Activities of the Assembly’s Bureau and Standing Committee (22 June 2015)
Progress report
| Doc. 13813 Addendum I
| 22 June 2015
1 Decisions
of the Bureau of 22 June 2015 requiring ratification by the Assembly
1.1 Election of a judge
to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Azerbaijan
The Bureau took note of the report drawn up by the Committee
on the election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights
which has assessed the qualifications of the three candidates to
the post of judge to the Court in respect of Azerbaijan. The committee
recommended that the list be rejected. This position shall be endorsed by
the Assembly (see Doc. 13813
Addendum II).
1.2 References and
transmissions to committees
1.2.1 References to committees
The Bureau considered and approved the following references:
- Doc. 13775, motion for a resolution, New
methods of political influence over independent journalism, reference
to the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media for report;
- Doc. 13776, motion for a resolution, Situation
in Lebanon and challenges for regional stability and European security: reference
to the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy for report;
- Doc. 13777, motion for a resolution, The
over-sexualisation of children: reference to the Committee
on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development for report;
- Doc. 13778, motion for a resolution, Preventing
the radicalisation of children by fighting the root causes: reference
to the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development for report and to the Committee
on Culture, Science, Education and Media and to the Committee on
Equality and Non-Discrimination for opinion;
- Doc. 13779, motion for a recommendation, The
situation of the deported Meskhetian Turks: reference to
the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by
Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee) to be taken into account in the preparation
of the report on “Honouring of obligations and commitments by Georgia”;
- Doc. 13780, motion for a resolution, Attacks
against journalists and media freedom in Europe: reference to
the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media for report;
- Doc. 13781, motion for a resolution, Securing
access of detainees to lawyers: reference to the Committee
on Legal Affairs and Human Rights for
report.
1.2.2 Modification of
a reference
Doc. 13573, motion for a resolution, The
fate of critically ill prisoners in Turkish prisons,
reference to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights for report and to the Committee
on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development for opinion.
1.3 General Rapporteurs
The Bureau approved the revised terms of reference of the
General Rapporteur on Local and Regional Authorities and the General
Rapporteur on Children (Appendix).
The Assembly is invited to ratify
the above proposals made by the Bureau.
2 Decisions of the
Bureau of 22 June 2015 presented for ratification by the Assembly
separately
2.1 Composition of
the Monitoring Committee
On the basis of a proposal from the UEL Group, the Bureau
nominated Ms Athanasia Anagnostopoulou (Greece) in replacement of
Mr Matjaž Hanžek (Slovenia) (see document Commission 06 addendum
1).
2.2 Composition of
the Committee on the election of judges to the European Court of
Human Rights
On the basis of a proposal from the UEL Group, the Bureau
nominated Mr Matjaž Hanžek (Slovenia) as alternate in replacement
of Mr Ögmundur Jónasson (Iceland) (see document Commission 06 addendum
1).
3 Other decisions
of the Bureau
3.1 Third part-session
of 2015 (22 to 26 June)
3.1.1 Draft agenda
The Bureau updated the draft agenda.
3.1.2 Request for a current
affairs debate (under Rule 53 of the Rules of Procedure)
The Bureau decided to propose to the Assembly to hold a current
affairs debate on The need for a common European
response to migration challenges on 25 June in the morning,
and designated Mr Reha Denemeç (Turkey, EC) as first speaker.
3.1.3 Joint Committee
(Strasbourg, 25 June 2015 from 3.30 pm to 4 pm)
The Bureau took note of the revised draft agenda.
3.1.4 Election of judges
to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Armenia, Latvia, Luxembourg
and Monaco
The Bureau took note of the report drawn up by the Committee
on the election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights
following interviews with candidates for the posts of judges to
the Court in respect of these countries. This report had been already
declassified by the committee and submitted to the attention of
all members of the Assembly (Doc. 13813
Addendum II).
3.2 Election observation
3.2.1 Turkey: parliamentary
elections (7 June 2015)
The Bureau approved the report of the ad hoc committee (Doc. 13822).
3.2.2 Belarus: presidential
election (11 October 2015, to be confirmed)
Subject to receiving an invitation, the Bureau decided to
observe this election and constituted an ad hoc committee for this
purpose composed of 11 members (SOC: 3; EPP/CD: 3; ALDE: 2, EC:
2, UEL: 1 – in accordance with the D’Hondt system) and the rapporteur
of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy on “The situation
in Belarus”. It also authorised a pre-electoral mission.
3.2.3 Azerbaijan: parliamentary
elections (1 November 2015)
The Bureau decided to observe these elections and constituted
an ad hoc committee for this purpose composed of 30 members (SOC:
11; EPP/CD: 10; ALDE: 4, EC: 3, UEL: 2 – in accordance with the
D’Hondt system) and the co-rapporteurs of the monitoring committee.
It also authorised a pre-electoral mission.
3.2.4 Kyrgyzstan: parliamentary
elections (8 November 2015, to be confirmed)
Subject to receiving an invitation, the Bureau decided to
observe these elections and constituted an ad hoc committee for
this purpose composed of 20 members (SOC: 7; EPP/CD: 7; ALDE: 3,
EC: 2, UEL: 1 – in accordance with the D’Hondt system) and the rapporteur
of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy on “Evaluation
of the Partnership for democracy in respect of the Parliament of
the Kyrgyz Republic”. It also authorised a pre-electoral mission.
3.2.5 Schedule of elections
for 2015
The Bureau took note of the elections calendar for 2015 as
presented in the memorandum prepared by the Secretary General of
the Assembly.
3.3 Ad hoc committee
of the Bureau on large scale arrival of refugees to Turkey
The Bureau took note of the report of the President of the
Assembly (see Doc. 13813
Addendum III).
3.4 References and
transmissions to committees
The Bureau took note of the letter of the Chairperson of the
Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
concerning the merge of two motions for a resolution on “The ’Turin
process’ for the European Social Charter” and “Drafting social indicators
and issuing an annual report on social report”.
3.5 Other Business
3.5.1 The allocation
of seats in the Parliamentary Assembly with respect to Turkey
The Bureau took note of the changes in the Statute of the
Council of Europe as regards the allocation of seats in the Parliamentary
Assembly with respect to Turkey (18 seats).
Appendix – Updated terms
of reference for General Rapporteurs
A. General
Rapporteur on Children
General
rapporteur on children of the Parliamentary Assembly (of the Committee
on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development)
Denomination: general
rapporteur on children
Term of office: one
year renewable, subject to a maximum of two years
Subject: It is the
duty of the general rapporteur on children to intervene in the area
of children’s rights, particularly concerning issues of child protection,
child development and child participation in different contexts (educational
institutions, family, leisure, others). He or she shall report periodically
to the committee on the information collected and the action taken.
Responsibilities:
The role of the general rapporteur is to:
- follow activities and maintain
working relations with the Children’s Rights Division of the Council
of Europe and represent the Committee and the Parliamentary Assembly
at any meetings of the expert and advisory
groups coordinated by it, in particular those related to the Council
of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child;
- follow activities and represent the Committee and the
Assembly within the Committee of the Parties of the Council of Europe
Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation
and Sexual Abuse (“Lanzarote Convention”);
- follow activities related to children’s rights undertaken
by other bodies of the Council of Europe, notably the Congress of
Local and Regional Authorities and the Commissioner of Human Rights;
- follow activities and maintain working relations with
bodies and agencies of the United Nations (Unicef, the Special Representative
of the Secretary General on Violence against Children), the European Commission
and Parliament, the Interparliamentary Union (IPU), and international
non-governmental organisations working in this field (Save the Children,
ECPAT and others);
- follow- up on relevant texts adopted by the Assembly,
in particular Resolution
1995 (2014) and Recommendation
2044 (2014) on Ending child poverty in
Europe, Resolution
2010 (2014) on Child-friendly juvenile
justice: from rhetoric to reality, Recommendation 2045 (2014) on Combating sexual violence
against children: towards a successful conclusion of the ONE in
FIVE Campaign, as well as Resolution 2049 (2015) and Recommendation
2068 (2015) on Social services in Europe:
legislation and practice of the removal of children from their families
in Council of Europe member States, and continue to promote
the Assembly’s decisions which appear in these texts.
B. General
Rapporteur on Local and Regional Authorities
General
rapporteur on local and regional authorities of the Parliamentary
Assembly (of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable
Development)
Denomination: general
rapporteur on local and regional authorities
Term of office: one
year renewable, subject to a maximum of two years
Subject: It is the
duty of the general rapporteur on local and regional authorities
to intervene in the area of local and regional democracy, particularly
concerning issues of good governance at local and regional level,
citizen participation, local and regional finances and human rights
at local level. He or she shall report periodically to the committee
on the information collected and the action taken.
Responsibilities:
The role of the general rapporteur is to:
- systematically follow activities
and maintain working relations with the European Committee on Democracy
and Governance (CDDG), the Rapporteur Group on Democracy (GR-DEM),
and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities,
- follow activities by the European Commission and Parliament,
and where appropriate follow and maintain working relations with
European and national associations of local and regional authorities,
- represent the Committee on behalf of the Assembly at the
meetings of any of the above mentioned bodies where appropriate.
