and medical advances. The Convention's starting point is that the interests of human beings must come before the interests of science or society. It lays down a series of principles and prohibitions concerning bioethics, medical research, consent, rights to private life and information, organ transplantation and public debate. It bans all forms of discrimination based on the grounds of a person's genetic make-up and allows the carrying out of predictive genetic tests only for medical purposes. The treaty allows genetic engineering only for preventive, diagnostic or therapeutic reasons and only where it does not aim to change the genetic make-up of a person's descendants. It prohibits the use of techniques of medically assisted procreation to help choose the sex of a child, except where it would avoid a serious hereditary condition. The Convention sets out rules related to medical research by including detailed and precise conditions, especially for people who cannot give their consent. It prohibits the creation of human embryos for research purposes and requires an adequate protection of embryos where countries allow in-vitro research. The Convention states the principle according to which a person has to give the necessary consent for treatment expressly, in advance, except in emergencies, and that such consent may be freely withdrawn at any time. The treatment of persons unable to give their consent, such as children and people with mental illnesses, may be carried out only if it could produce real and direct benefit to his or her health. The Convention stipulates that all patients have a right to be informed about their health, including the results of predictive genetic tests. The Convention recognises also the patient's right not to know. Additional Protocols clarify, strengthen and supplement the overall Convention. The Steering Committee on Bioethics (CDBI), or any other committee designated by the Committee of Ministers or the Parties, may request the European Court of Human Rights to give advisory opinions on legal questions concerning the interpretation of the Convention. The articles relevant to reproductive and sexual health rights include, but are not limited to: This summary was taken from the Council of Europe website at: http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/CadreListeTraites.htm
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