At their 1426^th meeting, on 23 February, the Ministers’ Deputies discussed the situation in Ukraine. They agreed to continue this discussion at an extraordinary meeting (1426bis) on 24 February, at the outcome of which they adopted a series of decisions and agreed to hold another extraordinary meeting (1426ter) on 25 February, with a view to considering measures to be taken, including under Article 8 of the Statute of the Council of Europe [more information …]. On 25 February, in line with the Statute of the Council of Europe, they decided to suspend the Russian Federation from its rights of representation in the Committee of Ministers and in the Parliamentary Assembly with immediate effect as a result of the Russian Federation’s armed attack on Ukraine [more information ...].

On 23 February, the Deputies adopted:

• the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022-2027): “Children’s Rights in Action: from continuous implementation to joint innovation”. This Strategy outlines the goals and priorities of the Council of Europe’s and its member States’ on protecting the rights of the child and making these rights a reality for all children, through six priority areas for action for the period 2022 to 2027 [more information …]
• a recommendation to member States on the development and optimisation of programmes for the donation of organs after the circulatory determination of death

 Finally, they took note of the following:

• the adoption, by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), of the revised General Policy Recommendation No. 5 on preventing and combating anti-Muslim racism and discrimination. The Deputies reaffirmed their strong condemnation of all forms of anti-Muslim racism and discrimination and any other form of racism and discrimination.
• Opinion No. 24 (2021) of the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE): “Evolution of the Councils for the Judiciary and their role in independent and impartial judicial systems”
• Opinion No. 16 (2021) of the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors (CCPE): “Implications of the decisions of international courts and treaty bodies as regards the practical independence of prosecutors”
• the 2022-2023 Activity Programme of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice(CEPEJ)
• the First implementation report of the Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion (CDADI) on the Strategic Action Plan for Roma and Traveller Inclusion (2020-2025).

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