20.6.2011

Embargo until delivery

WELCOME NOTES OF MR MEVLÜT ÇAVUŞOĞLU,PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY,

TO THE ATTENTION OF MR KOSTYANTYN GRYSCHENKO,CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF UKRAINE

(Strasbourg, Monday, 20 June 2011, 3 p.m.)

Dear Minister,

I am very glad to welcome you today in the Assembly Chamber in your capacity as Chairman of the Committee of Ministers. We have already had a possibility to exchange views with you in Kyiv, on 27 May 2011, during the meeting of the Standing Committee. Therefore, today we are very much looking forward to continuing our very interesting and fruitful dialogue.

I have to stress that the Assembly supports wholeheartedly the priorities of Ukraine’s Chairmanship.

First of all, we give our full backing to Ukraine’s initiatives to strengthen the European system of protection of children’s rights. We are fully engaged in the parliamentary dimension of the Council of Europe “One in Five” Campaign to stop sexual violence against children and our Group of contact parliamentarians is actively working on promoting the signing and the ratification of the Lanzarote Convention “on the protection of children against exploitation and sexual abuse” in national Parliaments. I hope that during the Ukrainian Chairmanship we will be able to achieve further concrete results on this front.

The second priority – human rights and rule of law in the context of democracy and stability in Europe – is at the very heart of the Assembly’s work. On Thursday, we are going to hold a debate on the State of Human Rights in Europe focusing, among others, on the role of Parliaments as guarantors of human rights. I am sure this debate will contribute to strengthening the parliamentary dimension of the prevention and promotion mechanisms in member states.

We also give our full support to the third priority of Ukraine’s Chairmanship – the strengthening and development of local democracy. We are looking forward to participating in the Conference of Ministers responsible for local and regional government, which will be held in Kyiv on 3-4 November 2011, in order to make our own contribution to the implementation of the so-called “Utrecht agenda” adopted by Ministers in 2009.

Finally, the joint initiatives of the Ukrainian, United Kingdom and Albanian Chairmanships in support of the Council of Europe reform process and of the reform of the European Court of Human Rights have the full backing of the Assembly. For our part, we are going to debate during this part-session a report on the Assembly reform in order to adapt our own structures as well, in the light of the current challenges our Organisation is facing.

Mister Minister, I now wish to give you the floor for your address which will be followed by questions from members. Minister, you have the floor.