The Ministers’ Deputies held a minute of silence, at the start of their 1431^st meeting on 6 April, to express their condolences and support to Ukraine following the hideous murders discovered in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, as well as in other areas that Russian armed forces have recently left.

The Deputies discussed current political affairs and continued their work on the consequences of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. They decided to amend Article 26 of the Statute of the Council of Europe, by deleting the reference to the Russian Federation and its representatives in the Parliamentary Assembly.

They also took note of a Declaration on the consequences of the war for the children in Ukraine, made by 6* Issued by: Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, San Marino and Slovenia / Supported by: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom member States and supported by 38 others, issued in view of the High-Level Conference organised in the framework of the Italian Chairmanship, on 7 April 2022, to launch the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022-2027).

The Deputies held their six-monthly review of the situation with regard to the abolition of the death penalty and took several decisions in this regard.

They also held an exchange of views with Mr Leendert Verbeek, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, following the 42^nd Session of the Congress in March 2022.

The Deputies adopted the following Recommendations of the Committee of Ministers to member States:

• Recommendation on multilevel policies and governance for intercultural integration
• Recommendation on principles for media and communication governance
• Recommendation on electoral communication and media coverage of election campaigns
• Recommendation on the impacts of digital technologies on freedom of expression

[more information …], together with a Resolution concerning financial arrangements for the participation of the European Union and non-member States in Council of Europe conventions.

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