|
|
|
|
|
|
News
1173rd meeting of the Ministers' Deputies
(11-12 June 2013)
[12/06/2013] On
11-12 June 2013, at their 1173rd meeting, the Ministers' Deputies
held a thematic debate on “The role of human rights defenders and
the Council of Europe's interaction with civil society”. During
this meeting, they also adopted a
Declaration on risks to fundamental rights stemming from digital
tracking and other surveillance technologies. In this text,
the Committee recalls in particular that tracking and surveillance
measures by law enforcement authorities must comply with the
European Convention on Human Rights and strictly respect the
limits, requirements and safeguards set out in the
Data Protection Convention 108 of the Council of Europe.
In the field of the fight against corruption, the Committee took
note of the
general activity report for 2012 of the
Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) and held an exchange
of views with Mr Marin Mrčela, President of GRECO. Regarding
prevention of torture, the Committee elected members of the
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) in respect of Bulgaria,
Croatia, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Serbia, Spain, Sweden
and Switzerland.
These decisions as well as all decisions adopted
by the Committee of Ministers during their 1173rd meeting are
available in the meeting file. |
|
Presentation of the priorities of the Armenian
chairmanship before the Permanent Council of the OSCE
[06/06/2013] Today,
at the invitation of the Ukrainian Chairmanship of the OSCE, Mr Edward Nalbandian,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Chairman of the Committee of
Ministers, presented the priorities of the Armenian chairmanship before
the Permanent Council of the OSCE.
Those priorities include promoting
European values through intercultural dialogue; strengthening European standards
on human rights and the rule of law; combating racism and xenophobia in
Europe, fostering democratic societies; as well as reinforcing co-ordination
and promoting synergies between pan-European organisations.
-
Speech
-
Chairmanship website
1171st meeting of the Ministers' Deputies (29
May 2013)
[30/05/2013] On
the occasion of the Ministers' Deputies' 1171st meeting, the Council of
Europe Commissioner for Human Rights presented his
annual activity report for 2012 together with his
1st quarterly activity report for 2013.
The Deputies also examined
the Secretary General’s
7th consolidated report on the conflict in Georgia, with the participation
of Mr Davit Zalkaliani, First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Georgia.
The Deputies agreed to the request by the Kingdom of Morocco for observer
status with the
European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), as well as
to the request of the Republic of Colombia to be invited to accede to the
Convention on
Cybercrime (ETS No. 185).
Finally, the Deputies held an exchange
of views with Ms Liesbeth Lijnzaad, the Chair of the
Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law (CAHDI).
-
Meeting file
 Ministerial
Session: democracy, human rights, and rule of law in Europe - strenghthening
the Council of Europe's impact
[16/05/2013] The
123rd session of the Committee of Ministers was held today in Strasbourg
with Gilbert Saboya Sunyé, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Andorra, in the
Chair. At the end of the meeting, the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers
was passed by Andorra to Armenia.
The Ministers’ discussions chiefly
revolved around a
report by the Secretary General on strengthening the impact of the actions
undertaken by the Council of Europe concerning democracy, human rights and
rule of law. They encouraged the Secretary General to continue his efforts
to optimise the functioning and co-ordination of the Organisation’s monitoring
mechanisms while taking care that better use was made of the conclusions
drawn from the monitoring actions. For that purpose, the Ministers invited
the Secretary General to present them regularly with a situation report
on democracy, human rights and rule of law in Europe founded on the conclusions
of the monitoring mechanisms, accompanied by definite proposals for action.
Co-operation with the European Union and Council of Europe policy towards
neighbouring regions were also on the meeting agenda.
During the session,
the Committee of Ministers also adopted
Protocol No. 15 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms. The Protocol will be opened for signature by member
states on 24 June 2013.
Armenia will chair the Committee of Ministers
for the next six months.
-
Stocktaking of the Andorran Chairmanship
-
Priorities of the Armenian Chairmanship
-
Documentation
-
Event file
-
Photo gallery
1170th meeting of the Ministers' Deputies
[10/05/2013]
At their 1170th meeting, the Ministers' Deputies continued to prepare the
123rd Ministerial Session that will take place in Strasbourg next week (16
May 2013). They also examined reports on the state of implementation of
the commitments entered into by Armenia and Azerbaijan, prepared following
the recent visits of a delegation of Ambassadors to those countries. The
Deputies adopted
two sets of decisions in this respect.
Concerning the long-standing
issue of the obligation of Bosnia-Herzegovina to abide by the judgment of
the Court in the case of Sejdić and Finci, the Deputies stressed that
failure to reach a consensus and to amend the necessary legislation would
not only amount to a manifest breach of obligations under Article 46, paragraph
1, of the Convention but would also seriously undermine the legitimacy and
the credibility of the country’s future elected bodies. They therefore strongly
urged the authorities and political leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina
to reach a consensus and to amend the Constitution and the electoral legislation
to bring them in conformity with the Convention requirements with no further
delay.
Amongst other decisions, the Deputies adopted a
declaration welcoming the abolition of the death penalty in Maryland
(USA).
-
Meeting file
Declaration of the Committee of Ministers on
the abolition of the death penalty in Maryland (United States of America)
[07/05/2013]
The Committee of Ministers congratulates the State of Maryland on its recent
decision passing legislation abolishing the death penalty.
The Committee
of Ministers encourages other US States to follow the positive example of
the State of Maryland and to reinforce the growing trend in international
law and national practices towards the abolition of the death penalty.
-
The Council of Europe, a death penalty free area
Declaration of the Committee of Ministers on
the recent executions in Japan and in the United States of America
[30/04/2013] The
Committee of Ministers deplores the executions which have recently taken
place in Japan and in the United States of America, observer States to the
Council of Europe.
These executions run counter to the growing trend
against the death penalty at the international level as shown by the latest
resolution on the moratorium on the use of the death penalty adopted at
the United Nations.
When granted the observer status to the Council of
Europe, States have committed themselves to share Council of Europe values
and to make a positive contribution to the work of the Organisation. The
Committee of Ministers calls again on the Japanese and American authorities
to put an end to this inhumane practice and to respect our values and principles.
The Committee of Ministers reiterates its unequivocal opposition to capital
punishment in all places and in all circumstances. It remains determined
to continue its efforts towards global abolition of this inhumane practice. |
|
Council of Europe, Palais de l'Europe, Avenue de
l'Europe, F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, France
Tel. (+33) 3.88.41.20.00
- Fax. (+33) 3.88.41.27.81 |
|
|
Print 
Send 
FRANCAIS 
