Activities of the Assembly’s Bureau and Standing Committee (24 April 2023)
Progress report
| Doc. 15745 Add. 1
| 24 April 2023
1 Decisions of
the Bureau of 24 April 2023 requiring ratification by the Assembly
1.1 References and
transmissions to committees
The Bureau considered and approved the following references:
- Doc. 15690, Motion for a resolution, The question of the right
to just and equal redress and the access to court and a fair trial
for all victims of the German aggression during the Second World
War: reference to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights to take into account in themotion for a resolution on “Reparation and
reconciliation processes to overcome past conflicts and build a
common peaceful future – the question of just and equal redress”
- Doc. 15697, Motion for a resolution, Misuse of the anti-money laundering
measures and countering the financing of terrorism regulations as
a tool of transnational repression: transmission to the Committee
on Legal Affairs and Human Rights for
consultation
- Doc. 15698, Motion for a resolution, The use of explosive weapons
as a major driver of justified displacement: reference to the Committee
on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons for
report
- Doc. 15699, Motion for a resolution, Urgent call on transferring
Mikheil Saakashvili, the third President of Georgia for treatment
abroad: 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 framework of the report on the “Honouring of obligations and
commitments by Georgia”
- Doc. 15701, Motion for a resolution, The foreseeable wealth gap
in the automated future: transmission to the Committee on Social
Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development for
consultation
- Doc. 15702, Motion for a recommendation, Socialising at schools,
a means for students' well-being: transmission
to the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media for consultation
- Doc. 15704, Motion for a resolution, Combating forced “harvesting”
and “trafficking” in human organs: transmission to the Committee
on Legal Affairs and Human Rights and the Committee on Social Affairs, Health
and Sustainable Development for information
- Doc. 15705, Motion for a resolution, The Iranian regime’s murderous
suppression, and the need to declare the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organisation: reference to the Committee
on Political Affairs and Democracy to
be taken into account in the framework of the report on “The situation
in Iran”
- Doc. 15707, Motion for a resolution, Clean Air (indoor and outdoor)
public health and greenhouse gases: transmission
to the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development for information
- Doc. 15712, Motion for a resolution, Ensuring the right to fair
trial in the context of State immunities: how to strike the right
balance?: reference to the
Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights to
be taken into account in the framework of the report on “Legal and
human rights aspects of the Russian Federation’s aggression against
Ukraine”
1.2 Elections observation
1.2.1 Montenegro: parliamentary
election (11 June 2023)
The Bureau, subject to receiving an invitation, decided to
observe these elections and to set up an ad hoc committee composed
of 20 members (SOC-6; EPP/CD-6; ALDE-4; EC/DA-3; UEL-1), as well
as the two co-rapporteurs of the monitoring committee.
1.3 Issues raised
by committees
1.3.1 Committee on
Culture, Science, Education and Media
The Bureau decided to set up an ad hoc committee of the Bureau
to participate in the Council of Europe Campaign for the Safety
of Journalists, in Riga on 5-6 October 2023.
1.3.2 Committee on
Legal Affairs and Human Rights
The Bureau took take note of the letter by the Chairperson
of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights and approved
the terms of reference of the General Rapporteur for political prisoners
(Appendix 1).
1.4 Composition of
the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional
Affairs
The Bureau, on the basis of a proposal by the group ALDE,
appointed Ms Sona GHAZARYAN (Armenia) as a member.
The Assembly is invited to ratify
these Bureau decisions.
2 Other decisions
by the Bureau
2.1 Second part-session
of 2023 (Strasbourg, 24-28 April)
The Bureau took note of a letter addressed by the Commissioner
for Human Rights to the President of the Assembly in reply to his
request for information ahead of the presentation of her annual
activity report 2022 before the Assembly.
2.1.1 Request for a
debate under urgent procedure
The Bureau took note of the request to hold a debate on
- The situation of Ukrainian civilians,
including children, forcibly displaced or transferred to the Russian Federation
or Ukrainian territories under the de facto control of the Russian
Federation, tabled by the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced
Persons, decided to recommend to the Assembly to hold this debate,
and to refer the matter to the Committee on Migration, Refugees
and Displaced Persons for report and to the Committee on Social
Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development for opinion.
2.1.2 Requests for
current affairs debates
The Bureau took note of the requests for current affairs debates
on:
- On
the #RoadToReykjavik, tabled by the leaders of the political
groups, and decided to recommend to the Assembly to hold this debate,
and appointed Ms Fiona O’Loughlin (Ireland, ALDE) as the first speaker.
- Russia’s role in escalating
tensions in the Republic of Moldova, tabled by Mr Emanuelis
Zingeris and other members of the Assembly, decided to recommend
to the Assembly to hold this debate, and appointed Mr Aleksander
Pociej (Poland, EPP/CD) as the first speaker.
2.1.3 Draft agenda
The Bureau updated the draft agenda.
2.1.4 Joint Committee
(Strasbourg, 26 April 2023)
The Bureau prepared the meeting of the Joint Committee.
2.1.5 Election of judges
to the European Court of Human Rights
The Bureau took note of the report drawn up by the Committee
on the election of judges following interviews with candidates for
the post of a judge in respect of Romania (Doc. 15745 Add. 2).
2.2 4th Council of
Europe Heads of State and Government Summit (Reykjavik, 16-17 May
2023)
The Bureau agreed that the Assembly would be represented by
the Presidential Committee and the rapporteur of the Political Affairs
Committee on “The Reykjavik Summit of the Council of Europe: United
around values in the face of extraordinary challenges”.
2.3 Meeting of the
Standing Committee in Reykjavik (15 May 2023)
The Bureau took note of the draft agenda.
2.4 Progress report
of the Bureau of the Assembly and of the Standing Committee (from 27 January
to 23 April 2023)
The Bureau approved the Progress report (Doc. 15745).
2.5 Communications
The Bureau took note of the communication by the President
of the Assembly, the Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary
General of the Council of Europe. It held an exchange of views with
the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe.
2.6 Election observation
2.6.1 Montenegro: Presidential
election (19 March 2023)
The Bureau approved the report by the observation mission.
2.6.2 Bulgaria: early
parliamentary elections (2 April 2023)
The Bureau took note of the statement by the observation mission.
2.6.3 Conference “Elections
in times of crisis: challenges and opportunities” (Bern, 9-10 May
2023)
The Bureau took note of the updated list of members of the
ad hoc committee to attend the conference (Appendix 2).
2.6.4 Türkiye: Presidential
and parliamentary elections (14 May 2023)
The Bureau took note of the statement by the pre-electoral
delegation and to took note of the updated list of members of the
ad hoc committee to observe these elections (Appendix 3).
2.7 Meetings elsewhere
than Strasbourg and Paris
The Bureau authorised the Committee on Migration, Refugees
and Displaced Persons to meet in Reykjavik on 21-22 September 2023.
Appendix 1 – Mandate: General Rapporteur
on Political Prisoners in Europe
Terms of reference
Term of office: one
year, renewable once
Mandate
The general rapporteur on Political Prisoners in Europe is
mandated to intervene in matters relating to alleged cases of politically
motivated arrests and criminal prosecutions in Europe and in other
countries having an observer or cooperative status with the Council
of Europe or the Parliamentary Assembly.
Definition
A “political prisoner” is a person who is deprived of his
or her liberty in circumstances fulfilling one or more of the criteria
reaffirmed in Assembly Resolution
1900 (2012), namely:
a if the detention
has been imposed in violation of one of the fundamental guarantees
set out in the European Convention on Human Rights and its Protocols
(ECHR), in particular freedom of thought, conscience and religion,
freedom of expression and information, freedom of assembly and association;
b if the detention has been imposed for purely political
reasons without connection to any offence;
c if, for political motives, the length of the detention
or its conditions are clearly out of proportion to the offence the
person has been found guilty of or is suspected of;
d if, for political motives, he or she is detained in a
discriminatory manner as compared to other persons; or,
e if the detention is the result of proceedings which were
clearly unfair and this appears to be connected with political motives
of the authorities.” (SG/Inf(2001)34, paragraph 10).
The finding by the European Court of Human Rights, in favour
of a person deprived of his or her liberty, of a violation of Articles
5 in conjunction with Article 18 of the European Convention of Human
Rights is a strong indication that such a person is a “political
prisoner”.
Responsibilities:
The role of the general rapporteur is to:
- follow activities and maintain
working relations, when need arises, with different Council of Europe institutions
and bodies which deal with issues relating to politcial prisoners,
including the Committee of Ministers, the Commissioner for Human
Rights, the Secretary General and the Conference of INGOs;
- follow activities and maintain, when appropriate, working
relations with bodies and agencies of the United Nations (including
its Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions), the European Union,
with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE),
in particular the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Representative
on Political Prisoners, and with other international governmental
and non-governmental organisations;
- represent the committee on behalf of the Assembly vis-à-vis any of the above mentioned
bodies and groups, when relevant and appropriate;
- in appropriate cases, make statements and launch appeals
on his/her own behalf or propose to do so to the Committee;
- in appropriate cases, engage in communication with alleged
political prisoners or their families and their lawyers;
- follow up previous resolutions and recommendations of
the Assembly on issues related to alleged cases of political prisoners.
The general rapporteur shall report periodically, at least
annually, to the committee on information collected and any action
taken.
Appendix 2 – Conference “Elections in times
of crisis: challenges and opportunities” (Bern, 9-10 May 2023):
updated list of members of the ad hoc committee to participate in
the conference
Chairperson /
Président: Mr / M. Damien COTTIER (Switzerland / Suisse,
ALDE / ADLE)
Socialists, Democrats and Greens
Group / Groupe des socialistes, démocrates et verts (SOC)
- Mr / M. Adnan DIBRANI, Sweden
/ Suède
- Ms / Mme Marietta KARAMANLI,
France
- Ms / Mme Róisín GARVEY, Ireland
/ Irlande
- Ms / Mme Thórhildur Sunna ÆVARSDÓTTIR,
Iceland / Islande
- Mr / M. Ion PRIOTEASA, Romania / Roumanie
- Ms / Mme Edite ESTRELA, Portugal
- Ms / Mme Jelena MILOŠEVIĆ,
Serbia / Serbie
- Mr / M. Predrag SEKULIĆ, Montenegro / Monténégro
- Mr / M. Constantinos EFSTATHIOU, Cyprus / Chypre
- Ms / Mme Cécile HEMMEN, Luxembourg
Substitutes / suppléant·e·s
- Mr / M. Haluk KOÇ, Türkiye
Group of the European People’s
Party (EPP/CD) / Groupe du Parti populaire européen (PPE/DC)
- Mr / M. Lulzim BASHA, Albania
/ Albanie
- Mr / M. Corneliu-Mugurel COZMANCIUC, Romania / Roumanie
- Mr / M. Georg GEORGIEV, Bulgaria / Bulgarie
- Ms / Mme Sylvie GOY-CHAVENT,
France
- Mr / M. Reinhold LOPATKA, Austria / Autriche
- Mr / M. Cristian-Augustin NICULESCU-ȚÂGÂRLAȘ, Romania
/ Roumanie
- Ms / Mme Arusyak JULHAKYAN,
Armenia / Arménie
- Mr / M. Sergiy VLASENKO, Ukraine
- zz
Substitutes / suppléant·e·s
- Mr / M. Kęstutis MASIULIS, Lithuania
/ Lituanie
- Ms / Mme Isabel MEIRELLES,
Portugal
- Mr / M. Jacek PROTASIEWICZ, Poland / Pologne
- Ms / Mme Denitsa SACHEVA, Bulgaria,
Bulgarie
- Ms / Mme Ekaterina ZAHARIEVA,
Bulgaria, Bulgarie
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats
for Europe (ALDE) / Alliance des démocrates et des libéraux pour l’Europe
(ADLE)
- Mr / M. Damien
COTTIER, Switzerland / Suisse
- Ms / Mme Liliana TANGUY, France
- Ms / Mme Lesia ZABURANNA, Ukraine
- Ms / Mme Valentina GRIPPO,
Italy / Italie
- zz
Substitutes / suppléant·e·s
- Mr / M. Jacques LE NAY, France
- Ms / Mme Oleksandra USTINOVA,
Ukraine
European Conservatives Group and
Democratic Alliance (EC/DA) / Groupe des conservateurs européens
et Alliance démocratique (CE/AD)
- Mr / M. Ian PAISLEY, United Kingdom / Royaume-Uni
- Mr / M. Oleksii GONCHARENKO, Ukraine
- Mr / M. Erkin GADIRLI, Azerbaijan / Azerbaïdjan
- Mr / M. Ahmet YILDIZ, Türkiye (NR/NI)
- Ms / Mme Emine Nur GÜNAY,Türkiye
(NR/NI)
Group of the Unified European
Left (UEL) / Groupe pour la gauche unitaire européenne (GUE)
- Mr / M. Anton GOMEZ-REINO, Spain
/ Espagne
Substitutes / suppléant·e·s
- Ms / Mme Nina
KASIMATI, Greece / Grèce
Membres not belonging to a political
group (NR) / Membres n’appartenant à aucun groupe politique (NI)
- Ms / Mme Serap
YAŞAR, Türkiye
Members of the Council for Democratic
Elections of the Venice Commission(ex officio)/ Membres du Conseil des Elections Démocratiques
de la Commission de Venise(ex
officio)
- Mr / M. Michael
Georg LINK, Germany / Allemagne
- Ms / Mme María Valentina MARTÍNEZ
FERRO, Spain / Espagne
- Mr / M. Davor Ivo STIER, Croatia / Croatie
Substitutes / suppléant·e·s
- Ms / Mme Laura CASTEL, Spain
/ Espagne
- Ms / Mme Khatia DEKANOIDZE,
Georgia / Géorgie
- Mr / M. Aleksander POCIEJ, Poland / Pologne
Appendix 3 – Türkiye: Presidential and parliamentary
elections (14 May 2023): updated list of members of the ad hoc committee
to observe these elections
Chairperson /
Président: Mr / M. Frank SCHWABE (Germany / Allemagne,
SOC)
Socialists, Democrats and Greens
Group / Groupe des socialistes, démocrates et verts (SOC)
- Mr / M. Frank SCHWABE, Germany
/ Allemagne*
- Ms / Mme Kate OSAMOR, United
Kingdom / Royaume-Uni
- Ms / Mme Margreet DE BOER,
Netherlands / Pays-Bas
- Mr / M. Pierre-Alain FRIDEZ, Switzerland / Suisse
- Mr / M. Andrea ORLANDO, Italy / Italie
- Mr / M. Paulo PISCO, Portugal
- Ms / Mme Thórhildur Sunna ÆVARSDÓTTIR,
Iceland / Islande
- Mr / M. Max LUCKS, Germany / Allemagne
- Ms / Mme Derya TÜRK-NACHBAUR,
Germany / Allemagne
- Mr / M. Andrzej SZEJNA, Poland / Pologne
- Mr / M. André VALLINI, France
- Ms / Mme Heike ENGELHARDT,
Germany / Allemagne
Substitutes / suppléant·e·s
- Mr / M. Sabir HAJIYEV, Azerbaijan
/ Azerbaïdjan
- Mr / M. Predrag SEKULIĆ, Montenegro / Monténégro
Group of the European People’s
Party (EPP/CD) / Groupe du Parti populaire européen (PPE/DC)
- Ms / Mme Marie-Christine
DALLOZ, France
- Ms / Mme Iva DIMIC Slovenia
/ Slovénie
- Mr / M. Kęstutis MASIULIS, Lithuania / Lituanie *
- Ms / Mme Isabel MEIRELLES,
Portugal
- Mr / M. Jacek PROTASIEWICZ, Poland / Pologne
- Mr / M. Cristian-Augustin NICULESCU-ȚÂGÂRLAȘ
- ZZ
- ZZ
- ZZ
- ZZ
- ZZ
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats
for Europe (ALDE) / Alliance des démocrates et des libéraux pour l’Europe
(ADLE)
- Ms / Mme Mireille
CLAPOT, France*
- Ms / Mme Nicole DURANTON, France
- Ms / Mme Valentina GRIPPO,
Italy / Italie
- Mr / M. Rafael HUSEYNOV, Azerbaijan / Azerbaïdjan
- Ms / Mme Gyde JENSEN, Germany
/ Allemagne
- Ms / Mme Denisa Elena NEAGU,
Romania / Roumanie
- Mr / M. Dean PREMIK, Slovenia / Slovénie
- Ms / Mme Yuliia OVCHYNNYKOVA,
Ukraine
Substitutes / suppléant·e·s
- Mr / M. Georges-Louis BOUCHEZ,
Belgium / Belgique
- Mr / M. Jacques LE NAY, France
- Ms / Mme Oleksandra USTINOVA,
Ukraine
- Ms / Mme Diana STOICA, Romania
/ Roumanie
European Conservatives Group and
Democratic Alliance (EC-DA) / Groupe des Conservateurs européens
et Alliance démocratique (CE-AD)
- Mr / M. Norbert KLEINWÄCHTER, Germany / Allemagne
- Mr / M. Oleksii GONCHARENKO, Ukraine
- Mr / M. Simone BILLI, Italy / Italie
- Lord Simon RUSSELL, United Kingdom / Royaume-Uni*
- Mr / M. Kamal JAFAROV, Azerbaijan / Azerbaïdjan
- Mr / M. Dmytro NATALUKHA, Ukraine
Group of the Unified European
Left (UEL) / Groupe pour la gauche unitaire européenne (GUE)
- Mr / M. Andrej HUNKO, Germany
/ Allemagne
- Mr / M. George LOUCAIDES, Cyprus / Chypre *
Substitutes / suppléant·e·s
- Mr / M. Anton GOMEZ-REINO, Spain
/ Espagne
Co-rapporteurs AS/MON(ex officio)
- Mr / M. John HOWELL, United
Kingdom / Royaume-Uni*
- Mr / M. Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria / Autriche
* members of the pre-election delegation / membres de la délégation
préélectorale
