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Resolution 2216 (2018)
Follow-up to the report of the Independent Investigation Body on the allegations of corruption within the Parliamentary Assembly
1. In January 2017, the Parliamentary
Assembly took a firm step in response to the allegations of corruption and
fostering of interests against members or former members of the
Assembly, and put in place a strategy to promote the principles
of integrity and transparency in its functioning and to strengthen
the duty of integrity of its members. In this connection, the Assembly
draws attention to its Resolution 2182
(2017) “Follow-up to Resolution 1903 (2012): promoting
and strengthening transparency, accountability and integrity of Parliamentary
Assembly members”, which helped to improve its ethical framework
and in particular to make provisions related to conflicts of interest
more consistent.
2. On 24 April 2017, the Assembly approved the terms of reference
of the Independent Investigation Body with regard to allegations
of corruption within the Parliamentary Assembly (IBAC), which was
tasked with conducting a detailed independent investigation into
the allegations of corruption and fostering of interests with a
view to putting an end to impunity and restoring confidence in the
Parliamentary Assembly, its activities and its decisions.
3. The Assembly took note of the report submitted by the IBAC,
which was published on 22 April 2018. The allegations, made by non-governmental
organisations and by the media through reports, news stories or journalistic
investigations and which had until recently been criticised, challenged
or denied, are now indisputable.
4. The Assembly expresses its sincere thanks to the members of
the IBAC, Sir Nicolas Bratza, Mr Jean-Louis Bruguière and Ms Elisabet
Fura, and to its secretariat, for their invaluable assistance to
the Assembly during this critical period. It pays tribute to their
excellent work, which was carried out in difficult conditions, given
the time constraints to which they were subjected and the specific
and restricted scope of the investigation, as well as the fact that
the IBAC could not be granted robust investigatory powers such as
those of national parliamentary committees of inquiry and judicial
authorities.
5. The Assembly therefore could not, and did not expect, the
IBAC to provide proof in the judicial sense of any corrupt wrongdoings
it became aware of, let alone of any criminal offences potentially
involved. This is the task of the competent national authorities.
The Assembly and its national delegations invite them to follow
up the information provided by the IBAC. In this context, the Assembly
stresses the need for all findings and other information contained
in the IBAC report on the corrupt activities of certain countries
to be duly followed up, without exception.
6. The Assembly believes that although the report deals principally
with allegations and facts concerning Azerbaijan, similar practices
have clearly also been used by the authorities and parliamentary
delegations of other member States. The Assembly notes that the
report presented by the IBAC gives grounds to hope that the image
of integrity of the Assembly and the confidence in its some 600 other
members can be restored, given that the allegations concern the
conduct of only a few members or former members. The Assembly has the
vital support of a large number of upright and committed parliamentarians,
who have been unfairly brought into disrepute on account of these
allegations of corruption against a number of their peers. Nevertheless,
the report uncovers practices of which few parliamentarians are
unaware, but which many may have allowed to prosper for too long
through their silence, their indifference or their passive complicity.
7. The Assembly, seeking to restore its credibility, has undertaken
to establish an environment of zero tolerance for corruption and
for any practice which may leave any doubt as to a possible conflict
of interests; it is up to its members to ensure that this is achieved,
without compromise.
8. In its terms of reference, the IBAC was asked not only to
review and update the conduct and practices which are incompatible
with the rules of conduct of the Assembly, but also to make recommendations
with regard to the measures required to address any weaknesses and
shortcomings in those rules. The Assembly takes note of the IBAC’s
recommendations concerning its methods of functioning and its procedures.
It notes that the report mentions problems in the appointment of
the members of the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and
Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring
Committee) and of the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities
and Institutional Affairs, as well as in the appointment of rapporteurs.
9. The report identifies three former members of the Assembly
who “engaged in activity of a corruptive nature” and “seriously
breached the PACE Code of Conduct”. The report also refers to the
use of financial means and corruptive activities to influence the
Assembly’s work concerning Azerbaijan, and mentions the names of
former members who have taken part in lobbying activities in the
Assembly, in breach of the Code of conduct.
10. The report also reveals a number of cases in which some provisions
of the Code of conduct for Assembly rapporteurs and/or the Code
of conduct for members of the Parliamentary Assembly were breached
by members or former members of the Assembly.
11. Moreover, the IBAC has drawn up a list of members and honorary
members of the Assembly who refused to co-operate in the investigation.
This is a serious matter and must be further investigated by the Committee
on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs.
12. The Assembly believes that the conclusions of the IBAC with
regard to the individual conduct of members of the Assembly mentioned
in the report require action. It points out that the Code of conduct
which it revised in October 2017 establishes a precise and detailed
procedure, including respect for the principle of adversarial proceedings
and the rights of the defence, with which it intends to comply in
the action it takes in response to these conclusions.
13. In response to the IBAC’s report and with regard to the general
recommendations and conclusions set out therein, the Assembly:
13.1. urges the political groups of
the Assembly to review their practices, in particular their position
and decisions with regard to appointments to the Monitoring Committee
and the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional
Affairs, and to the Committee on the Election of Judges to the European
Court of Human Rights, as well as to ad hoc committees for the observation
of elections, when putting forward candidatures for posts of rapporteur,
or in elections of the bureaux of committees or sub-committees;
13.2. instructs the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities
and Institutional Affairs to implement the changes that must be
made to the Rules of Procedure and to the integrity framework of
the Assembly, bearing in mind the need for transparency and accountability;
13.3. particularly notes that the protection of the identity
of members of staff giving evidence to future enquiries must be
assured.
14. With regard to the recommendations and conclusions concerning
the individual conduct of members or former members, the Assembly:
14.1. recalls the principle of individual
political responsibility, including the possibility for those elected to
relinquish their mandates;
14.2. invites the political groups of the Assembly, as well
as the political groups within the national parliaments, to each
draw the consequences of any allegations against their members;
14.3. invites the national parliaments of member States, and
their national delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly, as well
as the national governments, to examine the IBAC’s report and to
take the necessary measures in respect of the cases mentioned, which
require their full attention, and report back to the Assembly by
the end of 2018;
14.4. instructs the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities
and Institutional Affairs to implement, as soon as possible, the
procedure provided for in paragraph 20 and the following paragraphs
of the Code of conduct of members of the Parliamentary Assembly
in respect of the members mentioned in the report, including those
who have refused to co-operate with the IBAC, bearing in mind that
it falls within the committee’s remit to assess the degree of seriousness
of alleged breaches of the Code of conduct in respect of each member
concerned.
15. The Assembly calls on the European Parliament and the parliamentary
assemblies of other international organisations, in particular the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation
in Europe (OSCE), to follow the example of the Parliamentary Assembly
and to draw on the recommendations of the IBAC.
16. Neither the measures taken nor any future measures concerning
the examination of individual cases, nor subsequent changes to rules
and regulations, must become the sole focus of debate. The Assembly
must use this opportunity to make a fresh start and give all necessary
follow-up to any allegations of wrongdoings; it requires a complete
overhaul, and that calls for a profound and real change in parliamentary
attitudes and practices. The Assembly therefore urges its members
to put the interests of the 825 million European citizens they represent
above any private interests, so as to restore the full political
credibility of the Assembly, in strict compliance with the principles
and values on which the Council of Europe was founded, in a period
when the Council of Europe’s need of a strong parliamentary body
is greater than ever before.