EDWARD NALBANDIAN PRESENTE LES PRIORITES DE LA PRESIDENCE DU COMITE DES MINISTRES A L’APCE
Le ministre armenien des Affaires etrangères, Edward Nalbandian,
a presente une communication du Comite des Ministres a l’Assemblee
parlementaire et repondu aux questions des parlementaires. M.
Nalbandian a expose dans le detail les domaines d’activite prioritaires
de l’Organisation pendant la presidence armenienne, insistant en
particulier sur les actions en faveur du dialogue et des echanges pour
lutter contre la haine, le racisme, la xenophobie et l’intolerance.
Le discours en anglais d’Edward Nalbandian
L’Armenie et le Conseil de l’Europe
Distinguished President Mignon, Deputy Secretary General, Members of
the Parliamentary Assembly, Ladies and Gentlemen,
President Mignon, thank you for the warm welcome.
It is a great pleasure to address this Assembly and to report on
the activities of the Committee of Ministers. I had an opportunity
for an exchange of views at the meeting of the Standing Committee,
held in Yerevan, on 30 May. For the first time, I am addressing the
plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly and I should say that
I am honoured to be here as a Chairman of the Committee of Ministers
and to share with you our vision of the Armenian Chairmanship.
Mr. President, the Parliamentary Assembly has received the written
communication from the Armenian chairmanship on the major developments
that have taken place within the Committee of Ministers since your
last part-session. Today, I will highlight a few points which are of
particular importance to this Organisation, as well as several topics
that have been on the agenda of the Committee of Ministers since the
last session of the Parliamentary Assembly. I also will present the
priorities of our chairmanship, which have been defined in response
to the challenges that we – as member states of this Organisation –
are facing today, with a specific focus on some issues.
We will endeavour to bring our contribution also to strengthening the
capabilities of the Council of Europe in addressing those challenges.
This is an important task and a big responsibility, and Armenia, as
a nation, whose European identity has been shaped by common values,
ideals and heritage, confidently takes this responsibility.
Our efforts will follow those of previous chairmanships and concentrate
on the core objective of the Organisation : to protect and promote
human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The expertise of the
Council of Europe in the areas of democracy, human rights and the
rule of law is a unique and one of the most valuable assets of this
Organisation that we should preserve and further strengthen.
While the relevance of the Council of Europe has never been doubted,
there is a clear need to increase the responsiveness of this
Organisation as new challenges and threats emerge.
Having these challenges in mind, the over-arching theme of our six
months in the chair will be combating racism and racial discrimination,
xenophobia and intolerance, and promoting European values through
intercultural dialogue.
The Council of Europe, including the Parliamentary Assembly, has
been continuously engaged in the fight against hatred, intolerance
and racial discrimination through standard setting, monitoring,
awareness-raising. We acknowledge that these trends directly challenge
our common values and it requires our common political will to counter
these threats. In this context, I was particularly encouraged to hear
from you, President Mignon, that the Parliamentary Assembly shares
and supports the priorities of the Armenian Chairmanship, which are
in full harmony with PACE main lines of action.
In connection to our main priority, the Armenian chairmanship
definitely supports and will co-ordinate under its umbrella the ongoing
activities in the framework of “No Hate Speech” youth campaign, which
the Council of Europe launched on the occasion of International Day
against Racism and Discrimination. History has repeatedly shown that
when not addressed properly and in time hate speech may tear the
fabric of society negatively affecting its cohesion and threatening
the most basic and fundamental human rights.
In the era of new technologies, the hate speech went online, and
the virus spreads almost without control through social networks and
affects younger generations of Europeans. What is most encouraging
is that the No Hate Speech Movement campaign ideas were developed by
young people and youth organisations themselves, of course, in close
co-operation with the Council of Europe. The campaign is already
present in 34 member States of the Council of Europe. One recent
example of the official launch of the national campaign was in Italy
on 10 June, where it turned into a high-level event. We will have
a success story only when the campaign is supported at the national
level by public authorities and non-governmental partners and is based
on involvement of young activists. The Armenian Chairmanship stands
ready to co-operate with the Council of Europe to identify priorities
for the follow-up of the campaign, evaluate the achievements and
translate the experiences of the campaign into policy measures on how
to protect human rights online. In this regard, I am looking forward
to the conclusions of the European campaign conference, which will be
the major institutional activity of No Hate Speech Movement in 2013,
organised within the Armenian Chairmanship.
I would like to inform the esteemed parliamentarians that the Armenian
chairmanship will organise a series of events dedicated to fostering
intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding between Europeans.
Armenia will host the 2013 Exchange of the religious dimension of
intercultural dialogue with a view to stepping up action to combat
intolerance and religious hatred and guarantee everyone freedom of
religion. I count on your active participation in and contribution
to that debate.
Under the Armenian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers and in
close co-operation with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities,
a Conference on Participatory Democracy at Local Level was held in
Yerevan, on 19 June.
Local democracy is one of the priority areas of Armenia’s Chairmanship,
since we consider it to be a critical component for the democratic
development of society.
The President, Vice-Presidents and members of the Congress, as well
as representatives of Armenia’s relevant state structures, local
self-government bodies and civil society, as well as international
and local experts participated in the Conference.
The Conference addressed issues relating to participatory democracy
at local level. The Conference has also been a good opportunity for
an exchange of good practice and for the evaluation of the progress
achieved in member States of the Council of Europe.
Mr. President, distinguished members of the Assembly,
The European Convention of Human Rights is one of the cornerstones
of this Organisation, while its proper implementation is, in wider
terms, a safeguard of stability and sustainability in Europe. Armenia
attaches great importance to the proper functioning of the European
Court of Human Rights, which is a key part of the Council of Europe.
The ministerial session held on 16 May in Strasbourg was a good
occasion to reiterate our commitment to strengthening democracy, human
rights and the rule of law in Europe and to reflect on the impact
of the Council of Europe’s activities. Ministers shared the concerns
expressed by Secretary General Jagland, who identified threats to the
European political, social and institutional model and proposed as
a response to those threats to better use the resources, sharpen the
focus on the most important issues and improve the impact of Council
of Europe various instruments through more effective assistance to
member States. The bottom line is the need for a better coordination
of activities and more attention to the follow-up efforts. Ministers
encouraged the Secretary General to pursue his efforts aimed at
optimising the functioning and coordination of the Council of Europe’s
monitoring mechanisms, as well as a better use of their conclusions.
The Ministers also invited the Secretary General to present, on a
regular basis, to the Committee of Ministers an overview of human
rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe, accompanied by
proposals for action to be taken by Organisation.
The Armenian chairmanship gives high priority to strengthening the
implementation of the European Convention of Human Rights. We will
further reflect on the European standards on the rule of law against
the background of the most recent developments in the implementation
of the principle of rule of law by the Council of Europe member states.
Effective implementation of the Convention at the national level
is a necessary precondition for securing the rights and freedoms of
all citizens of the member States of the Council of Europe. In the
Brighton Declaration it is explicitly mentioned that to ensure the
effective implementation of the Convention at the national level
we need to provide “appropriate information and training about the
Convention in the study, training and professional development of
judges, lawyers and prosecutors”. To this end, the Human Rights
Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) Network Conference, which
was organised just a week ago in Strasbourg under the auspices of
the Armenian Chairmanship, focused on cross-cutting aspects of the
issue of capacity building for legal professionals.
To further reflect on the European standards on the rule of law, in
continuation of the efforts of the UK Chairmanship of the Council
of Europe, in the framework of the Armenian Chairmanship, the
Constitutional Court of Armenia will organize with the support of the
Venice Commission a Conference in Yerevan on “European Standards on
the Rule of Law and the Scope of Discretion of Powers in the Member
States of the Council of Europe”. It will focus on the role of public
administration, notably, the scope and the limits of the States powers’
discretion in designing, implementing and interpreting laws.
Guaranteeing the long-term efficiency of the European Convention
on Human Rights and proper functioning of the Court is among our
priorities. I would like to recall that Andorra, Armenia and
Austria as successive chairmanships agreed on a set of common
priorities, including the follow-up of the Interlaken, Izmir and
Brighton Conferences and conclusion of negotiations on the European
Union`s accession to the European Convention on Human Rights. I
would like to inform the distinguished parliamentarians that during
the Ministerial Session we have adopted a decision on securing the
long-term effectiveness of the supervisory mechanism of the European
Convention on Human Rights. Armenia as a chair of the Committee of
Ministers will follow up the efforts of previous Chairmanships aimed
at strengthening the application of the Convention, and will pay
close attention to related issues and at the same time will support
the proposed measures and will encourage necessary actions.
I would also like to mention that within the scope of actions aimed
at improving the system of the European Convention on Human Rights
the Ministerial Session also adopted the Protocol No 15 and decided to
open it for signature today in Strasbourg. This Protocol gives effect
to certain provisions of the Brighton Declaration. As you well know,
the Protocol was earlier presented to the Parliamentary Assembly for
examination and the Assembly approved the draft in the Opinion No. 283
(2013) adopted on 26 April, 2013.
The State Parties to the Convention are invited to take steps in order
to sign and ratify the Protocol as soon as possible. I am particularly
impressed by a remarkable number of countries – eighteen and Armenia
amongst them, who signed the Protocol No 15 half an hour ago. I use
this opportunity to call on the members of the Assembly to encourage
and support ratification process at national level.
We also attach importance to the draft Protocol 16, which would
establish a platform for judicial dialogue and we will follow this
process with the aim of finalising it by the end of our chairmanship.
As you are well aware of, the Draft optional protocol No. 16 on
extending the Court’s jurisdiction to providing advisory opinions is
transmitted to your Assembly for opinion during this part-session. In
this regard the Committee of Ministers will consider with interest
the Assembly`s opinion at the end of this session.
The Committee of Ministers is also closely following the process of
the EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights.
Negotiators for the Council of Europe and the European Union finalised
the draft instruments, paving the way towards EU accession to the
European Convention on Human Rights. The EU Court of Justice in
Luxembourg has been asked to give its opinion on the text. EU’s
accession to the Convention will contribute to the creation of a
single European legal space and strengthen the protection of human
rights in Europe.
I could not but underline the importance of partnership between the
Council of Europe and the European Union. Co-operation between the
two at various levels has developed considerably in a number of areas.
Contacts, including through institutional mechanisms, have continued
with a view to further ensuring coherence between the EU legislation
and the Council of Europe standards and synergies with monitoring
mechanisms of the Council of Europe.
The same holds true for the Organization for Security and Co-operation
in Europe. OSCE remains one of the main partners of the Council
of Europe in our efforts to promote respect for democracy, human
rights and the rule of law. The level of cooperation between the two
organisations with a regular pattern of consultations and high-level
meetings, is yet another evidence of that. I had an opportunity
to address the OSCE Permanent Council a couple of weeks ago where
I particularly stressed the importance of encouraging the two
organizations to enhance this co-operation, to exchange information
and to coordinate their activities with a view of developing synergies
and avoiding duplication. Armenian chairmanship will spare no efforts
to further promote targeted and result oriented cooperation between
the Council of Europe and the OSCE.
Implementation of the Council of Europe policy towards neighbouring
regions is one of the issues on the agenda of the Committee of
Ministers. Significant progress has been achieved, particularly,
through Neighbourhood Cooperation Dialogue and Neighbourhood
Cooperation Priorities, which set out specific activities in the
fields of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
The Organisation needs to consolidate and build upon those
achievements. With this in mind the Ministers welcomed the progress
made in the implementation of the Council of Europe policy towards
neighbouring regions and encouraged its further development. However,
further cooperation will depend on the interest and needs of the
countries concerned, their readiness to engage and capacity to deliver.
Most recently, Ministers` Deputies took a decision to grant Morocco
an observer status with the European Commission for the Efficiency
of Justice /CEPEJ/. At the same time, discussions continue on the
possible creation of a formal status, first and foremost, for countries
in democratic political transition and for interested countries in
the neighbouring regions, which would qualify for a more structured
relationship with the Council of Europe.
I am well aware of the Assembly’s strong interest in these issues.
Several items on the agenda of the plenary session and the committees
of this part-session clearly reflect that interest. I am glad to inform
you that a number of neighbourhood countries who have expressed their
interest in longer-term institutional relations at a governmental
level see the existing “partner for democracy” status established
by the Parliamentary Assembly as a useful instrument. The Council of
Europe’s policy on neighbouring regions requires a coherent approach
by the Parliamentary Assembly and the Committee of Ministers.
With this in mind the Committee of Ministers will follow with
particular interest the Assembly`s forthcoming debate on the evaluation
of the partnership for democracy with the Parliament of Morocco.
Ladies and gentlemen,
With full confidence in Secretary General, we will continue to
strongly support the reform process of the Council of Europe
and will endeavour to raise the visibility, responsiveness and
political relevance of the Organisation. Much has been done,
but further reforms are necessary to better respond to the new
realities, particularly, in the times of economic crises. To this
end, on 7 May 2013, the Ministers` Deputies decided to apply a zero
nominal growth to the Programme and Budget 2014-2015, in view of
the difficult budgetary situation in member States. Application of
the principle of zero nominal growth to the total of member States’
contributions to the Ordinary Budget is a reasonable approach in these
times of austerity and limited resources. We believe that effective
use of finances, raising effectiveness of programs through clearly
defined and verifiable outcomes, avoiding duplications and decreasing
administrative expenditure with a view of reducing bureaucracy and
making savings is the optimal way to face major budgetary constraints
of the next biennium.
As part of the reform process of the Council of Europe, the Secretary
General has presented his guidelines for the review of the contractual
policy and a number of proposals for regulatory changes requiring the
Committee of Ministers’ decision, in order to ensure the best possible
fit between contractual policy and organisational needs. On 19 June,
the Committee of Ministers adopted a decision on this matter inviting
Secretary General to submit draft regulatory amendments.
The Kosovo situation continues to be of particular interest of
the Committee of Ministers. Following Recommendation 2006(2013) on
‘The situation in Kosovo and the role of the Council of Europe” the
Committee in its reply reiterated that irrespective of the status
of the region, all the people living there should have a European
perspective and benefit of European standards for democracy, human
rights, the rule of law and good governance. The Committee also
encouraged the Secretariat to continue its efforts in helping to
enshrine and implement Council of Europe standards in Kosovo.
The chairmanship is firmly convinced that while speaking about the
strengthening of the impact of the Council of Europe activities in
promoting democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe, we
have to ensure that rights of individuals are protected everywhere
within the area of the Council of Europe responsibility, without
prejudice to the status of the territories where those individuals
are living. We should consider exploring in close consultation with
those entities, the ways of a status-neutral approach in promoting
our fundamental values and principles. Whatever is the status of those
entities at present or in the future, these societies bear and share
European values, aspirations.
In order to be brief and without going into much detail, I will draw
your attention to several other issues that have been dealt with by
the Committee of Ministers in the present reporting period, which
are duly reflected in the written communication of the Chairmanship.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In conclusion, I would like to underline the importance of
intra-institutional co-operation between all Council of Europe
stakeholders. It is essential that, with due respect to their
respective mandates, the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary
Assembly, work in synergy towards achieving common objectives.
There has been a marked improvement in relations between the Committee
of Ministers and the PACE over the last few years. Increased contacts
have taken place through various formats, such as cross-participation
of Assembly Rapporteurs and Chairs of Rapporteur Groups of the
Committee of Ministers in their respective meetings.
I would like to thank the President of the Assembly, Mr Jean-Claude
Mignon, for his initiative to regularly meet with the Ministers’
Deputies in order to inform them of the results of the Assembly
sessions.
The Armenian Chairmanship is willing and ready to cooperate in good
faith and in a cooperative manner with the PACE aimed at contributing
to the realization of the objectives of this Organisation and further
strengthening of the political dialogue between the Committee of
Ministers and the Assembly.
Thank you.
jeudi 4 juillet 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com
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