Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers

Armenia hands over chairmanship to Austria

Strasbourg, 14.11.2013 - The Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe passed from Armenia to Austria today, at a meeting at the Organisation's Strasbourg headquarters, attended by representatives of its 47 member States.

Before handing over the chairmanship to his successor, the outgoing Chair Edward Nalbandian, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Armenia, gave an overview of his country's achievements during its chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers.

The new Chair of the Committee of Ministers, Michael Spindelegger, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Austria, presented the priorities of the Austrian chairmanship which will run for six months as of today.

At a brief ceremony during the meeting, Minister Spindelegger solemnly handed over to the Secretary General, Thorbjørn Jagland, the instrument of Austria's ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known as the Istanbul Convention (CETS no. 210). Austria pledged that, during its chairmanship, it would "promote measures for an early entry into force of the Convention", which requires 10 ratifications. (more...)

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Back 15.10.2013 - Conference on the rights of people with disabilities "Towards inclusive society"

Yerevan, 15 October 2013 - In the framework of the Armenian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, a Conference on the rights of people with disabilities "Towards inclusive society " will be held in Yerevan on October 15 (Venue: Marriott Hotel, 1 Amiryan Str.).

The Conference, which is organized by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia jointly with the Council of Europe, will gather officials and experts from the Council of Europe, as well as representatives of the relevant governmental structures and NGOs. Mr. Artem Asatryan, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of Armenia will open the Conference.

The event aims to contribute to awareness raising of the needs of people with disabilities, dissemination of knowledge and capacity building for stakeholders involved, as well as consolidation of efforts to ensure progress in this area.

The Conference will focus on different components of the Council of Europe 2006-2015 Action Plan to promote the rights and full participation of people with disabilities in society and other CoE documents, in particular, how the principles set out in the CoE documents are reflected in the national social integration policy and legislation of the Republic of Armenia. It will be a good opportunity to present the programs being implemented in Armenia in order to promote the employment of people with disabilities, inclusive education and ensure their full participation in public life.