The Ministers’ Deputies held their 1539th meeting at the Verdala Palace in Siġġiewi (Malta), on 7 October 2025, at the invitation of the Maltese Presidency. The meeting was opened by the President of the Committee of Ministers, Mr Ian Borg, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism of Malta.
The Deputies held an exchange with Secretary General Alain Berset, following his participation at the High-level general debate of the 80th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA80) on 22-26 September and the 7th meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) on 2 October, among other issues [more information …].
They adopted a recommendation prepared by the Steering Committee on Anti-discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion (CDADI) on equal rights for intersex persons and took note of its Explanatory Memorandum [more information …]. They also took note of two thematic reports, one on combating antigypsyism and a second on national experiences of implementation, monitoring and evaluation of national Roma inclusion policies.
In addition, the Deputies took note of two reports prepared by the Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) on the first effects of Protocols No. 15 and No. 16 to the European Convention on Human Rights. They also took note of a report on the implementation of Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation CM/Rec(2021)2 on measures against the trade in goods used for the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and took several decisions on this issue [more information ...].
The Deputies held exchanges of views with:
- Mr Theodoros Rousopoulos, President of the Parliamentary Assembly, on the results of the Assembly’s 4th part of the 2025 Session (Strasbourg, 29 September – 3 October 2025) [more information …]; and
- Mr Francesco Depasquale (Malta), President of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ).
They also heard a communication by the Executive Director of the North-South Centre, Ms Pilar Morales, on the contribution of the North-South Centre to the external dimension of the Council of Europe.
The other items examined by the Deputies appear in the Agenda and the decisions adopted are available in the meeting file.