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Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers
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Activities of the Committee of
Ministers
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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...).
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Committee of Ministers:
Who's Who
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Moratorium
on death penalty in Russia
[19/11/2009]
''I strongly hope that Russia will now transform the existing moratorium on
executions into de jure abolition of the death penalty and ratify Protocol No.
6 to the European Convention on Human Rights,'' said the Chairperson of the
Committee of Ministers, Micheline Calmy-Rey, Minister for Foreign Affairs of
Switzerland, on 19 November, following the declaration by the Russian
Constitutional Court that no death penalty sentence can be pronounced or
applied in Russia.
20th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Adoption of
Council of Europe Guidelines on the protection of children from violence
[18/11/2009]
In their joint statement on 18 November following the adoption of Guidelines
on the protection of children from violence, the outgoing Slovenian Chair of
the Committee of Ministers, Samuel Žbogar, and the incoming Swiss Chair,
Micheline Calmy-Rey, stressed the clear obligation of states to protect
children from all forms of violence at all times and in all settings.
Joint
statement
Full
text of the guidelines
Publication of a report on minority languages in Slovakia
[18/11/2009]
The Committee of Ministers has on 18 November made public the second report on
the situation of minority languages in Slovakia. This report has been drawn up
by a committee of independent experts which monitors the application of the
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
Call for immediate release of teenagers in South Ossetia, Georgia
[16/11/2009]
In their statement on 16 November,
Secretary General Thorbjřrn Jagland and Chairman of the Committee of
Ministers, Samuel Žbogar, expressed their concern over the prolonged
detention of teenagers by the de facto authorities of South Ossetia.
Conference on civil participation in Europe
[10/11/2009]
Organised at the initiative of the Conference of INGOs in the framework of the
Slovenian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, the conference, which
took place in Ljubljana on 12-13 November, braught together NGOs and
representatives of public authorities in South-East Europe. The discussion
revolved around the Code of Good Practice on Civil Participation in the
Decision-Making Process presented at the Forum for the Future of Democracy in
Kyiv.
File:
''Civil society''
Ljubljana
Conference - Rehabilitating our Common Heritage
[07/11/2009]
The conference, organised in the framework of the Slovenian Chairmanship of
the Committee of Ministers, took place on 6 and 7 November in Ljubljana and
aimed to raise awareness about the importance of rehabilitation of cultural
heritage. The conference brought together high representatives from South-East
Europe, Kyiv initative countries and other Council of Europe member states.
More
information
Ljubljana
declaration
IRPP/SAAH
Project Website
Convention
on Human Rights and Biomedicine: 10 years on
[03/11/2009]
The Steering Committee on Bioethics (CDBI) and the Slovenian authorities,
under the Slovenian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, organised a
conference on the European Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (also
known as the Oviedo Convention), on 3 November in Strasbourg. The aim of the
conference was to consider the impact of the convention, its topicality and
the timelessness of its principles.
Webcast
[in French only]
File
Council
of Europe concerned about a new death penalty case in Belarus
[30/10/2009]
''We are deeply disturbed by the news that the Belarus Supreme Court has once
again rejected an appeal against the death penalty handed down to a Belarusian
citizen, and that Andrei Zhuk, condemned to death by a Minsk regional court on
22 July, may face imminent execution,'' stated the Chair of the Committee of
Ministers, Samuel Žbogar, and the Secretary General, Thorbjřrn Jagland, on 30
October. They called on President Alyaksandr Lukashenka to grant clemency to
Mr Zhuk, to declare forthwith a moratorium on the use of the death penalty in
Belarus, and to commute the sentences of all prisoners sentenced to death to
terms of imprisonment.
Priorities
of the forthcoming Swiss Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers
[28/10/2009]
On 28 October Micheline Calmy-Rey, Head of the
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the next Chairperson of the
Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, met with the Secretary
General, Thorbjřrn Jagland, to discuss their cooperation during the
forthcoming Swiss Chairmanship. The head of the Swiss diplomacy expressed
support for the Secretary General's priorities with regard to the relations
with Council of Europe institutional partners and the efforts to reinforce the
efficiency, the relevance and the political role of the organisation in the
European architecture. This is in line with the main priorities of the Swiss
chairmanship, which will also include efforts to secure the future of the
European Court of Human Rights - with a major conference planned for February
2010 in Interlaken - and activities to promote and strengthen democratic
institutions in Council of Europe member states. The Secretary General and the
Minister agreed to maintain very close cooperation and open communication
lines throughout the Chairmanship.
Minister
Žbogar participates in a Quadripartite Meeting between the EU and the Council
of Europe
[27/10/2009]
As Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the
Slovenian Foreign Minister, Samuel Žbogar, participated today in Luxembourg in
a quadripartite meeting between the European Union and the Council of Europe.
The agenda for the meeting, which took place in the context of the EU General
Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC), included three items: Georgia,
Moldova, and Belarus.
Conclusions
Samuel
Žbogar received the European Charter on Freedom of the Press
[27/10/2009]
The Slovenian Foreign Minister and Chairman of the Committee of Ministers
participated on 26 October in Luxembourg in a parliamentary discussion on
freedom of the press and the protection of journalists’ sources. ''During
economic crisis and global challenges, we need freedom of expression and
journalists who can report freely and independently'', said Minister Žbogar
upon receiveing the European Charter on Freedom of the Press.
Ministers’ Deputies adopted Code of Good Practice for Civil Participation in
the Decision-Making Process
[22/10/2009]
During its meeting on 20 and 21 October, the Committee of Ministers gave its
support to the Code of good practice adopted by the INGOs Conference at its
autumn session. It recognised the Code’s importance as a reference document
for the Council of Europe, and as a basis for the empowerment of citizens to
be involved in conducting public affairs in European countries.
Code
of good practice
Video
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