20/11/2009 Standing Committee
In their addresses at the opening of the Standing Committee of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) today in Bern, Chiara Simoneschi-Cortesi, President of the National Council of the Swiss Confederation and Micheline Calmy-Rey, Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Foreign Affairs Department, recalled the major contribution of the Council of Europe and its Assembly to peace and progress in Europe.
Further efforts must be made to guarantee the long-term effectiveness of the European Court of Human Rights and specifically of individual petitions, they stressed.
Ms Calmy-Rey said that it was important to reconsider and improve the arrangements for co-operation between the Committee of Ministers and the PACE. She also presented the priorities of the Swiss Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, namely protecting human rights and rule of law, strengthening democratic structures and enhancing the transparency and effectiveness of the Council of Europe. Lastly, she stressed the importance of continuing efforts of rapprochement with Belarus in close consultation with the PACE.