Council of Europe resolution 1481

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In the resolution 1481 of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) issued on January 25, 2006 during its winter session, the Council of Europe "strongly condemns crimes of totalitarian communist regimes".

It condemned "the massive human rights violations committed by totalitarian communist regimes and expressed sympathy, understanding and recognition for the victims of these crimes". It also said these violations "included individual and collective assassinations and executions, death in concentration camps, starvation, deportations, torture, slave labour and other forms of mass physical terror.".

The full draft recommandation by rapporteur Göran Lindblad was issued with great majority by the Political Affairs committee. However, it did not receive the necessary two-thirds majority of the votes cast in the Parliamentary Assembly. The group of communist parties strongly opposed the resolution. The resolution was supported by the EPP-ED, liberal groups and some social democrats, especially from countries like Hungary, the Czech Republic or the Baltic countries.