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News


Meeting of the Ministers' Deputies

[1 February 2012] At its 1132nd meeting on 1 February 2012, the Committee of Ministers adopted a Declaration on the rise of anti-gypsyism and racist violence against Roma in Europe. It also held an exchange of views with M. Luis Jimena Quesada, President of the European Committee of Social Rights. Other items on the agenda of the meeting included the opening of the election procedure for the next Deputy Secretary General and the adoption of several resolutions on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the protection of national minorities by member States.

Meeting file

 

Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers (CM)

 

Current Chairmanship
United Kingdom: 7 November 2011 - 14 May 2012
Chairmanship website

British Foreign & Commonwealth Office


Next Chairmanships
  Albania: 14 May-November 2012
  Andorra: November 2012-May 2013
  Armenia: May-November 2013
  Austria: November 2013-May 2014
  Azerbaïjan: May-November 2014

Previous Chairmanships

Photo gallery: Former CM Chairs (1992-2011)
More

 

 

 

Activities of the Committee of Ministers

 

The Committee of Ministers is the Council of Europe's decision-making body. It is composed of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the 47 member states or their permanent representatives in Strasbourg (more...).

Report by the Chair of the Committee of Ministers (November 2011 - January 2012)

Overview of activities - Statutory report 2012

 

 

 

Committee of Ministers: Who's Who

 

1. Who sits on the Committee of Ministers?  
The Foreign Minister of each Council of Europe member state.
List of Foreign Ministers 
Member states

2. Who currently chairs the Committee of Ministers (7 November 2011-14 May 2012)?
United Kingdom - Mr William Hague, Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs
Chairmanship site

3. Who are the Ministers’ Deputies?  
The Deputies, acting on behalf of the Ministers, conduct most of the day-to-day business of the Committee of Ministers.
List of Permanent Representatives

4. Who currently chairs the Ministers' Deputies (7 November 2011-14 May 2012)?  
Ms Eleanor Fuller, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom

5. What are the Deputies' subsidiary groups?
These working groups
help to prepare the meetings of the Deputies.
List of groups

6. Who are the Observer states?
Holy See, United States of America, Canada, Japan, Mexico

 

 


David Lidington

Human Rights leads the UK priorities for chairmanship, UK Europe Minister tells Assembly
[24/01/2012] Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly on 24 January, the British Minister for Europe, Mr David Lidington, focused on the United Kingdom's priorities for its chairmanship and gave an update on the Committee of Ministers' activities since October.
Speech

Video of the speech
Report by the Chair of the Committee of Ministers (November 2011 - January 2012)
The United Kingdom and the Council of Europe


Statement by the Committee of Ministers on death sentences in Belarus
The Committee of Ministers reiterates its appeal to establish a formal moratorium with a view to abolition of the death penalty
[08/12/2011] "While firmly condemning the bombing of the Minsk Metro on 11 April and deploring the numerous deaths and injuries caused by this terrorist attack, the Committee of Ministers deeply regrets the sentencing to death of Dzmitry Kanavalaw and Uladzislaw Kavalyow on 30 November. Justice will not be achieved through the death of further human beings. The Committee of Ministers calls on the authorities of Belarus to commute these sentences and reiterates its appeal to establish a formal moratorium with a view to abolition of the death penalty. The creation of a death-penalty free zone in Europe is a powerful contribution to the ongoing global efforts at the UN level to this end."


Council of Europe alerts against pressure and attacks on Internet
Freedom of expression is threatened by political pressure on whistleblowers and human rights defenders websites
[08/12/2011] The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers alerted, on 8 December 2011, its member states about the risks to the rights to freedom of expression and association that may be created by politically motivated pressure on Internet platforms and online service providers. It also expressed concern about the threat to these rights caused by cyber attacks against websites of independent media, whistleblowers, human right defenders and dissidents. In a Declaration the Committee of Ministers stressed the need to affirm the roles of these actors as facilitators of the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association. It also stated that human rights standards should be applied in situations were there is interference with Internet content and with access to websites hosting it, as well as with online community interactions.


Committee of Ministers: decisions on execution of European Court of Human Rights judgments
[07/12/2011] The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe published the decisions and resolutions adopted at its fourth special human rights meeting for 2011.
More information on the execution process and on the state of execution in cases pending for supervision as well as important reference texts (including the new working methods) can be found here on the website of the Committee of Ministers, on the special website of the Department for the execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, and in the Committee of Ministers’ Annual Reports on its execution supervision.


Media, Beliefs and Religions
[29/11/2011] The 2011 Council of Europe Exchange on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue, organised by the Committee of Ministers, took place at the invitation of the Luxembourg government at the Centre Culturel de Rencontre Abbaye de Neumünster in Luxembourg City, on 28 and 29 November. This 4th edition expanded on the theme launched in 2010 in Ohrid ("the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"), on the role of the media in fostering intercultural dialogue, tolerance and mutual understanding: freedom of expression of the media and respect towards cultural and religious diversity.
Documents
Intercultural and interreligious dialogue


Council of Europe 2012-2013 first biennial Programme and Budget adopted
[24/11/2011] The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has approved the Organisation’s Programme and Budget for the biennium 2012-2013. This completes the move of the Council of Europe to a biennial programme and budget cycle in order to allow better planning and resource management, in line with other international organisations such as the United Nations and the OECD. The Programme and Budget 2012-2013 is geared towards a strict control of expenditure, including significant reductions in staff and the redeployment of resources to priority sectors in the area of Human Rights, Rule of Law and Democracy with greater emphasis on field activities and the effectiveness of the monitoring mechanisms to achieve better co-ordination of activities, increased efficiency and higher impact.


Human Rights Commissioner: shortlist announced
[24/11/2011] The Committee of Ministers has submitted a shortlist of three candidates for the post of Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner to the Organisation’s Parliamentary Assembly. He will take over from present Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg at the end of his mandate (31 March 2012). The candidates are Pierre-Yves Monette (Belgium), Nils Muiznieks (Latvia) and Frans Timmermans (Netherlands).
Pierre-Yves Monette is a former advisor to King Baudouin and King Albert II of Belgium, Federal Ombudsman of Belgium and Attorney at the Brussels' Bar. He is currently Professor at the College of Europe.
Nils Muiznieks is currently President of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) of the Council of Europe. Former Minister of Social Integration in Latvian government, he has 17 years professional experience in human rights (international, government, academic, civil society).
Frans Timmermans is a Dutch MP and former Minister of Foreign Affairs with responsibility for European cooperation. He was advisor to High Commissioner on National Minorities for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Max van der Stoel, as well as the Parliament representative in the European Convention.
The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent institution within the Council of Europe, mandated to promote the awareness of and respect for human rights in 47 Council of Europe member states.

Mandate of the Commissioner for Human Rights


The Council of Europe takes action with regard to persons with disabilities in Europe
[17/11/2011] The Committee of Ministers has just adopted a Recommendation whose objective is to propose to member States principles and measures to increase the participation of persons with disabilities in political and public life at all levels − local, regional, national and international.
The 47 member states of the Council of Europe account for 80 to 100 million people with disabilities. Often they do not take part in the decision-making process, faced with barriers of a legal, physical, and societal nature. The Committee of Ministers wishes to change this situation. The Recommendation aims to remove barriers and create conditions for active citizenship, without discrimination, for all and in all life settings. The Recommendation stresses that all persons with disabilities should be able to express their views. No person should be deprived of the right to vote or stand for election on the grounds of disability.
Link to the Recommendation


Roma eviction, "aggravated" violation of the European Social Charter
[10/11/2011] The Committee of Ministers took note, on 9 November, of the report including the decision of the European Committee of Social Rights taken on 28 June 2011 and decided to make it public immediately. In its Resolution, the Committee of Ministers invited France to report at a forthcoming meeting on the measures taken or foreseen in order to deal with the situation described in the complaint and to report on co-operation with other countries concerned.
The European Committee of Social Rights had concluded unanimously, in its decision on the merits, that the forced evictions of Roma of Romanian and Bulgarian origin in the summer 2010 constituted a violation of Article E (non discrimination) taken in conjunction with Article 31§2 (Right to housing – Reduction of homelessness) and that the de facto collective expulsion of Roma of Bulgarian and Romanian origin from France during the summer 2010 constituted a violation of Article E (non discrimination) taken in conjunction with Article 19§8 (guarantees concerning deportation).


United Kingdom chairmanship
[07/11/2011] The Committee of Ministers chairmanship transferred from Ukraine to the United Kingdom on 7 November. The meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies reviewed the Ukrainian chairmanship and looked at the United Kingdom priorities for the coming six months.
UK Chairmanship website
Priorities of the United Kingdom Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers
United Kingdom and the Council of Europe


William HagueReforms to human rights “overarching” theme for Europe, says UK Foreign Secretary
[07/11/2011] On 7 November, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague stressed the determination and political commitment of his government to drive forward essential reforms of the Court of Human Rights during the British chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers.
Speaking shortly before the official handover from the outgoing chair Ukraine, Mr Hague said that human rights were central to UK foreign policy and an overarching theme for the chairmanship. The UK – a founding party to the European Convention on Human Rights - would broker a wide consensus on reform of the Court of Human Rights.
"We have a long tradition in the UK of protecting fundamental rights and freedoms, therefore we want the court to operate effectively and concentrate on the most serious human rights violations," he said, adding his concern that the court had been too ready to substitute its own judgments for those of national courts.
He also stressed his support for the principle of EU accession to the European Convention of Human Rights, but warned that negotiations within the EU would be needed to get it right from the start.
Photo Gallery
Press conference - audio


Eleanor FullerInterview with UK ambassador
[07/11/2011] The UK's Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe, Ambassador Eleanor Fuller, says that reform of the European Court of Human Rights is the UK's leading priority. Ambassador Fuller's comments came as the United Kingdom took over the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for six months until May 2012.
Video


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