The new video series #EuropeExplained speaks the language of young Europeans: The aim is to reach out to a young audience far from politics and to support them to form an informed opinion on European topics. The new series represents a young perspective and aims to politicise young Europeans.
#EuropeExplained raises awareness of the role European institutions play and how we benefit from them.
About our first presenter YPA Karina Matvienko:
- 24 years old, was born and raised in Ufa, the capital of a bilingual and multicultural region in Russia
- She holds a Bachelor degree in Political Science of Moscow State Institute for International Relations (MGIMO – University)
- She is now pursuing her Master degree in Eastern European Studies with focus on politics at the Free University in Berlin, Germany
- In total, she has lived and studied in 4 different countries by now – Russia, the UK, Germany and Switzerland
- Volunteering is a big part of her extracurricular life. Apart from being a Young Professional Advisor at United Europe e.V., she has also volunteered for the Women’s Initiative ReOrient (www.reorient-initiative.com) and for an integration project for refugee children “School for Freedom”
- Freedom and respect are the guiding principles in her personal and professional life
So, what is the European Court of Human Rights?
⚖️ The European Court of Human Rights is the enforcing mechanism of the European Convention on Human rights
? Established in 1959 in Strasbourg, France ??
4️⃣7️⃣ States are part to the convention
??⚖️ ?? The court with the convention protect civil, political&human rights
? International law according to Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969 has priority over domestic law, hence the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights take precedence over domestic rulings
?? ?? ?? Most of judgements concern three countries – Italy, Russia and Turkey
Interview with Karina:
United Europe: Thank you for volunteering and taking part in our video series #EuropeExplained! Could you please tell us why you decided to talk about the ECHR?
Karina: “Thank you for giving me this opportunity! I remember it was one of the seminars about international and European mechanisms of protection of human rights during my exchange semester in Switzerland and the professor showed us a pie chart with pending applications. The most applications turned out to be from Russia, my country. This information puzzled me and I decided to dig deeper into the reasons why we have the most applications at the ECHR.
United Europe: Can you say that you are directly affected by the institution and hence it represents your interests?
Karina: Absolutely. I wouldn’t have invested so much effort into producing it, if it wasn’t so important for me. The institution is the embodiment of everything I believe in. Politics make us think that there might be something more important than the protection of human rights. I disagree. Politicians are there to serve the interests of people. And most countries seem to agree on that by acceding to the Convention. Look at how different members of the Council of Europe are. This of course makes the situation a bit more urgent when it comes to protection of human rights domestically but I am thankful to live in times where these fundamental values are protected internationally.
United Europe: Is there anything you would like to say to the audience concerning this topic and the institution you chose?
Karina: In times of a severe backsliding of democracy worldwide, our generation should be extra careful with what previous generations fought so hard for.
Production team: Karina Matvienko, Dyria Alloussi, Albert Guasch