German President Joachim Gauck, Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta and Andorran Head of Government Antoni Martí are among a number of leading figures to address the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) during its Spring plenary session in Strasbourg (22-26 April).

Topics for debate include the Assembly’s post-monitoring dialogue with Turkey, violence against religious communities, fighting “child sex tourism” and balancing the benefits and risks of nanotechnology.

Other personalities to address the Assembly include Andorran Foreign Minister Gilbert Saboya Sunyé, who will present the Communication from the Committee of Ministers to the Assembly, and the Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland Didier Burkhalter. Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Nils Muižnieks will present his 2012 activity report.

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Doc. 13176

Report of the President of the Assembly

In accordance with Rule 6, paragraphs 1 and 4, of the Rules of Procedure, the President of the Assembly has received credentials of representatives and substitutes for the second part of the 2013 Ordinary Session of the Assembly, which have been transmitted in due form by the competent authorities of member States.

The Assembly is called upon to take a decision on the ratification of the credentials of the representatives and substitutes.

Doc. 13177

Question from Mr Levon ZOURABIAN (Armenia, ALDE)

Doc. 13169

Report of the Bureau of the Assembly

Rapporteur: Pietro MARCENARO (Italy, SOC)

At its meeting on 25 January 2013, the Bureau appointed me as rapporteur for this report. Since then, the Bureau has met on 7 March 2013 in Paris. The Standing Committee met on 8 March 2013 in Paris.

In line with my predecessors, this progress report covers the period outside of Assembly sessions, leaving aside the decisions which have already been ratified by the Assembly. Therefore, this report presents the Bureau’s activities since the end of the 1st part-session of 2013 (21-25 January) until the 2nd part-session of 2013 (22-26 April).

The Bureau will hold its next meetings in Strasbourg on Monday 22 April 2013 at 8 a.m. and Friday 26 April 2013 at 8.30 a.m. (in Strasbourg, during the 2nd part-session), then on 30 May 2013 in Yerevan. The next meeting of the Standing Committee will also be held in Yerevan on 31 May 2013.

Doc. 13175

Report of the President of the Assembly

Visits, meetings, events, press-releases and speeches.

Doc. 13172

Report of the Ad hoc Committee of the Bureau

Rapporteur: Karin S. WOLDSETH (Norway, EDG)

On 5 October 2012, the Bureau of the Assembly decided to observe the 2013 presidential election in Armenia, subject to receipt of an official invitation, and constituted an ad hoc committee for this purpose composed of 22 members: 7 from the Group of the European People’s Party (EPP/CD); 6 from the Socialist Group (SOC); 3 from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe (ALDE); 3 from the European Democrat Group (EDG); and 1 from the Unified European Left (UEL). Furthermore, the Bureau decided to appoint the two co-rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee for Armenia as ex officio members of the ad hoc committee and pre-electoral delegation.

Doc. 13157

Report of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy

Rapporteur: Luca VOLONTÈ (Italy, EPP/CD)

The report expresses concern about the increase in violent attacks against religious communities throughout the world. It notes that there is not only physical, but also psychological violence against persons and communities because of their religion and it condemns such violence in unequivocal terms.

The Parliamentary Assembly has consistently drawn attention to the importance of upholding freedom of conscience and of religion as stated in Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights and in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Member States of the Council of Europe are encouraged, inter alia, to reaffirm that respect for human rights, democracy and civil liberties is a common basis on which they build their relations with third countries and to ensure that a democracy clause, incorporating religious freedom, is included in their agreements with third countries.

Doc. 13152

Report of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development

Rapporteur: Valeriu GHILETCHI (Republic of Moldova, EPP/CD)

Sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism, also referred to as “child sex tourism”, affects tens of thousands of children in the world, violating their fundamental rights and dignity. Europe is concerned by this phenomenon both as a sending and receiving region of “travelling sex offenders”.

Council of Europe member states should protect children against all forms of sexual exploitation, both within their borders and beyond. With a view to fighting effectively against child sex tourism, States should sign up to regional and international standards in the field of protection of children against sexual exploitation and ensure that their laws comply with these standards (including by providing for extraterritorial jurisdiction).

They should also establish mechanisms that will prevent high-risk sex offenders from travelling abroad and increase international co-operation for the prosecution of travelling sex offenders with a view to fighting against impunity. Awareness-raising efforts should be continued and sustainable and ethical tourism encouraged. Finally, support should be increased to those involved in combating child sex tourism in the destination countries.

Doc. 13151

Report of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development

Rapporteur: Sílvia Eloïsa BONET PEROT (Andorra, SOC)

One in five children are estimated to fall victim to sexual violence. Following the opening for signature in 2007 of the Council of Europe’s Lanzarote Convention – which spells out a series of laws and policies to protect children and bring abusers to justice – the Council of Europe ONE in FIVE Campaign to stop sexual violence against children was launched in 2010 to promote the convention and raise awareness of the need to act.

Uniting the various bodies of the Council of Europe, the ONE in FIVE Campaign is run at intergovernmental, parliamentary, regional and local levels. The biggest success of the campaign so far has arguably been the significant increase in the number of ratifications of the Lanzarote Convention, which reached 25 in March 2013.

While the Council of Europe can rightly be proud of the achievements of the first two years of campaigning, it is possible to step up the campaign’s outreach and effectiveness even further in the remaining two years, the Social Affairs Committee believes. It proposes more money for the campaign, greater pressure on States to ratify the convention and bring their laws into line with it, and better co-ordination between different stake-holders so that sexual violence against children is met with zero tolerance.

Doc. 13158

Report of the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination

Rapporteur: Nursuna MEMECAN (Turkey, ALDE)

Discrimination against Roma in Europe starts even before they are born, due to lack of adequate prenatal and maternal health care. All too often, it will accompany them right through their lives.

It is estimated that half of the Roma population in Europe – some 5 or 6 million people – is under 18 years of age. This figure highlights the urgency of breaking the vicious circle of discrimination as early as possible: Roma children should be given an equal start in life, with a view to their full inclusion in society, as a precondition for their future inclusion as adults.

To this end, it is crucial to address the material living conditions of Roma families, introduce policies and affirmative measures to ensure non-discriminatory access to health care and education, while promoting knowledge and respect for Roma identity, culture and language, also through political discourse. To be successful, policies must be developed and implemented with the involvement of Roma communities themselves.

Doc. 13160

Report of the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee)

Rapporteur: Josette DURRIEU (France, SOC)

When the Parliamentary Assembly decided to end its monitoring of Turkey in 2004, there were 12 outstanding points which still required action, and which have been the subject of regular post-monitoring dialogue since then.

The Monitoring Committee recognises that a process of major reform is taking place in Turkey against a complex background of political transition involving the judiciary and the army, the Kurdish question and regional instability, not least in neighbouring Syria. Economically, Turkey has achieved much in a context of global crisis, confirming its position as a regional power. It has become a “benchmark” for Muslim countries in the southern Mediterranean following the upheavals of the Arab Spring.

There have been many reforms between 2004 and 2013, but these only partially respond to the remaining problem areas set out by the Assembly, the committee believes. It assesses each of the 12 outstanding points in turn, welcoming Turkey’s progress in bringing its legislation into line with the European Convention on Human Rights, promoting the cultural and linguistic rights of the Kurds, stepping up dialogue with religious communities and establishing the institution of ombudsman. But it also spells out the steps Turkey still needs to take if it is to successfully complete its reform programme, such as further reform of the Constitution and continuing revision of the Criminal Code, as well as progress on freedom of expression, pre-trial detentions, local and regional decentralisation and resolving the Kurdish question.

Overall, the committee concludes, legislative reform and institutional change in Turkey is ongoing but incomplete. The Assembly should continue to follow future changes closely, while reiterating the full support of the Council of Europe, and in particular its Venice Commission, to help Turkey successfully complete its reforms.

Doc. 13142

Report of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media

Rapporteur: Anne BRASSEUR (Luxembourg, ALDE)

National parliaments have a key role to play and an important responsibility to enhance policies for education and culture. These policies should not only encourage the development of employment-oriented competences, but also promote the ethical and political values which are related to the main aims of the Council of Europe.

Significant progress was made in setting legislative frameworks aimed at fighting exclusion and discrimination in access to culture and education. Today, the main challenge lies in the effective application of the relevant legislation. National parliaments should also intensify their work to promote intercultural dialogue and to encourage cultural and educational exchanges across borders, removing administrative barriers to such exchanges.

Bearing this in mind, the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media calls upon national parliaments to review policies for culture and education putting more emphasis on the long-term perspective, to take measures to implement policy guidelines agreed upon at Council of Europe level and to regularly assess the impact of government action in the fields of culture and education. The report also highlights the importance of advancing towards a European framework of competences for democratic citizenship, human rights and intercultural dialogue, and asks that this framework be part of the Council of Europe Programme of Activities in the next biennium.

Doc. 13155

Report of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media

Rapporteur: Polonca KOMAR (Slovenia, ALDE)

Education is fundamental to youth empowerment and personal fulfilment. It must be aimed at employability, but also at nurturing talent, creativity, and the capacity to get involved in the sustainable development of society.

The report asks member States to adopt a comprehensive approach to education and take action to set the right policy frameworks, create new learning opportunities and enhance the existing ones, ensuring inclusion and getting more young people engaged in their own learning and development.

Specific measures should be taken at European level, in particular to improve access to education for young people from disadvantaged groups, as well as to encourage non-formal education and ensure greater recognition of competences acquired through non-formal learning, building on the proposals put forward by the “Strasbourg Process” – a joint Council of Europe–European Commission initiative.

Doc. 13156

Report of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media

Rapporteur: Michael CONNARTY (United Kingdom, SOC)

Despite the existence of several international human rights mechanisms which also apply to young people, a specific legal instrument encompassing their social, economic and political rights seems today necessary to ensure their full protection. The report therefore pleads for a framework convention at European level to improve young people’s access to fundamental rights.

The report also calls for enhanced intergenerational dialogue and more consideration of youth proposals, such as those put forward by the young people’s representatives at the 9th Conference of Ministers responsible for Youth, at the Youth Assembly and at the World Forum for Democracy, which were held in 2012.

Political commitment and adequate budgetary provisions are required to strengthen involvement of youth representatives in policy and decision-making at national level – for example through participatory structures in national parliaments and governments – as well as internationally, through pan-European and global international organisations.

Doc. 13161

Report of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons

Rapporteur: Mikael CEDERBRATT (Sweden, EPP/CD)

The European Union Agency Frontex is tasked with co-ordinating member States’ actions relating to the management and control of the European Union’s external borders. While security concerns prevail, the Agency also provides an opportunity to enhance and promote respect for human rights.

Nevertheless, Frontex and European Union member States have been criticised for not carrying out their joint border surveillance operations and joint return operations in full compliance with human rights standards.

Concerns about the human rights implications of Frontex’s activities have also been raised at a structural level in terms of lack of transparency, unclear responsibility and accountability, and lack of democratic scrutiny, particularly of agreements with third countries.

In response to these concerns, Frontex endorsed a Fundamental Rights Strategy and a Code of Conduct. Furthermore, a requirement to protect fundamental rights, along with the nomination of a Fundamental Rights Officer and the creation of a Consultative Forum on Fundamental Rights was included in the amended Frontex Regulation. These new fundamental rights safeguarding mechanisms now need to be effectively used. In this there will be major challenges ahead.

Further steps are necessary to enhance democratic scrutiny by the European Parliament, human rights training activities for those involved in Frontex operations should be a priority, and it is necessary to ensure public accountability by putting in place an independent monitoring system and an effective complaints mechanism. Finally, some of Frontex’s current shortcomings at operational and structural level have to be addressed.

Doc. 13163

Report of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons

Rapporteur: Andrea RIGONI (Italy, ALDE)

Countries beyond the eastern borders of the European Union are facing increasing pressure from flows of refugees, asylum seekers and irregular migrants ultimately seeking to enter the European Union. Turkey is under particular pressure, but countries in the east, including in the Balkans, Ukraine and Russia, are also facing increasing flows. But are these countries able to cope with these flows?

The report looks at the consequences of these flows in terms of international protection and asylum, the use of detention, readmission agreements and the support given by the European Union to the countries in question. It concludes that these countries are insufficiently prepared to act as the European Union’s eastern watchdog against irregular migration. Their asylum systems, for the most part, do not yet adequately guarantee that individuals in need of asylum receive it. Furthermore their reception and detention policies, including conditions of detention, do not, in many instances, meet acceptable human rights standards.

The countries beyond the European Union’s eastern border are victims of an EU policy which increasingly seeks to externalise irregular migration and asylum. If the European Union wishes to maintain this policy it will need to reinforce heavily its assistance to the countries in question to allow them to do a job which is largely a consequence of the European Union’s own policies. Those countries also have a responsibility to improve their own handling of the situation, including in terms of operating effective asylum systems, examining alternatives to detention and improving conditions of detention in the facilities that they run.

Doc. 13154

Report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights

Rapporteur: Christopher CHOPE (United Kingdom, EDG)

The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights is of the view that draft Protocol No.15 amending the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as presently drafted, should be adopted and opened for signature and ratification by all States Parties.

The draft protocol provides for the insertion, in the Convention’s preamble, of reference to the principle of subsidiarity and the doctrine of the margin of appreciation. It also amends the Convention by providing for the possibility for judges to serve on the European Court of Human Rights until the age of 74 (the present age limit is 70).

In addition, this amending protocol streamlines the procedure of relinquishment of jurisdiction by a Chamber in favour of the Grand Chamber, and it shortens, from six to four months, the time limit within which an application can be brought before the Court after all domestic remedies have been exhausted. It also removes one of the limits on the Court’s powers to reject a case as trivial; at present the Court cannot dismiss a case on that basis if the complaint has not been duly considered by a domestic court.

Doc. 13117

Report of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development

Rapporteur: Valeriy SUDARENKOV (Russian Federation, SOC)

Nanotechnology – the manipulation of matter on an atomic and molecular scale – and its myriad applications have the potential for enormous benefits (in particular in the field of “nanomedicine”), but also for serious harm. As with most emerging technologies, many risks, both to public health and to the environment, are as yet poorly understood. However, commercial applications of nanotechnology are already in widespread use. Regulations have struggled to keep up with the pace of scientific innovation.

The Council of Europe, as the only pan-European body with a human rights protection mandate, should set legal standards on nanotechnology based on the precautionary principle which will protect 800 million Europeans from risk of serious harm, but which will not hinder nanotechnology’s potential beneficial use. The Assembly should thus recommend that the Committee of Ministers work out appropriate guidelines on balancing benefits and risks to public health and the environment in the field of nanotechnology that can be used as a model for regulatory standards worldwide, starting with a feasibility study to be entrusted to the Council of Europe’s Committee on Bioethics (DH-BIO).

Doc. 13141

Report of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media

Rapporteur: Jan KAŹMIERCZAK (Poland, EPP/CD)

Human trafficking continues to grow on a massive scale. It can be seen as the fastest growing form of organised crime and the largest source of transnational crime profit. Virtually all countries are believed to be affected, as countries of origin, transit and/or destination.

The responsibility of scientists to consider the ethical dimension of their work emerged as a public issue with the development and use of the first atom bomb during the Second World War. Since then, growing global inter-connectedness and commercial pressures have driven technological change faster than ever, making the forecast and assessment of its long-term consequences increasingly difficult, and generating increasing numbers of pressing ethical dilemmas for scientists and policy makers alike.

Some of these ask how far we should go in changing the human body – gene technology and cloning, biomedical engineering and human enhancement, neuroscience and modifying the brain, or the moral status of the embryo. Some raise concerns about the long-term effects of new technologies on human health – for example, the proliferation of electro-magnetic fields and new chemicals in the environment, nanotechnology or genetically modified organisms. Some look at the wider consequences of technological advance – should there be limits on the development of new weapons, the private exploration of space, or climate change geo-engineering? Ultimately, a deeper philosophical question emerges: what exactly is mankind’s relationship to nature, and how far should scientists be permitted to go in altering it?

The Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media reviews the various initiatives at national, European and global level to bring ethical thinking to bear on the aims and methods of scientific endeavour, as well as its consequences and side-effects. It proposes new fora for such thinking, and suggests that parliaments and the public should become more involved in the debate. Finally, the European Union and UNESCO are invited to join forces with the Council of Europe to draft – and periodically review – a basic set of ethical principles to be applied to all fields of science and technology.