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Resolution 2261 (2019)
The progress of the Assembly's monitoring procedure (January-December 2018) and the periodic review of the honouring of obligations by Iceland and Italy
1. The Parliamentary Assembly acknowledges
the work carried out by the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations
and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring
Committee) in fulfilling its mandate as defined in Resolution 1115 (1997) on
the setting up of an Assembly committee on the honouring of obligations
and commitments by member states of the Council of Europe (Monitoring
Committee) (as modified by Resolution
1431 (2005), Resolution
1515 (2006), Resolution
1698 (2009), Resolution
1710 (2010), Resolution
1936 (2013) and Resolution
2018 (2014)). It commends the committee on its work in
accompanying the 10 countries under a full monitoring procedure
(Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia,
the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey
and Ukraine), and the three countries engaged in a post-monitoring
dialogue (Bulgaria, Montenegro and “the former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia”) in their efforts to fully comply with the obligations
and commitments they entered into upon accession to the Council
of Europe, as well as the monitoring of the membership obligations
of all other member States through its periodic review process.
2. The Assembly deplores that in 2018 the co-rapporteurs for
the monitoring procedure were once again unable to visit the Russian
Federation due to the boycott by the Russian delegation of the work
of the Assembly. It recalls in this context that co-operation with
the monitoring procedure is an explicit accession commitment of
the country.
3. The Assembly commends the Sub-Committee on Conflicts between
Council of Europe Member States for the work it has undertaken.
4. The Assembly welcomes the positive developments and the progress
made during the reporting period in a number of countries under
a monitoring procedure or engaged in a post-monitoring dialogue.
In particular in:
4.1. Albania:
the continuing efforts to reform the justice system, especially
through the ongoing vetting process of judges and prosecutors;
4.2. Armenia: the ability to manage a change of power in a
peaceful manner and in line with the provisions of the new constitution;
4.3. Azerbaijan: the release of Mr Ilgar Mammadov, leader of
the opposition civic movement ReAl while regretting that the remaining
part of the original sentence, which was based on an unfair trial,
was replaced by a two-year probation period without the right to
leave Azerbaijan;
4.4. Georgia: the ongoing implementation of the new constitutional
framework and the drafting, in an inclusive manner, of new rules
of procedure for the Georgian Parliament, with a view to strengthening parliamentary
oversight over the executive, as well as the role of the opposition
in that process;
4.5. the Republic of Moldova: the recent initiatives taken
to combat domestic violence, including the introduction of restraining
orders on perpetrators of violence; the progress achieved in the
Transnistrian settlement process;
4.6. Turkey: the lifting of the state of emergency in July
2018 and the withdrawal of the derogation from the European Convention
on Human Rights (ETS No. 5);
4.7. Ukraine: the adoption of a law on a high anti-corruption
court and ongoing implementation of judicial reforms;
4.8. Bulgaria: the adoption of a new law on anti-corruption
and forfeiture of assets granting extensive powers to a new anti-corruption
agency;
4.9. Montenegro: the end of the parliamentary boycott by a
significant number of opposition political groups;
4.10. “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”: the signature
of the Prespa Agreement to settle the “name issue” with Greece;
the continuing requests by the authorities for the expertise of
the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission).
5. At the same time, the Assembly expresses its concern about
developments and remaining shortcomings in a number of countries
under a monitoring procedure or engaged in a post-monitoring dialogue,
that undermine the democratic consolidation in these countries and
are at odds with their obligations and accession commitments:
5.1. Albania: the continuing polarisation
between the main political parties and the still limited tangible results
in the fight against organised crime, political corruption and State
capture;
5.2. Azerbaijan: the early presidential election that took
place within a restrictive political environment and under laws
that curtail fundamental rights and freedoms, which are prerequisites
for genuine democratic elections; the continued detention of journalists,
such as Mehman Huseynov, and civil society activists on politically
motivated charges;
5.3. Bosnia and Herzegovina: the continued failure since 2009
to implement the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights
related to ethnic- and residency-based limitations to the right
to stand for elected offices; the continued failure to address the
issue of segregation along ethnic and religious lines in education;
the increasing incidence of disrespect for the rule of law and the
reluctance or the refusal to abide by the decisions of the Constitutional
Court or the State Court;
5.4. Georgia: the persistence of a polarised political climate
and of questions regarding the effectiveness of the prosecution
service in politically sensitive cases;
5.5. Republic of Moldova: the dubious invalidation of the early
mayoral elections in Chișinău in June 2018 and the ongoing pressure
exerted on all city councillors, which further undermine trust in
the judiciary, as well as the persistence of a high level of corruption;
5.6. the Russian Federation: the ongoing military aggression
against Ukraine in Donbass and the illegal annexation of the Autonomous
Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol; the absence of any progress
in the release of Ukrainian political prisoners and captives in
the Russian Federation, illegally annexed Crimea and occupied Donbass;
the absence of an impartial and effective investigation into the persecution
of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people
in the Chechen Republic; the arson attack against the Memorial office
in Ingushetia and the detention of the director of the Memorial
field office in Grozny; the abduction and violent abuse, apparently
by the Ingushetian police, of a human rights activist sent by Amnesty
International to observe peaceful protests in Maga, Ingushetia;
its military aggression against Ukrainian vessels in the Kerch Strait
and the Sea of Azov, which the Assembly condemns; in this respect
the Assembly reiterates its strong support for Ukraine’s sovereignty
and territorial integrity, which includes the right to navigate
freely and unhindered in its own territorial waters; the illegal
works by the Russian Federation in the Tskhinvali region of Georgia
with the aim of installing artificial barriers along the occupation
line adjacent to the village of Atotsi, Georgia;
5.7. Turkey: the undermining of the separation of powers and
the independence of the judiciary, as a result of the adoption of
constitutional amendments in 2017 that are not in line with European
standards; the continuing concerns regarding freedom of the media;
the pretrial detention of members of parliament following the lifting
of their immunity in 2016; the repeated violations of freedom of
expression and freedom of the media; the situation of local administrations
governed by State-appointed trustees in south-east Turkey; the limited
space for democratic debate and for the free expression of a plurality
of views during the June 2018 early presidential and parliamentary
elections organised under the state of emergency;
5.8. Ukraine: the unacceptable attacks on journalists and media
outlets; the extension of the new financial disclosure regime to
anti-corruption activists and its implementation on 1 April 2018;
the lack of progress in correcting the imbalance between the official
language and the languages of national minorities in the new law
on education in Ukraine; the widespread corruption that undermines
public trust in the political and judicial system as a whole;
5.9. Bulgaria: the brutal murder of an investigative journalist,
Ms Viktoria Marinova;
5.10. Montenegro: the misuse of State resources and the credible
allegations of pressure on voters in favour of the ruling party
candidate, and of vote buying and hiring of public employees during
the election period, all these being recurrent according to the
ad hoc committee of the Assembly on the observation of the presidential
election in Montenegro.
6. Consequently, the Assembly urges all the countries that are
under a monitoring procedure or engaged in a post-monitoring dialogue
to step up their efforts to fully honour all membership obligations
and accession commitments to the Council of Europe. In particular
it calls on:
6.1. the Albanian authorities
and all political forces in the country to overcome the political polarisation,
to complete the reform of the judiciary, to guarantee international
standards for democratic elections, and to demonstrate tangible
results in the fight against corruption and organised crime;
6.2. the Armenian authorities, once the general elections have
taken place, to resume reforms in key areas, such as the fight against
domestic violence or the adoption of legislation to effectively
combat vote buying and the abuse of administrative resources during
elections; to ensure that all criminal investigations, including
those pertaining to the tragic events of March 2008, and allegations
of corruption are conducted strictly in line with the principles
of the rule of law and judicial independence and the right to a
fair trial, as laid out in the European Convention on Human Rights;
6.3. the Bosnian authorities to shoulder their responsibilities
and adopt the necessary changes to both the constitution and the
electoral law, in accordance with the judgments of the European
Court of Human Rights in the Sejdić and Finci case and the Pilav
case;
6.4. the Georgian authorities to fully implement the new rules
of procedure for parliament and to continue to strengthen the independence
and effectiveness of the judiciary, including the prosecution service,
and to take measures to increase parliamentary scrutiny of high-level
judicial appointments, as well as to put in place clear selection
criteria;
6.5. the Moldovan authorities to create conditions conducive
to free and fair general elections in 2019, following the adoption
of a mixed electoral system and taking into account the March 2018 recommendations
of the Venice Commission, and to amend the constitution to ensure
the independence and accountability of judges;
6.6. the authorities of the Russian Federation to fully investigate
unlawful detentions, torture and killings of men in the Chechen
Republic based on their sexual orientation and gender identity,
to hold any perpetrators of such heinous acts accountable and to
take effective measures to protect the life, liberty and security
of gay and bisexual people throughout the Russian Federation; to
halt the abuse of legislation against extremism to curtail freedom
of assembly in the Russian Federation; to implement all the Assembly’s
resolutions related to the military aggression against Ukraine;
to return the Ukrainian vessels seized in the Kerch Strait, to immediately
release the Ukrainian sailors captured and to fully respect Ukraine’s
legal right to navigate freely and unhindered in the Kerch Strait
and the Sea of Azov; to immediately stop the installation of barbed
wire fences and artificial obstacles along the occupation lines
in the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions and to abide by the norms
and principles of international law. In this respect, the Assembly
reiterates its strong support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity
within its internationally recognised borders;
6.7. the Turkish authorities to restore freedom of the media
and freedom of expression, release detained MPs (including the former
Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) leader Mr Selahattin Demirtaş, in line
with the November 2018 Chamber judgment of the European Court of
Human Rights), journalists, human rights defenders and academics;
to upgrade the electoral legislation so as to ensure fair election campaigns;
and to ensure that appeal procedures established for civil servants
dismissed by emergency decree laws under the state of emergency
are an effective domestic remedy;
6.8. the Ukrainian authorities to abolish the extension of
the new financial disclosure regime to anti-corruption activists,
in line with the Venice Commission recommendation; to fully implement
the recommendations of the Venice Commission in its opinion on the
amended law on education and the law on government cleansing (Lustration
Law); to implement the law on the establishment of a high anti-corruption
court in accordance with the clearly defined timeline provided therein
and to increase the pace of reforms to fight widespread corruption
in the country and ensure that these reforms lead to tangible and
concrete results;
6.9. the Montenegrin authorities to engage in the reform process
of the electoral framework in line with the recommendations of the
Venice Commission and the Assembly.
7. With regard to the preparation of the report on the functioning
of democratic institutions in Poland, the Assembly takes note of
the planned visit of the co-rapporteurs to Warsaw in the spring
of 2019. In this context, the Assembly calls on the Polish authorities
to ensure that the ongoing reforms, and in particular those of the judicial
system, are fully in line with European standards. To this end,
the Assembly urges the Polish authorities to implement the recommendations
of the Venice Commission expressed in its opinions on these reforms.
8. The Assembly reaffirms the importance of the parliamentary
monitoring procedure, and the work of the Monitoring Committee in
the democratisation and institution-building processes in all Council
of Europe member States. In this respect, it welcomes in particular
the periodic reviews on the honouring of Council of Europe membership
obligations by countries that are not subject to a full monitoring
procedure or engaged in a post-monitoring dialogue with the Assembly.
9. The Assembly takes note of the periodic review reports on
the honouring of Council of Europe membership obligations in respect
of Iceland and Italy, which are presented as part of the report
on the progress of the Assembly’s monitoring procedure (January-December
2018). It endorses the findings and conclusions in these periodic
review reports and encourages the respective authorities to implement
the recommendations therein. In particular, the Assembly:
9.1. with respect to Iceland:
9.1.1. notes that, as a result of the size and relatively homogeneous
make-up of its society, Iceland has in a number of cases favoured
regulating issues via informal rules and arrangements in society
rather than by clear rules and norms codified in law, which has
led to vulnerabilities in the functioning of democratic institutions,
especially with regard to checks and balances; it calls on the authorities
to reform its democratic institutions with a view to addressing
these vulnerabilities, either through rekindling the constitutional
reform process or through common law;
9.1.2. commends the country on the continuing low levels of perception
of corruption by its population. In this context, the Assembly welcomes
the increased attention paid in Icelandic society to the vulnerability
of the country’s democratic institutions and financial interests
to corruption and conflicts of interest. It therefore calls on the
authorities to develop, as a priority, a coherent and comprehensive
strategy with regard to corruption and integrity issues in State institutions
that will fully address the recommendations of the Group of States
against Corruption (GRECO) contained in the evaluation reports on
Iceland in the framework of its fourth and fifth evaluation rounds,
and in particular:
9.1.2.1. develop a strategy to improve
the integrity and management of conflicts of interest of persons
holding top executive functions in the government, as well as clear and
harmonised codes of conduct for them;
9.1.2.2. review the rules regarding secondary activities as well
as employment after leaving government functions;
9.1.2.3. ensure the proper funding of law-enforcement agencies
and develop a clear, transparent, merit-based appointment and promotion
process that is free from political interference;
9.1.3. while recognising the country’s track record with regard
to the protection of human rights, recommends that a national human
rights institution be established. It urges the authorities to adopt,
without delay, a comprehensive anti-discrimination legislative framework,
which is currently lacking;
9.1.4. commends the country on its track record with regard to
gender equality, which can be considered as a role model. At the
same time, it notes that domestic and sexual violence against women
remains an area of concern that deserves the continuing attention
of the authorities;
9.2. with respect to Italy:
9.2.1. expects Italy to
remain committed to the promotion and protection of human rights, foster
inclusive social policies and reduce regional disparities in line
with the recommendations of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
of the Council of Europe; welcomes the steps taken by the parliament
to establish a national commission for the promotion and protection
of fundamental human rights which should act as Italy’s independent
national human rights institution in line with the Paris Principles;
9.2.2. while recognising the transposition into its legal system,
in 1999, of principles of the European Charter for Regional and
Minority Languages (ETS No. 148), continues to encourage Italy to
ratify the charter;
9.2.3. encourages Italy to ratify Protocol No. 12 to the European
Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 177), the European Convention
on Nationality (ETS No. 166), as well as the Additional Protocol
to the European Charter of Local Self-Government on the right to
participate in the affairs of a local authority (CETS No. 207);
9.2.4. invites the parliament to ratify, at its earliest convenience,
Protocols Nos. 15 and 16 to the European Convention on Human Rights
(CETS Nos. 213 and 214) following the recent introduction of a parliamentary
bill to that effect;
9.2.5. concerning the management of the migration inflow affecting
Italy, which requires a co-ordinated response of the international
community, welcomes the end of the so-called “push-back” policy
(resulting in forced return of irregular migrants and failed asylum
seekers); at the same time, expresses its concerns about recent
initiatives aimed at preventing rescue vessels from landing on Italian
shores, thus putting the lives of migrants and refugees at risk;
urges the Italian authorities to strengthen their action to combat
trafficking in human beings for the purpose of labour exploitation,
in line with the recommendations made by the Group of Experts on
Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA), and ensure that
future legislation on migrants and refugees complies with Italy’s
European and international obligations;
9.2.6. remains concerned by the increase in racist attitudes,
xenophobia and anti-Gypsyism in public discourse, notably in the
media and on the internet, and rising hate speech by politicians –
as highlighted by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights,
the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) and
the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection
of National Minorities – and calls on the authorities to effectively
combat all manifestations of racism, intolerance and xenophobia,
particularly by preventing, investigating and prosecuting all racially
motivated offences;
9.2.7. in the field of freedom of expression and of the media,
while welcoming the reform of the public broadcaster aimed at improving
its independence, efficiency and sustainability, urges the Italian
authorities to:
9.2.7.1. strengthen media freedom and address
the issue of media ownership concentration;
9.2.7.2. decriminalise defamation and amend the criminal law in
order to ensure the principle of proportionality of sanctions, in
line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission;
9.2.8. welcomes the criminal justice reforms, including the extension
of the statute of limitations, and calls on the Italian authorities,
notwithstanding some progress, to further address the issues of, inter alia, excessive use of pretrial
detention, delayed justice and backlogs of court cases;
9.2.9. notes that corruption remains widespread and deeply rooted
and that there is a persistent intertwinement of corruption, money
laundering and mafia-type organised crime; welcomes the creation
of a national anti-corruption authority, the adoption of the 2017 Whistleblowing
Law and the adoption by the Chamber of Deputies of a code of conduct
and rules on lobbying, while recognising that Italian mafia legislation
has become a yardstick at the global level;
9.2.10. stresses the significant progress achieved in the framework
governing political party funding; encourages, however, the Italian
authorities to ensure transparency and the implementation of an
efficient accountability control mechanism for the new system of
party and election campaign funding based on private donations;
urges Italy to implement all GRECO recommendations, to consider
lifting the reservation made in 2013 to the Criminal Law Convention
on Corruption (ETS No. 173) and consider ratifying its Additional
Protocol (ETS No. 191).
10. The Assembly welcomes the Monitoring Committee’s continuous
efforts to reflect on ways in which the periodic review process
can be strengthened and reinforced.
11. In this respect, the Assembly refers to the progress report
of its Bureau in which it invited the Monitoring Committee to reflect
on the proposals aimed at reforming the overall monitoring system
of the Assembly or the current working methods and internal procedures
of the Monitoring Committee on the basis of Resolution 1115 (1997) (modified)
and commends the Monitoring Committee for the work accomplished
in this respect.
12. The monitoring procedure of the Assembly is one of its core
activities and a vital mechanism for reinforcing democratic processes
in Council of Europe member States. The Assembly reaffirms its wish
to maintain and reinforce its monitoring procedure based on the
country-by-country approach.
13. The Assembly welcomes in particular the Monitoring Committee’s
intention to create, where relevant, for each country under the
full monitoring procedure or engaged in a post-monitoring dialogue,
in consultation with respective national authorities, a clear list
outlining the concrete issues and actions to be undertaken with
a clearly defined timeline in order to progress in the monitoring
procedure.
14. Furthermore, it welcomes the committee’s decision to change
the format of periodic reviews with a view to submitting them for
debate independently from the committee’s progress report, accompanied
by specific resolutions for each country, and replacing the current
method of selection based on alphabetical order by a selection on
substantive grounds, while maintaining the objective of producing,
over time, periodic reviews on all member States.
15. Finally, the Assembly commends the committee’s decision to
introduce a more flexible frequency of visits by co-rapporteurs
and reporting on each country under the full monitoring procedure
or engaged in a post-monitoring dialogue in order to ensure that
they address developments in the country of relevance to the honouring
of commitments and obligations.
16. In the light of the above, the Assembly decides to amend Resolution 1115 (1997) (as
modified by Resolution
1431 (2005), Resolution
1515 (2006), Resolution
1689 (2009), Resolution
1710 (2010), Resolution 1936
(2013) and Resolution
2018 (2014)) as follows:
16.1. in paragraph 14, delete the words “and at least once every
three years on each country being monitored or involved in post-monitoring
dialogue”.
17. Furthermore, the Assembly decides to amend the terms of reference
of the Assembly’s Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and
Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee),
appended to Resolution
1115 (1997) (modified), as follows:
17.1. in paragraph 13, second sentence,
delete the words “within the statutory period of three years”.
18. The Assembly decides that the amendments to Resolution 1115 (1997) (modified)
shall enter into force upon their adoption.
19. The Assembly invites the Monitoring Committee to pursue its
own reflection on ways to reinforce co-operation with other committees.