The meeting of 25 October started after a tribute paid to the late Ambassador Guido Bellatti-Ceccoli, Permanent Representative of San Marino to the Council of Europe.

At their meeting, the Ministers' Deputies adopted an interim resolution giving formal notice to Azerbaijan of the Committee’s intention to bring before the European Court of Human Rights the question whether Azerbaijan has failed to fulfil its obligation under Article 46 § 1 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in the case of Ilgar Mammadov (more information ...).

The Deputies continued their six-monthly review on the situation with regard to the abolition of the death penalty and adopted a series of decisions on this matter. They deeply deplored that, in contravention of the global trend towards abolition, one execution was carried out and two further death sentences were pronounced in Belarus since their last review in April 2017. They also deeply regretted that executions continue to be carried out in Japan and the United States, two Council of Europe observer States.

The Special Representative of the Secretary General on migration and refugees, Ambassador Tomáš Boček, presented the report of his fact-finding mission to Serbia and two transit zones in Hungary, which took place in June 2017.

Finally, the Deputies held an exchange of views with Ms Gudrun Mosler-Törnström, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, on the October Session and other activities of the Congress.

The other items examined by the Deputies appear in the Agenda and the decisions adopted are available in the meeting file.