12/05/2023 Political Affairs and Democracy
PACE’s Political Affairs Committee emphasised the importance of preventing conflicts and promoting democratic security in light of the rising number of armed conflicts globally and in Europe, particularly the Russian aggression against Ukraine. The committee underlined the Council's role as “a peace project” and urged member states to renew their commitment to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
At the adoption of the draft resolution of the report by Lesia Vasylenko (Ukraine, ALDE), the committee called for developing additional tools to protect democratic security and strengthen democratic resilience.
Parliamentarians urged member States, in particular, “to ensure adherence to the rule of law and fundamental rights”, building trust in public institutions and engaging in a dialogue to consolidate the Council of Europe’s role as “the guardian of democracy”. The committee recommended the organisation of public debates “to raise awareness about democratic security and explore ways to strengthen democratic resilience”.
The committee also called for ensuring accountability for violations of international law by recognising the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, removing jurisdictional limits for prosecuting the crime of aggression, establishing ad hoc tribunals for specific cases, and providing compensation “to the victim of aggression, including by lawful confiscation of State-owned and private-owned assets”.
Finally, the parliamentarians proposed creating a Council of Europe Common Democratic Security Policy to protect and strengthen international security and enhance the Council's impact in this area. “The policy should ensure a comprehensive use of early warning and confidence-building measures, improve policymaking, strengthen accountability and prevent future conflicts”, they concluded.