Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers

Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers: Armenia succeeds Andorra

Strasbourg, 16 May 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.

Back 05.03.2013 - Council of Europe high officials attend UN Commission on Status of Women

05.03.2013 - On 4 March, Gilbert Saboya Sunyé, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Andorra and Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, Jean-Claude Mignon, President of the Parliamentary Assembly, and Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni, Deputy Secretary General, addressed the UN Commission on the Status of Women, to promote the Istanbul Convention as an efficient and practical tool for governments to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence. In her speech, the Deputy Secretary General stressed that the Convention was drafted in Europe, but is not meant for Europe only. Any state can accede to it or use it as a model for national and regional legislation and policies.

High-level bilateral meetings are also on the agenda of the Council of Europe high officials' visit to New York.

A side event on the Convention's added value is organised by the Council of Europe and the French Permanent mission to the UN, with the participation of Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, Minister for Women's Rights and Government Spokesperson of France, and Lakshmi Puri, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women.

- Speech by Gilbert Saboya Sunyé [fr]
- Side event: Violence against Women: our concern, our response