Consequently, the Assembly urges all the countries that are
under a monitoring procedure or engaged in a post-monitoring dialogue
to step up their efforts to fully honour all membership obligations
and accession commitments to the Council of Europe. In particular
it calls on:
4.1 all political
forces in Albania to resolve the systemic political crisis in the
country on the basis of electoral reform followed by elections and
to abstain from boycotting parliament and State institutions; and
for the Albanian authorities to step up the fight against corruption
and organised crime and to ensure that any changes to the legislative
framework for the media are fully in line with European standards
with regard to freedom of expression and of the media;
4.2 the Armenian authorities to step up the reform of the
justice system with a view to strengthening its independence and
efficiency while refraining from any actions that could be perceived
as putting pressure on or interfering in the work of the judiciary
and to continue strengthening the rights of women as well as LGBTI
persons and other minorities;
4.3 the Azerbaijani authorities to end the harassment and
intimidation of lawyers representing opposition and civil society
activists against the State; to release without delay all remaining
political prisoners and to fully implement the judgment of the European
Court of Human Rights (the Court) in the case of Ilgar Mammadov v. Azerbaijan; to
fully comply with the European Convention on Human Rights and unconditionally
implement the judgments of the Court;
4.4 all political forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina to appoint
a new government and representatives in the country’s democratic
institutions and adopt the necessary changes to both the constitution
and the electoral law, in accordance with the judgments of the European
Court of Human Rights in the Sejdić and Finci and the Pilav cases;
4.5 the Bulgarian authorities to adopt, in close co-operation
and consultation with all stakeholders, clear, objective and transparent
criteria with regard to supplementary remuneration within the judiciary; to
adopt the necessary legislation ensuring transparency of media ownership;
to step up the fight against high-level corruption;
4.6 the Georgian ruling majority to ensure the introduction
of an election system that can have the support and trust of all
stakeholders before the 2020 elections; to fully implement all the recommendations
of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission)
in its opinion on the selection and appointment of Supreme Court
judges; to promptly implement the fourth wave of reform of the judiciary
and for all political forces in the country to work to overcome
the continuing polarisation in the political environment;
4.7 the Montenegrin authorities and all political forces in
the country to agree on and implement comprehensive electoral reform
and to refrain from boycotting the country’s parliament and democratic institutions;
the Montenegrin authorities to fully and transparently investigate
all allegations of high-level corruption in the country and to ensure
the freedom of the media and protection of journalists;
4.8 all political forces in North Macedonia to agree to a
reform of the legislative framework for elections, in particular
with regard to campaign financing and election complaints and appeals;
the authorities of North Macedonia to implement outstanding recommendations
by the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) and the European
Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (CPT); to further consolidate and ensure
the sustainability of the functioning of democratic institutions
in the country and to strengthen the independence and accountability
of judges and prosecutors;
4.9 the Russian authorities to implement a series of concrete
measures aimed at addressing the concerns with regard to the continuing
deterioration of human rights and the rule of law; to remove any legal
obstacles to the unconditional execution of the decisions of the
European Court of Human Rights; to unconditionally and fully co-operate
with the joint investigation team and the Dutch prosecution service
in bringing those responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines
Flight MH17 to justice; to take effective measures aimed at preventing
violations of the human rights of LGBTI persons, in particular in the
Chechen Republic; to co-operate fully with the international community
in the investigation of the murder of Mr Boris Nemtsov; to end and
reverse the ongoing “borderisation” and creeping annexations of
the Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia; to fully implement
the Minsk agreements to which the Russian Federation is a party
and to end its military intervention in, and support for, illegally armed
formations in eastern Ukraine; to reverse its illegal annexation
of Crimea as demanded by the Assembly, including in Assembly
Resolutions 1990 (2014),
2034 (2015),
2063 (2015),
2132 (2016),
2198 (2018),
2259 (2019),
2292 (2019) and
others; to fully comply with the European Convention on Human Rights
and unconditionally implement the judgments of the Court;
4.10 the Turkish authorities to respect fully the rights and
fundamental freedoms of opposition politicians, in particular to
guarantee parliamentary immunity and to release members and former members
of parliament who were wrongly imprisoned and stripped of their
immunity; to end the use of anti-terror laws to silence opposition
parties, journalists, activists and civil society organisations
that hold diverging views to those of the ruling party; to fully
comply with the European Convention on Human Rights and unconditionally
implement the judgments of the Court;
4.11 the Ukrainian authorities to ensure full and transparent
investigations into attacks on journalists and anti-corruption activists
to ensure that no perception of impunity for such crimes is allowed
to exist; and to ensure that the reform of the legal framework governing
the Supreme Court and judicial self-governing bodies is carried
out fully in line with European standards.
