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Gender equality principles in the Parliamentary Assembly

Report | Doc. 11432 | 11 October 2007

Committee
Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs
Rapporteur :
Ms Ana Catarina MENDONÇA MENDES, Portugal, SOC
Origin
Standing Committee, 23 November 2007 (adoption of the draft resolution and draft recommendation, as amended); and Resolution 1585 and Recommendation 1819. 2007 - November Standing Committee (Bratislava, SK)
Thesaurus

Summary

For many years now the Parliamentary Assembly has endeavoured to increase the representation of women in its midst. With a view to this objective, it decided in 2003 to modify several of its Rules of Procedure. It specified in particular that national delegations should include the under-represented sex at least in the same percentage as is present in their parliaments and in any case one representative of each sex. In the last four years the number of women in the Assembly has increased from 19.4% to 24.5%. However, the principle of equal representation is not yet applicable in its full scope in the internal structures and working procedures of the Assembly.

This report therefore reviews the situation with respect to gender equality in the national delegations and in the structures of the Assembly and presents new proposals for improvement in this regard.

Furthermore, following Resolution 1489 (2006) on mechanisms to ensure women's participation in decision-making, gender equality was examined with respect to candidatures for the positions of Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and of Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe and Secretary General of the Assembly. While the Assembly is involved in the respective election procedures, the Committee of Ministers or the governments of member states play a leading role. The Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities examined different proposals for improvements in this area; however, in the end it decided not to come forward with recommendations for modifying the election procedures and limited itself to suggesting other improvements.

A Draft resolution

1. At the 3rd Summit of the Council of Europe, the heads of state and government undertook to achieve real equality between women and men.
2. The Parliamentary Assembly has repeatedly underlined that women should be given a genuine opportunity to accede to top posts in political and public life at national and European level, in order to ensure a balanced participation of women and men in political and public decision making.
3. The Assembly is conscious of the importance of national electoral and party systems for the representation of women in the national parliamentary delegations to the Assembly. In this regard it welcomes that the Venice Commission has adopted a declaration on women's participation in the elections which will reinforce the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters. It also recalls its Resolution 1546 (2007) on the code of good practice for political parties which includes good practices for increasing the equality between men and women in political parties.
4. In its Recommendation 1738 (2006) on mechanisms to ensure women's participation in decision making, the Assembly has invited the Committee of Ministers to pursue its follow-up action on its Recommendation Rec( 2003)3 on balanced participation of women and men in political and public decision making. It welcomes the intention of the Committee of Ministers to step up its efforts to achieve the minimum percentage of 40% women advocated in this recommendation, in the steering committees and other bodies of the Council of Europe. Furthermore, the Assembly encourages all organs and bodies of the Organisation to continue a strong focus on gender equality and gender mainstreaming as a specific aspect of its equal opportunities policy.
5. In its Resolution 1489 (2006) on mechanisms to ensure women's participation in decision making, the Assembly has agreed to pursue its efforts to ensure gender-balanced representation in the Assembly and, where appropriate, to reinforce it with binding provisions, amending the Rules of Procedure if necessary.
6. In the same resolution, the Assembly has agreed to prepare a report on the representation of both sexes with respect to candidatures to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and to the posts of Commissioner for Human Rights, Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, and Secretary General of the Assembly. New provisions should be introduced to ensure that these posts as well as that of President of the Assembly are not continuously occupied by representatives of only one sex.
7. With respect to candidates for the European Court of Human Rights, the Assembly has already expressed its position in Resolutions 1366 (2004) and 1426 (2005). Furthermore, in its Resolution 1540 (2007) the Assembly has fixed the procedure for candidatures for the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT).
8. Consequently, with regard to the appointment of members to the Assembly and national parliamentary delegations, the Assembly decides to:
8.1 appeal again to national parliaments to ensure that women are included in the national delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly at least in the same percentage as is present in the national parliament, with the aim of including, as a minimum, a 30% representation of women, bearing in mind that the threshold should be 40%;
8.2 8.2 invite political parties/groups in national parliaments which are involved in the appointment of the delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly, to take into account the afore-mentioned percentages, especially if they are entitled to propose two members at least, and to encourage active participation of women in political parties and in European affairs.
9. With regard to gender balance applying to the Presidency, Vice-Presidents, in the Bureau of the Assembly, the bureaux of Assembly committees and subcommittees, Bureau ad hoc committees and to the appointment of committee rapporteurs, the Assembly decides to:
9.1 ask national delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly and any national authorities concerned:
9.1.1 to implement Resolution 1348 (2003) on gender- balanced representation in the Parliamentary Assembly by applying the principle of gender equality for candidatures for vice-presidencies of the Assembly;
9.1.2 to appoint more women as chairpersons of national delegations;
9.2 ask general Assembly committees to elect more women as chairpersons or vice-chairpersons with a view to ensuring that both sexes are represented in these posts at least in the same percentage as in the committee;Note
9.3 furthermore, ask the Assembly's political groups to:
9.3.1 give women greater opportunity to accede to top posts in the groups themselves, including in the selection of candidatures for the position of President of the Assembly;
9.3.2 appoint more women as their spokespersons in general policy debates of the Assembly;
9.3.3 provide in their internal rales for measures to ensure that their candidates for committee chairpersons and vice-chairpersons include members of the under- represented sex at least in the same percentage as is present in the group;Note
9.3.4 ensure that women are represented in the Monitoring Committee at least in the same percentage as is present in the respective political groups;
9.4 amend Rule 48.7 of the Assembly's Rules of Procedure, by adding at the end of the second sentence the following: "while taking into account the principle of gender equality";
9.5 invite the Bureau, when appointing chairpersons of ad hoc committees of the Bureau, to take into account the principle of gender equality;
9.6 add at the end of Rule 49.1 of the Rules of Procedure the following sentence: "for the appointment of rapporteurs, the committees shall take into consideration the following criteria by order of priority: competence and availability, fair representation of political groups (based on the D'Hondt system), gender-balanced representation, geographical and national balance".
10. Furthermore, with regard to gender balance in the procedures for elections to high-level posts in the Council of Europe in which the Assembly and the Committee of Ministers are involved, the Assembly decides to:
10.1 encourage governments and personalities who have the right to submit proposals for candidates for the posts of Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe and of Secretary General of the Assembly ("the specially appointed officials") to present candidates of both sexes where there is more than one candidate;
10.2 encourage political groups of the Assembly, when taking indicative votes on candidates for posts of "specially appointed officials", to bear in mind the necessity for gender-balance;
10.3 find an agreement with the Committee of Ministers in the sense that the list of three candidates for the post of Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights which the Committee of Ministers draws up under its Resolution (99) 50, shall always include candidates of both sexes.
11. The Assembly decides that the changes to the rules proposed in this resolution shall enter into force at the opening of the January 2008 part-session.

B B. Draft recommendation

1. The Parliamentary Assembly refers to its Resolution ... (2007) on gender equality principles in the Parliamentary Assembly.
2. It recalls that in its Recommendation 1738 (2006) on mechanisms to ensure women's participation in decision making, the Assembly has invited the Committee of Ministers to pursue its follow-up action on its Recommendation Rec(2003)3 on balanced participation of women and men in political and public decision making. It welcomes the intention of the Committee of Ministers to step up its efforts to achieve the minimum percentage of 40% women advocated in this recommendation, in the steering committees and other bodies of the Council of Europe. Furthermore, the Assembly encourages the Organisation to continue a strong focus on gender equality and gender mainstreaming as a specific aspect of its equal opportunities policy.
3. The Assembly invites the Committee of Ministers to:
3.1 follow a gender equality policy which ensures a balanced representation of women and men in the posts of Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe and Secretary General of the Assembly. If, according to paragraph 5.a of the regulations relating to the appointment of the Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General and Secretary General of the Assembly, the Committee of Ministers draws up a list, it shall endeavour to present candidates of both sexes;
3.2 instruct the competent steering committee to prepare a list of good national practices aimed at promoting the election of women as members of parliament;
3.3 3.3. with regard to subordinate committees of the Committee of Ministers, encourage member states, according to Recommendations No. R (81) 6 and Rec(2003)3, to ensure the participation of women and men in equitable proportion in steering committees and other Council of Europe bodies in order to reach the threshold of 40%.

C Explanatory memorandum, by Mrs Ana Catarina MENDONÇA

1 Introduction

1. On 1 September 2005 the Standing Committee, at the proposal of the Bureau of the Assembly, referred the motion for a resolution on "the incorporation of equality principles in the internal work and decision-making mechanisms of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe" (Doc. 10624) to the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities for report and to the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men for opinion.
2. The motion for a resolution states in particular that "the equal representation of both women and men has not yet reached in all respects the internal working procedures of the Assembly. Although national delegations today must include representatives of both sexes, this requirement does not extend for instance to the composition of the Bureau of the Assembly or its committees and working groups. ... Therefore we propose that the Assembly should examine the present shortcomings in the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly with a view to making amendments to correct the situation".
3. The Parliamentary Assembly has in its Resolution 1489 (2006) based on a report of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men:
  • agreed to pursue its efforts to ensure gender-balanced representation in the Assembly and to reinforce it with binding provisions, amending the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly if necessary;
  • decided to prepare a report on the representation of both sexes concerning candidatures to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) and to the posts of Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe and Secretary General of the Assembly.
The Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities to which the second matter was referred has agreed to examine it in this report.
4. It is to be noted also that in texts on improving selection procedures for CPT members (Resolution 1540 (2007) paragraph 7.2) and on candidates for the European Court of Human Rights (Resolutions 1366 (2004) and 1426 (2005) paragraph 5) the Assembly has fixed its position concerning the gender balance for the lists of candidates to these posts. On 17 April 2007 it again debated on candidates for the European Court of Human Rights, but did not adopt the draft resolution contained in Document 11208.
5. In spite of some progress, women arc still under- represented in responsible managerial positions in the bodies which take the Assembly's political decisions, in particular the Bureau and the Presidential Committee.
6. This report will begin by considering how the situation has developed since 2003Note as regards the representation of women in the Assembly and its national delegations, in the political groups, the Bureau of the Assembly and at the level of Assembly vice-presidents. The rapporteur will then submit new proposals for changing the procedure and practice of the Assembly and its organs. In accordance with the wishes expressed by committee members, the rapporteur will endeavour to explain why the Assembly organs have an insufficient number of woman members. Finally, the rapporteur will examine how to take into account gender-balanced representation for the election procedures for high-level posts at the Council of Europe. Proposals made in that respect are to a large extent drawn from the discussions dui ing a joint meeting between the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men and the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities held on 18 April 2007.

2 The situation of women in the Assembly and its organs - what has changed since 2003

2.1 Composition of the Assembly

7. Since the adoption of Resolution 1348 (2003) on gender-balanced representation in the Assembly, failure to include at least one representative of each sex in a national delegation is expressly recognised under Rule 7.1./; of the Rules of Procedure as procedural grounds for challenging a delegation's credentials. This is exactly what happened at the January 2004 part-session.
8. In 2003 about 19% of the members of the Assembly were women. In 2005 this figure had risen to about 22.5% (see Table 31 of the "Sex-disaggregated statistics on the participation of women and men in political and public decision making in Council of Europe member states", Document CDEG (2006) 15).Note In January 2006, May and August 2007 the Assembly had respectively 24.48%, 24.84% (155) and 24.52% (154) women members. This indicates a significant change between 2003 and 2006. However, since January 2006 there is a lack of progress. It is to be noted that as of 15 August 2007 there were 73 women Representatives (out of 3161Note) and 81 women Substitutes (out of 312) in the Assembly. The European Parliament (EP) currently has 30.3% of women members and there are no women from Malta and Cyprus in the EP. About 40% of members of the Nordic Council are women.

2.2 National delegations

9. Resolution 1348 (2003) also invited national parliaments, when electing their representatives to the Assembly to ensure that national delegations in the Assembly comprise a percentage of women at least equal to that in their national parliaments, setting a target of at least 30% women. According to the statistics available at 31 August 2007:
  • 7 national delegations have between 50% and 66% women;
  • 11 national delegations have between 30% and 49% women;
  • 13 national delegations have between 20% and 29% women;
  • 11 national delegations have between 10% and 19% women;
  • 5 national delegations have less than 10% women.
10. Furthermore, in the same year there may be very significant fluctuations concerning a national delegation. Earlier in 2007 the Icelandic delegation had a percentage of women of 66.66%. In August 2007 this had changed to 16.66%. Twelve national delegations include just one woman (Andorra, Armenia, Cyprus, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino, Switzerland and "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"). Currently there is no woman in the Slovak delegation, but the vacant seat will likely be filled with a woman.
11. In 2003 11, in 2005 13 and in 2007 18 national delegations had 30% (or more) women members, so an improvement in the situation can be observed. On the other hand, the number of delegations with between 10% and 19% women members (11) and less than 10% (five) has increased in comparison with 2006. Nine of the 47 national parliamentary delegations are chaired by a woman (19.15%).
12. An improved gender balance at the level of the national delegations clearly depends on the composition of the national parliaments and, ultimately, on national electoral systems. The Assembly therefore welcomes that the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) of the Council of Europe has adopted a declaration on women's participation and this reinforces the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters.
13. In Europe the percentage of women in the lower or single house of parliament has increased and is at present at 19.80% (see Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), women in national parliaments, world and regional averages).

2.3 Political groups

14. Since March 2002 none of the Assembly's five political groups has been chaired by a woman. As regards women vice-chairpersons, it is worth noting that one group has appointed six (out of 15 - one of which is first vice-chairperson) and two others have appointed respectively three and two. In another group, the position of honorary chairperson is held by a woman, and one group which includes only eight women, has no female vice- chairperson. In the European Parliament (as at 2 May 2007) two of the eight political groups have a woman co- president. About one third of the vice-presidents of the political groups are women.
15. Out of a total of 55 political group vice-chairpersons (including first vice-chairpersons), 11 (10 in 2006, 7 in 2005) are women, making a total of 20%. Generally speaking, the increase in the number of women group vice-chairpersons is a good sign for the future.
16. In August 2007, the number of female members of the groups varied between 16.3% and 31.4%. In this regard, the groups are dependent on the appointments made by the national parliaments and national political groups. The five Assembly political groups have respectively 31.4%, 28.11%, 26.7%, 22.9% and 16.3% of woman members. Six women members do not belong to any political group of the Assembly. One major political group of the Assembly has a percentage of women members which is clearly below the average. Therefore the other groups make an important contribution to ensure a decent number of women in the Assembly.
17. Four political groups have appointed a total of 11 auditors and treasurers. Four of them are women and they are members of the Socialist Group (3) and the EPP/CD Group (1).

2.4 Bureau and vice-presidents of the Assembly, Presidential Committee

18. The 36 Bureau members are made up of the President, 20 vice-presidents of the Assembly and the chairpersons (or their representatives) of the political groups and general committees of the Assembly (Rule 12.2 of the Rules of Procedure).
19. The President of the Parliamentary Assembly is elected by the Assembly. He or she is generally either a former chairperson or an eminent member of a political group. The vice-presidents of the Assembly are proposed by the chairpersons of the national delegations on behalf of their delegations, taking the gender equality principle into account (Rule 14.3 of the Rules of Procedure).
20. Currently, the Bureau has three women members, one of whom is Vice-President of the Assembly and two are committee chairpersons. With regard to women's representation, the Bureau is largely dependent on:
  • the national delegations for the election of the vice-presidents of the Assembly, who are Bureau members; and
  • the proposals of the political groups with regard to the election of the committee chairpersons who are members of the Bureau.
21. It is recalled that the report by Mr Jurgens on application and amendment of various provisions of the Assembly's Rules of Procedure proposes that Assembly vice-presidents should no longer be Bureau members. Instead, political groups should appoint a number of members to the Bureau according to the D'Hondt principle in such a way as to ensure that each group would at least nominate one member. In so far as the number of group members in the Bureau allows, the under- represented sex should be included at least in the same percentage as is present in the respective groups.
22. Whatever will be the outcome of this proposal the rapporteur sincerely hopes that the representation of women in the Bureau will improve significantly in the near future. Paragraph 9.2.1 of the draft resolution included in this report which deals with vice-presidencies, has been adapted to Mr Jurgens' proposal.
23. The Presidential Committee, which is an ad hoc committee of the Bureau, is made up of the President of the Assembly, the chairpersons of the political groups and the Secretary General of the Assembly. Currently it has no women members.

2.5 Assembly committees and sub-committees

24. Each committee's bureau comprises the chairperson and the three vice-chairpersons elected by the committee from candidates nominated by the political groups, taking into account the principle of gender equality (Rule 45.1). By 31 August 2007 two out of ten committee chairpersons (20%) and 12 out of 30 vice-chairpersons (40%) were women. In April 2005, there was only one chairwoman but already 12 vice-chairwomen. Distribution is currently as follows:
  • four committees have two women vice-chairpersons;
  • four committees have one woman vice-chairperson;
  • two committees have no women vice-chairpersons.
25. The report by Mr Jurgens on application and amendment of various provisions of the Assembly's Rules of Procedure proposes that the political groups should henceforth only agree on the committees where the chairpersons and/or vice-chairpersons should be members of their groups and no longer present single candidates for election by the respective committees.
26. With respect to membership of women and men in committees the situation as of 20 April 2007 is quite different. The Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee and the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men have respectively 34.5% and 62.7% of women among their full members. However, the corresponding figures for the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development, the Political Affairs Committee and the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities are respectively 20.2%, 21.4% and 22.2%. The Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee) which is composed of members appointed by political groups has currently 20.24% of women members. Two political groups have appointed - proportionally - considerably fewer women members than is present in these groups.
27. Members of sub-committees are chosen from among the members of the committees, who currently are proposed by the national delegations. The rules on the election of chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of the currently 25 general sub-committees do not mention explicitly the need to take into account the gender equality principle. In June 2007, 6 of the 24 sub-committee chairpersons elected (25%) and 8 of the 23 vice-chairpersons then elected (34.8%) were women. These were the same figures in April 2005. In October 2006, 6 of 25 sub-committees' chairpersons (25%) and 4 out of the 22 vice-chairpersons then elected (18.2%) were women.

2.6 Rapporteurs

28. In Resolution 1348 (2003) the Assembly invited the committees to appoint more women rapporteurs.
29. The publication "Reports under preparation in the committees of the Assembly" shows that as of 16 July 2007, 19.7% of the rapporteurs of all Assembly committees were women (July 2006: 16.6%. February 2007: 20%).

2.7 Speakers

30. The list of speakers in debates that took place in the Assembly in April 2007 shows that the political groups chose 43 men and 10 women (18.87%) to speak on their behalf (January 2005: 17%). Women are rarely appointed for debates on general policy and more often for debates on social policy.

2.8 Election observation missions

31. Women are also under-represented on the Assembly's election observation missions if the target is considered to be at least 30% women. Admittedly, participation in election monitoring clearly depends to a considerable extent on the availability of Assembly members and their readiness to stand as candidates for the purpose. Between January 2005 and May 2007. 17 Bureau ad hoc committees were created to observe elections, one of which was chaired by a woman (see AS/Bur (2007) 30).
32. It is therefore to be welcomed that on 24 May 2007 the Bureau of the Assembly has adopted the following amendment to the "Guidelines for the observation of elections by the Assembly":
"Political groups should bear it in mind that any appointment to an ad hoc committee to observe elections should aim to ensure the principle of gender balance of such a committee. Political groups should endeavour to include, in the list of representatives appointed, members of the under-represented sex in the same percentage as is present in the group."

3 III. Proposals concerning gender-balance in the delegations of national parliaments and in the structures of the Assembly

33. The scope of the proposals to be made depends essentially on whether the Assembly has the power to change existing practice or provisions (for example, concerning gender balance in the bureaux of sub-committees) or not (for example, election of Assembly members by national parliaments).

3.1 Composition of the Assembly and of national delegations to the Assembly, role of national parliaments

34. The composition of the Assembly depends essentially on the provisions of the Council of Europe Statute (Articles 25 and 26) and on the election of members to the Assembly by national parliaments on the basis of the proposals made by political groups/parties represented in national parliaments. Additional provisions are contained in the Parliamentary Assembly's Rules of Procedure (Rules 6 to 9). Before submitting proposals, it may be useful to consider reasons for insufficient presence of women in national delegations and solutions found in other international parliamentary institutions or representative Council of Europe bodies (for example, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe).

3.1.1 Reasons for the insufficient representation of women in the national delegations

35. Reasons were put forward at several meetings of the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities. In particular, members believed that:
  • the differences between the political and electoral systems of the member states are important; their possible consequences on the representation of women in parliaments are presented in "Sex-disaggregated statistics on the participation of women and men in political and public decision making in Council of Europe member states", Document CDEG (2006) 15, mentioned above (paragraph 8);
  • national political systems do not sufficiently induce women to participate in politics; fewer women appear to be attracted by a career in politics; in some countries women parliamentarians do not speak foreign languages to a sufficient extent;
  • national parliaments do not have enough women who are suitable as candidates for the national delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly. The national parliaments of 23 Council of Europe member states currently have fewer than 19.8% women, which is the European average in the single house or lower house;
  • fewer women parliamentarians than men were interested in working at the Council of Europe Assembly (sometimes for family reasons), which involves spending at least one month each year participating in the plenary sessions of the Assembly and in the meetings of its committees; the majority of women parliamentarians prefer to stay in national politics.
36. Finally, it was noted that the national political parties/groups which are involved in the appointment of the delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly and which may only propose a single member, have problems in respecting gender balance.
37. Some of the eight member states with 10 or fewer women in their parliaments pointed out that several women parliamentarians carry out important duties at the national level, for example in government, or that they had children and were accordingly not available as members of the Assembly.

3.1.2 Measures taken within other international parliamentary institutions to ensure gender balance

38. Information on the situation regarding the representation of women in national parliamentary delegations to the Nordic Council, the European Parliament (EP), the new Euro-Mediterranean Assembly and the InterParliamentary Union is to be found in an earlier version of this report (AS/Pro (2006) 5).

3.1.3 Proposals of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe concerning gender balance

39. In the appendix to its Recommendation 162 (2005) on the revision of the Charter of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, the Congress proposed the inclusion in Article 2 of the revised charter of a provision on gender balance in national delegations to the Congress. According to this provision the composition of each member state's delegation in the Congress should be such as to ensure "equitable representation of women and men on the statutory bodies of local and regional authorities in the member state, meaning that all delegations must include, within the next three years (2008), representations of both sexes with a minimum participation of at least 30% of the under- represented sex". The Committee of Ministers has on 2 May 2007 accepted, inter alia, this provision which has become Article 2.d of the revised charter (see reply of the Committee of Ministers to Recommendation 162, CM/Cong (2007) 162 final).
40. Article 2.d of the Congress' charter goes much further than the texts of the above-mentioned parliamentary institutions. It could therefore guide the Assembly's midterm action. In this connection Resolutions 209 (2006) and 234 (2007) of the Congress on the verification of new members' credentials and new appointment procedures should be borne in mind. Resolution 234 (2007) contains precise proposals concerning women's representation in certain national delegations. In addition, this text recalls the need for all national delegations to include, as from 2008, representatives of both sexes with a minimum participation of at least 30% of the under-represented sex.

3.1.4 Consequences to be drawn from the current situation in the Assembly

41. It is most important to encourage, as was done in Assembly Resolution 1546 (2007) on the code of good practice for political parties, active participation of women in political parties and in European affairs. The efficient application of good practices for a better gender balance between women and men in political affairs should also be promoted. The rapporteur also welcomes that Assembly opinions to the Committee of Ministers on the accession of new member states regularly contain a clause inviting the state concerned to take all necessary steps to ensure equality between men and women in law and politics.
42. Furthermore, national parliaments should be asked to continue their efforts for electing more women as members of national delegations to the Assembly. The rapporteur believes that the fact that there are only a limited number of women in national parliaments does not necessarily prevent the latter from trying to elect women to their delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly.
43. An analysis of the situation of the national delegations to the Assembly elected by national parliaments with less than 25 women parliamentarians reveals that:
  • eight parliaments with between five and eight women parliamentarians send delegations to the Assembly composed, respectively, of 16.66% women (Malta, Montenegro) while the other delegations (Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Liechtenstein, Monaco. San Marino) include at least 25% women; one third of the women parliamentarians of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Liechtenstein are also members of the Parliamentary Assembly;
  • six parliaments with between 10 and 19 women parliamentarians send delegations to the Assembly composed, respectively, of 12.50% (Armenia) or at least of 25% women (Albania, Azerbaijan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Slovenia); more than one third of the women parliamentarians of the Slovenian Parliament are also Assembly members;
  • another five parliaments having between 20 and 24 women parliamentarians, send delegations to the Assembly of 12.50% (Ireland). 16.6% (Iceland), 20% (Moldova) or more than 50% women parliamentarians (Estonia, Georgia); more than one quarter of the women parliamentarians of the Georgian parliament are also Assembly members.
44. Furthermore, the statistics show that two national parliaments composed, respectively, of 163 and 153 women parliamentarians have appointed to the Assembly delegations including 3'Note and 5 women, respectively. Two further parliaments with 61 and 40 women send delegations to the Assembly with just one woman parliamentarian.
45. In these circumstances the committee might propose:
  • addressing a new appeal to national parliaments to ensure when electing the members of their delegation to the Assembly that it includes a percentage of women at least equal to that in their national parliament, with the aim of including, as a minimum, a 30% representation of women, bearing in mind that the threshold should be 40%;
  • launching an initiative concerning the national delegations which "could do better" with respect to the inclusion of women parliamentarians.
46. As committee members have expressed themselves against fixing dates for achieving changes to the current situation and have also pointed out that the Assembly does not deal in a detailed way with the appointment of national delegations, the rapporteur will make no proposals in that respect. However, as already indicated above (see paragraphs 39 and 40) it could be envisaged in the mid-term to introduce at Assembly level a provision concerning gender balance in national delegations to the Assembly similar to that adopted for the Congress by the Committee of Ministers on 2 May 2007. According to this provision (see Article 2.d of the revised charter of the Congress) "all delegations (to the Congress) must include as from 2008, representatives of both sexes with a minimum participation of at least 30% of the under- represented sex".

3.2 Presidency and Presidential Committee of the Assembly and gender balance

47. Since 1949 one woman has been President of the Assembly (January 1996 until January 1999). Following its creation in 1993 the Presidential Committee had one female member between June 1994 and January 1999 and another between January 1999 and March 2002. Currently, four of the Assembly's five political groups have agreed on a system for the rotation of the Assembly presidency among them. The practice in the political groups shows that it takes time for members lo accede lo top posts.
48. These circumstances have, inter alia, to be taken into account for any proposals. During the joint meeting between the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men and the Commitlee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities on 18 April 2007 the following proposal was considered:
  • introduction of a cycle of three periods of office of the President of the Assembly;
  • according to current practice one period of office corresponds to three years (election for one year, two re- elections for one year each);
  • during this cycle the office should be held at least once by a representative of each sex: if representatives of one sex have occupied the post of President of the Assembly for two continuous periods of office within one cycle, only candidates from the opposite sex shall be admissible for election to the post for the cycle's third period of office.
49. When it considered the preliminary draft resolution on 14 September 2007 the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities voted against this proposal by a clear majority. The committee asked the political groups to give women greater opportunities with respect to the selection of candidates for the position of President of the Assembly.

3.3 Chairpersons of general committees and Bureau ad hoc committees

50. Since the adoption of Resolution 1348 in 2003 little progress has been made towards the aim of electing more women as committee chairpersons, and this is in contradiction with the spirit of Rule 45.1 of the Rules of Procedure. As it is the political groups that propose candidates to chair committees, the important role they can play in changing the situation should be pointed out.
51. In his report on application and amendment of various provisions of the Assembly's Rules of Procedure, Mr Jurgens proposes that political groups should henceforth only agree on the committees where the chairpersons and/or vice-chairpersons should be members of their groups and no longer present single candidates for election by the respective committees. As it is not yet sure if this proposal will be adopted by the Standing Committee in Bratislava in November 2007, the draft resolution included in the present report has to envisage both possibilities, that is maintaining or amending the current provisions concerning election of committee chairpersons and vice-chairpersons. With respect to the first alternative, political groups are invited to provide in their internal rules for measures to ensure that their candidates for committee chairpersons and vice-chairpersons include members of the under-represented sex at least in the same percentage as is present in the group. Concerning the second alternative (change of current rule) Assembly committees are asked to elect more women as chairpersons or vice-chairpersons with a view to ensuring that the under- represented sex is represented in these posts at least in the same percentage as in the respective committees.
52. The Bureau of the Assembly should be invited to bear in mind gender balance when appointing the chairpersons of Bureau ad hoc committees.

3.4 Sub-committees

53. In view of the lack of progress made at sub-committee level since 2003, it could be envisaged to:
  • either remind the committees of the need to appoint more women chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of subcommittees;
  • or propose amending, as follows, Rule 48.7, second sentence, of the Rules of Procedure: "Elections shall be held in accordance with the procedure laid down in paragraphs 2 to 6 of Rule 45, while taking into account the principle of gender equality."

The Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities supported the second variant.

3.5 Political groups

54. The political groups also need to be reminded to take gender equality into account when electing their chairpersons and vice-chairpersons. Admittedly, this is more difficult for groups having only few women members. Proposals concerning the role currently played by political groups for the election of committee chairpersons and vice-chairpersons are made above (paragraph 51). Furthermore, political groups should propose more women for membership of the Monitoring Committee with a view to ensuring that - if appropriate, over a given period - women are represented in the Monitoring Committee at least in the same percentage as is present in the respective groups.
55. Similarly, as the situation has not evolved since 2005, the political groups should be invited to appoint more women as their spokespersons in general policy debates of the Assembly.
56. During the joint meeting of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men and the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities held on 18 April 2007 some participants said that this report does not go far enough. They would have preferred if a rotation/cycle system to ensure gender balance (see paragraph 48 above) was also proposed to apply to the chairpersons of political groups (and even to vice-presidents of the Assembly). While admitting the logics of this proposal the rapporteur has refrained from submitting additional far-reaching proposals. As the vote in the committee on 14 September 2007 has shown, the time for a larger reform has not yet come.

3.6 National delegations/vice-presidents of the Assembly

57. National delegations' practice concerning the designation of candidates for the posts of Vice-President of the Assembly is not satisfactory from the point of view of the gender equality principle (see paragraph 20 above and Rule 14.3. of the Rules of Procedure). The delegations could therefore be invited to show more regard for this provision, especially as currently the composition of the Bureau of the Assembly depends on them. Some members consider that the election procedure of vice-presidents should be modified with a view to offering a choice between different candidates. This could also improve gender balance. The report of Mr Jurgens on application and amendment of various provisions of the Assembly's Rules of Procedure proposes the abandonment of Bureau membership of Assembly vice-presidents and includes proposals to improve gender equality in the Assembly's Bureau.
58. Furthermore, the national delegations or competent national authorities should be invited to elect/appoint more women as their chairpersons.
59. Finally, it would be worthwhile contacting the delegations concerned to find out why few women parliamentarians are put forward as candidates for the above-mentioned posts.

3.7 Rapporteurs

60. In January 2003, the President of the Assembly sent the chairpersons of the Assembly's general committees a letter informing them of four criteria to be taken into consideration when appointing rapporteurs. In order of priority, those criteria are:
  • competence and availability;
  • political balance in the appointment of committee rapporteurs (based on the D'Hondt system as applied to committee membership);
  • balanced representation of the sexes;
  • geographical and national balance.
61. Bearing these criteria in mind, the alternative would be:
  • either to mention the President's aforesaid letter and the need to take balanced representation of the sexes into account;
  • or to introduce the above four criteria for appointing rapporteurs into Rule 49.1, on the appointment of rapporteurs.

The Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities supported the second variant.

4 Proposals concerning election procedures to high level posts at the Council of Europe in which the assembly is involved

4.1 General

62. With a view to creating a better gender balance regarding high-level posts in the Council of Europe, the Assembly has always insisted on the importance of the selection criteria for candidatures to posts to be filled by election by the Assembly.
63. In addition to its president and the vice-presidents, the Assembly elects the judges to the European Court of Human Rights, the Commissioner for Human Rights and the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the Secretary General of the Assembly. Furthermore, the Assembly is involved in the appointment procedure for members of the CPT.
64. During the joint meeting of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men and the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities held on 18 April 2007 one participant underlined that gender balance should not only be improved at the level of judges of the European Court of Human Rights and members of the CPT, but also at the Council of Europe Development Bank, at the Committee of Ministers, the Ministers' Deputies (with currently 9 women out of 47 ambassadors or charges d'affaires), the Venice Commission (with 7 women among the (titular) representatives of the 47 Council of Europe member states) and other bodies. As these issues are outside the remit of the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities, they could be followed up by the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men. Statistics on gender balance in most Council of Europe bodies are to be found in "Sex-disaggregated statistics on the participation of women and men in political and public decision making in Council of Europe member states, Document CDEG (2006) 15, mentioned above).

4.2 Situation concerning judges to the European Court of Human Rights, the Commissioner for Human Rights, members of the CPT, the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the Secretary General of the Assembly

4.2.1 Judges to the European Court of Human Rights

65. The Assembly has already settled - in so far as gender balance is concerned - the question of the election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights. In its Resolution 1366 (2004) as modified by Resolution 1426 (2005) it has decided not to consider lists of candidates which do not include at least one candidate of each sex, except when the candidates belong to the sex which is under-represented in the Court, that is to say, the sex to which under 40% of the total number of judges belong. A new situation arose at the end of 2006, when the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights considered that the rule fixed in Resolutions 1366 (2004) and 1426 (2005) could give rise to problems in exceptional cases, such as the list of candidates in respect of Malta. After the question of exceptional derogations of Resolutions 1366 and 1426 had first been brought before the Bureau of the Assembly, a report was prepared on this matter and debated in the Assembly on 17 April 2007.
66. Some of the points made in the debate were:
  • what should happen if, following a transparent national selection procedure for judges, a member state has not succeeded in identifying a female candidate whose qualifications match the selection criteria of Article 21 of the European Convention on Human Rights;
  • between 1998 and 2004 some 90% of candidates for the post of judge were men only;
  • in 2005 and 2006 the Sub-Committee on the Election of Judges to the European Court of Human Rights recommended female candidates as its first choice in three cases out of six and all three were subsequently elected;
  • the composition of all selection bodies for candidates for the post of judge is male-dominated;
  • also the informal networks within the judiciaries of member states are male-dominated;
  • 14 of the currently (August 2007) 45 judges at the Court are women.

Because of the rejection of the draft resolution included in the report, the rules contained in Resolutions 1366 (2004) and 1426 (2005) are maintained.Note

4.2.2 Commissioner for Human Rights

67. The election procedure for the Commissioner for Human Rights presents a major difference as compared with that forjudges to the Court. The list with the candidates for the post of Commissioner ("short list") is submitted to the Assembly by the Committee of Ministers and not by the high contracting parties as is the case for the judges. A possible refusal by the Assembly to consider a "unisex list" could provoke an institutional crisis in the Council of Europe. The problem stems from the fact that Committee of Ministers Resolution (99) 50 on the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights establishes in its Article 9, paragraph 3 that member states may submit candidatures by letter addressed to the Secretary General, but that Article 10 on the necessary qualifications of candidates is silent on gender balance.
68. Up till now two commissioners have been elected by the Assembly and both have been men. While the list of candidates submitted to the Assembly in 1999 (Doc. 8509) contained two women candidates that of 2005 included only male candidates (Doc. 10661).
69. To improve gender balance concerning the post of Commissioner, the Assembly has two possibilities. It can express hopes and expectations but also try to reach an agreement with the Committee of Ministers aimed at ensuring that the list of three candidates which the Committee of Ministers submits to the Assembly includes candidates of both sexes. Furthermore, the Assembly may recommend to the Committee of Ministers any changes to Resolution (99) 50.
70. The proposed change could be:
  • introduction of a cycle of three periods of office (six years each) for the post of Commissioner;
  • during this cycle the office should be held at least once by a representative of each sex;
  • if representatives of one sex have occupied the same post for two continuous periods of office within one cycle, only candidatures from the opposite sex shall be admissible for election to the post for the cycle's third period of office.

On 14 September 2007 a clear majority of members voted in favour of finding an agreement with the Committee of Ministers that the lists of candidates for the post of Commissioner should always include candidates of both sexes.

4.3 Members of the CPT

71. Concerning members of the CPT, Article 5 of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (ETS No. 126) stipulates that the national delegation of each high contracting party in the Assembly shall put forward three candidates, of whom two at least shall be its nationals. On this basis the Bureau of the Assembly draws up a list of names and forwards it to the Committee of Ministers. As national parliamentary delegations have the right of initiative for candidates and in the absence of any provisions on gender balance in ETS No. 126 the Assembly has itself settled the question. In three texts (Recommendation 1323 (1997), Order No. 530 (1997) and Resolution 1248 (2001) it has insisted on the need for national delegations to the Assembly to ensure gender balance when drawing up the lists of candidates for the CPT. Lastly, in March 2007, the Standing Committee adopted Resolution 1540 (2007) on improving selection procedures for CPT members, based on a report presented by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights (Doc. 11182).
72. From the currently 45 members of the CPT, as at 3 July 2007, 13 are women. The seats of two contracting parties (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine) on the CPT are for the time being vacant.
73. In this connection it may be recalled that the needs for specific qualifications of CPT candidates change frequently and that the prison population is in the majority male.
74. The recently adopted Assembly Resolution 1540 (2007) reminds member states of their obligation to submit lists of candidates which respect gender equality and the Bureau of the need to systematically refuse lists which ignore this principle.

4.4 Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe and Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly

75. The regulations of 1956 relating to the appointment of the Secretary General, the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the Secretary General of the Assembly, include a specific provision on the criteria determining the choice of candidates. However, this provision is silent on gender balance. The regulations which were adopted by the Committee of Ministers with the approval of the Assembly have not been modified since 1962. As some of their clauses are very favourable to the Assembly it should be considered if it is appropriate to ask for the amendment of the regulations to include a provision on gender equality.
76. However this problem no longer exists since the Committee of Ministers decided on 11 May 2007 to revise the procedure concerning the appointment of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in order to enhance the visibility of the work conducted by the Organisation and its relations with the European Union.
77. A particular feature of the regulations is that different bodies and personalities are entitled to submit candidatures for the posts concerned (Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Secretary General of the Assembly). Sometimes there is an agreement on a single candidature for one of these posts (e.g. for the election of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in 1989 and for elections of the Secretary General of the Assembly).
78. In these circumstances the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities could:
  • either launch an appeal to governments and the persons having the right to submit candidatures to present candidates of both sexes, where there is more then one candidate;
  • or propose a change to the regulations with a view to introducing a cycle of three periods of office (of five years each) for the posts of Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe and Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly; during this cycle the office should be held at least once by a representative of each sex. If representatives of one sex have occupied one of these posts for two continuous periods of office within one cycle, only candidatures from the opposite sex shall be admissible for election to this post for the cycle's third period of office;
  • suggest that if the Committee of Ministers according to paragraph 5.a of the regulations relating to the appointment of the Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General and Secretary General of the Assembly, draws up a list of candidates, it should always contain members of both sexes.
79. After having served for three years (President of the Assembly) or six years (Commissioner for Human Rights) there is no possibility for a new term of office for both personalities. The situation is different for the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe and Secretary General of the Assembly who, after a first mandate of five years, may be candidates for a new term of office. In the more remote past two Secretaries General of the Assembly and one Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe have served for a total of fifteen years. If the holder of one of these posts decided after two periods of office (ten years) to run as candidate for a third and last period of five years, this would raise a problem if the method of "cycles" was introduced. However, in such a case the cycle should simply be prolonged to a fourth period of five years, in order to allow for the election of a candidate of the opposite sex. As there has been no such instance since 1988 it is not necessary to mention this possibility in the draft resolution.
80. At its meeting on 14 September 2007 the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities examined these variants and voted by a clear majority in favour of:
  • encouraging governments and personalities who have the right to submit proposals for candidates to the posts of Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe and of Secretary General of the Assembly ("the specially appointed officials") to present candidates of both sexes when there is more than one candidate;
  • inviting the Committee of Ministers to follow a gender equality policy which ensures a balanced representation of women and men in the posts of Secretary General and Deputy Secretary of the Council of Europe and Secretary General of the Assembly. If, according to paragraph 5.a of the regulations relating to the appointment of the Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General and Secretary General of the Assembly, the Committee of Ministers draws up a list, it shall endeavour to present candidates of both sexes.

5 Gender balance and subordinate committees of the Committee of Ministers

81. In its Recommendation No. R (81) 6 on the participation of women and men in an equitable proportion in committees and other bodies set up in the Council of Europe, the Committee of Ministers has invited member states to ensure a balanced participation of women and men in the steering committees and the other Council of Europe bodies. In conformity with Recommendation Rec(2003)3 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on balanced participation of women and men in political and public decision making, the threshold to be reached is 40%. The Assembly could encourage governments to take appropriate follow-up action on these texts.
82. It is recalled that the last report of the Secretary General on equality between women and men in the Council of Europe was published in 2001. In its comments on the Secretary General's report, as regards the participation of women in committees of experts and other Council of Europe bodies, the competent steering committee (Steering Committee for Equality between Women and Men - CDEG) noted that the number of women in several committees had increased. It would be appropriate that a new report be prepared by the Secretary General in order to assess the situation on the participation of women and men in an equitable proportion in committees and other bodies set up in the Council of Europe as stated in Recommendation No. R (81) 6 of the Committee of Ministers to member states. This report should also examine how many women are elected chairpersons and/or vice-chairpersons of the intergovernmental committees and members of their bureaux in order to ensure a balanced participation of women and men in decision making. A corresponding proposal has been included in the draft recommendation contained in this report.

6 Final remarks

83. The Assembly has repeatedly underlined the need to give women a genuine opportunity to accede to high-level posts in political and public life at national and European level. This is particularly important also in the Parliamentary Assembly itself. Progress has been made in recent years and gender balance in national parliamentary delegations and in the Assembly's structures has generally been improved. However, more can and should be done and various proposals to this end have been considered by the committee in the framework of the preparation of this report.
84. In some instances the rapporteur would have preferred to submit more far-reaching proposals than those included in the draft resolution (see, for example, paragraph 56 above). However, she has abstained from doing so as there would most likely not be a majority in the committee to support them. The vote in the committee on 14 September has clearly shown that the lime for a more far- reaching reform has not yet come. Some other proposals made in connection with the preparation of this report (see paragraph 64 above) clearly come under the remit of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men.
85. Moreover, the committee paid attention to ways of raising the awareness of the national delegations and political groups in the Assembly regarding the need to improve the gender balance in the Assembly, in particular in the light of certain unsatisfactory situations (see paragraphs 45, 50, 54 and 59 above).
86. The Assembly should follow developments in the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe with respect to the implementation, as from 2008, of the obligation for national delegations to include representatives of both sexes with a minimum participation of at least 30% of the under-represented sex (see paragraph 46 above).
87. The rule changes proposed in the draft resolution should enter into force at the opening of the January 2008 part-session.

Appendix

Representation of women in the national parliamentary delegations to the PACE (as of 31 August 2007) and in national parliamentsNote (as at 31 July 2007)

Parliamentary Assembly

National Parliaments

COUNTRY

Total

statutory

number of

representatives and substitutes

(in brackets

effective

figure)

National Delegation

 

Percentage of Women

in the

Parliamentary

Assembly

Percentage

of women

in the national single

Chamber

Parliament or in the Lower Chamber

Percentage

of women

in the

national

Second

Chamber

or

Senate

   

Men

Women

     

Albania

8

6

2

25.00

7.10

-

Andorra

4

3

1

25.00

28.60

-

Armenia

8

7

1

12.50

9.20

-

Austria

12

8

4

33.33

32.20

27.40

Azerbaijan

12

9

3

25.00

11.30

-

Belgium

14

11

3

21.43

34.70

30.00

Bosnia & Herzegovina

10

6

4

40.00

14.30

13.30

Bulgaria

12

6

6

50.00

22.10

-

Croatia

10

7

3

30.00

21.70

-

Cyprus

6 (4)

3

1

25.00

14.30

-

Czech Republic

14

7

7

50.00

15.50

14.80

Denmark

10

8

2

20.00

36.90

-

Estonia

6

4

2

33.33

21.80

-

Finland

10

6

4

40.00

42.00

-

France

36(35)

32

3

8.57

18.50

16.90

Georgia

10

4

6

60.00

9.40

-

Germany

36

26

10

27.77

31.60

21.70

Greece

14

9

5

35.71

13.00

-

Hungary

14

13

1

7.14

10.40

-

Iceland

6

5

1

16.66

31.70

-

Ireland

8

7

1

12.50

13.30

16.70

Italy

36

31

5

13.88

17.30

13.70

Latvia

6

4

2

33.33

19.00

-

Liechtenstein

4

2

2

50.00

24.00

-

Lithuania

8

5

3

37.50

24.80

-

Luxembourg

6

4

2

33.33

23.30

-

Malta

6

5

1

16.66

9.20

-

Moldova

10

8

2

20.00

21.80

-

Monaco

4

3

1

25.00

20.80

-

Montenegro

6

5

1

16.66

8.60

-

Netherlands

14

11

3

21.43

36.70

34.70

Norway

10

5

5

50.00

37.90

-

Poland

24

20

4

16.66

20.40

13.00

Portugal

14

10

4

28.57

21.30

-

Romania

20

16

4

20.00

11.20

9.50

Russia

36

31

5

13.89

9.80

3.40

San Marino

4

3

1

25.00

11.70

-

Serbia

14(13)

8

5

38.46

20.40

-

Slovakia

10(9)

9

0

00.00

19.30

-

Slovenia

6

2

4

66.66

12.20

7.50

Spain

24

16

8

33.33

36.00

23.20

Sweden

12

5

7

58.33

47.30

-

Switzerland

12

11

1

8.33

25.00

23.90

"The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"

6

5

1

16.66

28.30

-

Turkey

24 (21)

19

2

9.52

9.10

-

Ukraine

24

20

4

16.66

8.70

-

United Kingdom

36

29

7

19.44

19.70

18.90

Reporting committee: Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities

Reference to committee: Doc. 10624, Reference No. 3123 of 1st September 2005;Resolution 1489 (2006), Ref. No. 3261 of 30 June 2006

Draft resolution and recommendation unanimously adopted by the Committee on 14 September 2007

Members of the Committee: Mr Andreas Gross (Chair), Mr Andrea Manzella (1st Vice-Chair), Mrs Maria Postoico (2nd Vice-Chair), Mr Erol Aslan Cebeci (3rd Vice-Chair), Mr Miloljub Albijanić (alternate Mr Miloš Aligrudić), Mr Lars Barfoed, Mr Ivan Brajović, Mrs Anne Brasseur (alternate: Mrs Lydie Err), Mr Jonas Čekuolis, Mrs Helen d’Amato, Mr Miljenko Dorić, Mr Vanghel Dule, Mr Herbert Frankenhauser, Mr John Greenway, Mrs Arlette Grosskost, Mr Attila Gruber, Mr Sefer Halilović, Mr Gerd Höfer, Mr Serhiy Holovaty, Mr Ali Huseynov, Mr Luchezar Ivanov, Mr Morgan Johansson, Mr Armand Jung, Mr Erik Jurgens, Mrs Mojca Kucler-Dolinar, Mrs Irine Kurdadzé, Mr Jan Filip Libicki, Mr Alan Meale, Mr Miloš Melčák, Mrs Ana Caterina Mendonça, Mr Peter Mitterer, Mr Nikolaos Nikolopoulos, Mrs Kristiina Ojuland, Mr Alexey Ostrovsky, Ms Eli Sollied Øveraas, Mr Julio Padilla, Mr Christos Pourgourides, Mr Armen Rustamyan, Mr Ellert B. Schramm, Mr Yuri Sharandin, Mrs Tuulikki Ukkola, Mr Vasile Ungureanu, Mr Giuseppe Valentino (alternate: Mr Andrea Rigoni), Mr Karim Van Overmeire, Mr G. V. Wright, Mr Blagoj Zasov

N.B.: The names of the members who took part in the meeting are printed in bold

Secretariat of the Committee: Mr Heinrich, Mrs Clamer