AA16CR04ADD1

AS (2016) CR 04
Addendum 1

2016 ORDINARY SESSION

________________________

(First part)

REPORT

Fourth sitting

Tuesday, 26 January 2016 at 3.30 p.m.

ADDENDUM 1

Debate:

Request for partner for democracy status with the
Parliamentary Assembly submitted by the Parliament of Jordan

The following texts were submitted for inclusion in the official report by members who were present in the Chamber but were prevented by lack of time from delivering them.

Mr GHAMBOU (Morocco, Partner for Democracy) – It is no coincidence that the two Arab countries seeking partnership with the Council of Europe – first Morocco and now Jordan – are constitutional monarchies. As many experts argue, monarchies provide a historical guarantee of enduring stability without which it is impossible to speak of democratic reforms and human rights values.

We hope that the strategic role played by Morocco in North Africa will be extended to Jordan; this would help us to come up with concrete solutions to the lasting problems of terrorism, the lack of political stability, and the refugee crisis in the Middle East.

It would be very useful for the Council of Europe to reach out to new regions by offering partnership opportunities to deserving countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where the issues of youth poverty, arms and drugs trafficking and illegal migration need to be addressed.

Finally, judging from Morocco’s five year partnership with the Council of Europe, I call upon the latter to consider granting more privileges to non-European partners, such as voting rights and the right to make amendments and to write reports, especially where the resolutions directly concern those partners.