FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE ASSEMBLY
Secretariat of the Assembly
Synopsis n° 2001/126
13 November 2001
The Bureau of the Assembly, meeting on 7 November 2001 in Strasbourg with Lord Russell-Johnston in the Chair, as regards:
Conflict in the Chechen Republic: took note of the information provided by the Secretary General of the Assembly on the activities of the Joint Working Group on Chechnya (consultation on a political solution to the conflict from 28-29 November in Strasbourg, visit to the region from 2-6 December);
January 2002 Part-Session (Strasbourg, 21-25 January 2002): adopted the agenda and drew up the draft order of business;
Progress report of the Bureau: appointed Lord Russell-Johnston rapporteur for the January 2002 Part-Session;
Standing Committee and Joint Committee (Strasbourg, 8 November 2001): considered the draft agendas submitted to it;
Observation of elections:
took note of the information provided by the Secretary General of the Assembly on the pre-electoral mission from 22-24 October 2001 for the Kosovo Assembly elections (17 November 2001);
decided to set up an ad hoc committee to observe the parliamentary elections in “The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” (January 2002);
decided to set up an ad hoc committee to observe the parliamentary elections in Ukraine (March 2002) in accordance with Resolution 1262 (2001);
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: agreed on the final declassification of the report by the eminent lawyers on the conformity of the legal order of the FRY with Council of Europe standards;
Kazakhstan: approved the revised exchange of letters proposing co-operation modalities between the Assembly and the Parliament of Kazakhstan, and agreed to review the implementation of this agreement after one year;
Meetings of the Assembly in Lucerne (Switzerland) from 27-29 May 2002: agreed that the Standing Committee, Bureau, Political Affairs Committee and Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography would meet on that occasion, and approved the draft programme;
Structure of the Assembly committees: approved the Secretariat memorandum to maintain the present committee structure and instructed the Secretary General of the Assembly to prepare a report on its functioning in the course of the year 2002;
Activities and projects of the Communication Unit: heard a statement by the Secretary General of the Assembly and supported the activities and projects outlined in the Secretariat memorandum;
References, transmissions and modifications in references to committees: proposed the following for ratification by the Standing Committee:
Motion for a recommendation on the rights to Education of Refugees and Displaced People in Azerbaijan in the Context of Future Development in the Field of Education in Europe (Doc. 9237): to the Committee on Culture, Science and Education for report;
Motion for a resolution on Gender balanced representation in the Assembly (Doc. 9238): to the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities for report and to the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men for opinion;
Motion for a resolution on Armenian-Azerbaijan (Mountainous-Karabakh) Conflict (Doc. 9239): to the Political Affairs Committee for report and transmission, for information, to the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee);
Motion for a recommendation on guaranteeing rights of Ukrainian national minorities (Doc. 9240): transmission, for information, to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights;
Motion for a resolution on the definition of the Baltic states as a “zone of conflict” under Russian law (Doc. 9244): transmission, for information, to the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee), to take it into account in the monitoring procedure of Russia;
Motion for an order on steps taken by the Duma of the Russian Federation to destabilise the international situation (Doc. 9245): transmission, for information, to the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee), to take it into account in the monitoring procedure of Russia;
Motion for a resolution on the release of the other three members of the Ilaşcu Group (Doc. 9246): transmission, for information, to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, to take it into account in the drafting of the report on “The case of Ilie Ilascu” (Doc. 8969, Ref. 2582);
Motion for a recommendation on internal displacement in Europe (Doc. 9247): to the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography for report;
Motion for a recommendation on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) (Doc. 9248): to the Committee on the Environment and Agriculture for report and to the Committee on Culture, Science and Education for opinion;
Motion for an order on the reform of health care systems in the member states of the Council of Europe (Doc. 9249): to the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee for report;
Motion for a resolution on combating child abduction (Doc. 9250): to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights for report;
Motion for a recommendation on fighting terrorism in Russia (Doc. 9251): transmission, for information, to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, to take it into account in the drafting of the report on “fight against terrorism” (Doc. 9207, Ref. 2654);
Motion for a recommendation on the ratification of the protocols to the European Convention on Human Rights (Doc. 9252): to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights for report to the Standing Committee;
Motion for a resolution on Ombudsman institution (Doc. 9253): to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights for report;
Motion for a resolution on the need for intensified international co-operation to neutralise funds for terrorist purposes (Doc. 9254): to the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development for report;
Motion for a resolution on the need for a new level of air transport security following the recent terrorist attacks in New York and Washington D.C. (Doc. 9255): to the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development for report;
Motion for a recommendation on the maintenance of historical and cultural heritage in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Doc. 9256): transmission, for information, to the Committee on Culture, Science and Education, to take it into account in the drafting of the report on the “Cultural situation in the Transcaucasian region” (References No 2529 and 2546);
Motion for a recommendation on the renunciation of Azerbaijan’s militaristic statements on solving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by the use of force (Doc. 9257): to the Political Affairs Committee for report and transmission, for information, to the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee);
Motion for a resolution on eliminating excessively restrictive practices for issuing visas to citizens of east European states (Doc. 9258): to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, for report to the Standing Committee;
Motion for a recommendation on common standards for protecting the rights of national minorities (Doc. 9259): transmission, for information, to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, to take it into account in the drafting of the report on “Rights of minorities” (Standing mandate);
Motion for a resolution on strengthening the parliamentary dimension of the European institutions (Doc. 9260): transmission, for information, to the Political Affairs Committee, to take it into account in the drafting of the report on “Future of the European institutions” (Doc. 8639, Ref. 2481);
Motion for a recommendation on space policy ethics (Doc. 9261): to the Committee on Culture, Science and Education, for report to the Standing Committee;
Motion for a recommendation on Diaspora cultures (Doc. 9273): to the Committee on Culture, Science and Education for report;
Motion for a resolution on the establishment of an international criminal court to try persons responsible for acts of terrorism (Doc. 9275): to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights for report;
cancelled reference: Motion for a recommendation on Population census in Albania (Doc. 8352, Reference No 2374) at the request of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography;
Meetings outside Strasbourg and Paris: approved the following:
Sub-committee on Youth and Sport (of the Committee on Culture, Science and Education) in Malta from 19-20 November 2001;
Committee on Economic Affairs and Development in London from 17-18 January 2002 for a meeting with the EBRD and the Bank of England;
Sub-committee on the European Social Charter and Employment (of the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee) in Ottawa (Canada) from 25-26 February 2002;
Appointments:
Mr Jansson (Finland, LDR) to attend the 18th Plenary Session of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS on 24 November in St. Petersburg (Russia);
Mr Toshev (Bulgaria, EPP) to attend a meeting of Working Table III of the Stability Pact from 27-28 November in Budapest (Hungary);
Mr Loufti (Bulgaria, LDR) to attend the 18th Plenary Session of the PABSEC General Assembly from 5-6 December in Sofia (Bulgaria);
Mr de Puig (Spain, SOC) to travel to Morocco before the end of 2001 to prepare a colloquy on cultural co-operation to be held in the country in the first half of 2002, subject to receiving an invitation by the Moroccan Chamber of Representatives to host the colloquy;
Co-operation with the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS : in addition to the appointment of Mr Jansson (see above), asked the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly to meet with the Secretary General of the Council of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS in order to make proposals for enhanced co-operation;
Future meetings:
Paris, Monday 10 December 2001 at 9.30 am
Paris, Monday 14 January 2002 at 9.30 am
Strasbourg, Monday 21 January 2002 at 8.30 am
Strasbourg, Friday 25 January 2002 at 8.30 am
March 2002 (place and date to be decided)
Strasbourg, Monday 22 April 2002 at 8.30 am
Strasbourg, Friday 26 April 2002 at 8.30 am.
Horst Schade / Agnès Nollinger