Progress report | Doc. 13813 Addendum III | 22 June 2015

Ad hoc committee on large scale arrival of refugees to Turkey (Istanbul-Gaziantep, 14-16 June 2015)

1. Introduction

1. On 14-15 June 2015, I led the ad hoc committee of the Bureau on large scale arrival of refugees to Turkey on a visit to Istanbul, Kilis and Gaziantep. The primary aim of the visit was to raise awareness of the members to the challenges facing Turkey and refugees hosted in the country, paying particular attention to the needs and conditions in the refugee camps at the border with Syria, and the challenges of social integration of refugees in Turkey.

2. The programme of the visit included a preliminary briefing with high level authorities, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and experts on 14 June and the visit to the refugee camps of Elbeyli, Nizip I and Nizip II on 15 June, together with meetings with the local authorities and a visit to a social integration project in Kilis (see the programme in appendix 1).

3. ‘Unprecedented’ was a recurrent word throughout our mission: unprecedented is the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict in Syria; unprecedented is the generosity of Turkey and other countries neighbouring Syria in opening their borders to those seeking protection against the escalation of violence; unprecedented is the format chosen for the Assembly delegation: an ad hoc committee of the Bureau, composed of the Presidential Committee, the Chairpersons of national delegations or their representatives, the Chairperson of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons and two Assembly rapporteurs.

4. After having set up the ad hoc committee on 24 April 2015, the Bureau finalised its composition and elected me as Chairperson at its meeting in Sarajevo on 21 May 2015.

5. The visit built upon and complemented the previous work on Syrian refugees carried out by the Assembly and its Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons, culminating in Assembly Resolution 2047 (2015) on Humanitarian consequences of the actions of the terrorist group known as “Islamic State”, Resolution 1971 (2014) on Syrian refugees: how to organise and support international assistance? and Resolution 1902 (2012) on The European response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

6. The present report outlines the main findings of the visit, and puts them in the broader context of the humanitarian challenges raised by the conflict in Syria, for refugees and displaced persons, for neighbouring countries and notably Turkey, and for Europe in general.

7. On behalf of the ad hoc committee, I wholeheartedly thank the Turkish authorities, in particular the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, through its President, Fuat Oktay, and the Turkish parliament, through Reha Denemeç, Chairperson of the Turkish delegation to the Assembly, for welcoming us, organising the visit and sharing information and concerns. I would like to thank also the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for its invaluable support and advice prior to and during the visit.

8. Last but not least, I would like to thank the refugees we met in the camps of Elbeyli and Nizip, who received us and gave us an outstanding example of how it is possible to live in dignity.

2. A humanitarian crisis unfolding at Europe’s doors

9. Since its outset in 2011, the conflict in Syria has displaced 11,5 million people, 4 million of whom have fled outside the country and 7,5 million are internally displaced (IDPs). Furthermore, the spill-over of violence into Iraq has provoked the forced displacement of Iraqis inside and outside of their country.

10. The conflict has set a new, grim record, causing the largest refugee displacement of our times, with Syrians being the world’s largest refugee population under UNHCR’s mandate.To better understand the scale of the problem, it is worth recalling that half the population of Syria is currently forcibly displaced, and that this number continues to rise by an estimated 100,000 people per month.

11. Almost 92% of Syrian refugees are hosted in the region. According to UNHCR, as of 26 May 2015, there were 1,761,486 Syrian refugees registered in Turkey, 1,183,327 in Lebanon, 628,160 in Jordan, 249,266 in Iraq and 134,329 in Egypt.

12. The protracted character of the displacement, the size of the refugee population – also as a percentage of the local population –, and the depletion of already scarce resources are leading to the deterioration of the refugees’ living conditions, especially in some of the host countries.

13. As violence continues to rage in Syria and the absorption capacity in the region is overstretched, the flow of Syrian refugees towards Europe is steadily on the rise, both by sea and by land.

3. Turkey at the forefront of the humanitarian effort

3.1. The general context

14. Turkey is on the front-line of the refugee influx coming from Syria. It has embraced this humanitarian challenge and has become the largest refugee-hosting country in the world. At present, one in two Syrian refugees are hosted in Turkey. They represent 2,3% of the country’s total population; in some cities they outnumber the local population.

15. Out of the 1,761,486 Syrian refugees registered in Turkey, 259,001 live in 25 camps set up for this purpose and managed by the Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), which is in charge of co-ordinating the government’s response to the crisis.

16. The camps – which are referred to as ‘cities’ by the authorities – are located in various Turkish provinces in the proximity of the border with Syria. Their ‘guests’ – as they are called in Turkey – benefit from a wide range of services accessible directly in the camps, such as education and health care.

17. Turkey has emerged from the Syrian crisis as a world leader in the area of humanitarian assistance: it has spent 6 billion dollars US so far in providing assistance to Syrian refugees and the percentage of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) spent on humanitarian aid amounts to 0,21 per cent (against, for example, 0,15 per cent of Luxembourg and 0,014 of Sweden. In stark contrast, the international contribution to aid Turkey amounts to around 400 million dollars US.

18. This huge financial and logistical effort is hard to sustain. Furthermore, it is not sufficient: the Turkish authorities are adamant about the sometimes dire living conditions experienced by Syrian refugees who are not staying in the camps, whose number totals 1,502,485 persons, mainly residing in urban areas.

19. Even those refugees who had sufficient financial means to sustain their livelihoods when they first arrived to Turkey have started to run out of resources. For them, it is increasingly difficult to rent private accommodation. Some of them are having to resort to child labour, child marriage or prostitution as coping mechanisms.

20. This situation is increasing the risk of social tensions. As it was pointed out by the local authorities we met, in the areas with higher refugee population density schools are overcrowded, with classes taking place also at week-ends in order to provide for both Turkish and Syrian children; the costs of property rentals have gone up because of the greater demand; hospitals are under pressure, with some of them having reported a 30-40% increase in patient load.

Our attention was also drawn to the centrality that the question of Syrian refugees occupied in political debates in the run up to the recent parliamentary elections.

21. As regards legal aspects, Turkey is a party to the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees but has not ratified its 1967 Protocol which extends the application of the Convention to refugees seeking asylum from events occurring outside Europe. In April 2014, however, the new Law on Foreigners and International Protection came into force, establishing a legal framework for providing protection and assistance for asylum-seekers and refugees, regardless of their countries of origin.

22. Since the beginning of the conflict, Turkey has maintained an open-door policy towards refugees fleeing the violence in Syria. In October 2014, Turkish government formalised the existing temporary protection regime with the issuance of a Regulation on Temporary Protection, which is applicable to Syrian nationals, refugees and stateless persons from Syria. This regulation sets out the legal framework applying to them, including admission, registration, documentation, access to rights and co-operation between different agencies and stakeholders.

23. Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection will have access to the labour market in some clearly defined sectors once secondary legislation is passed.

Syrian refugees also have access to education and are covered under the general health insurance system, although barriers exist in accessing these services, including language as well as the unavailability of some services due to the large refugee population and the lack of sufficient resources to meet these needs.

24. The Foreigners Police and the newly created Directorate General of Migration Management conduct biometric registration of refugees living inside and outside the camps. Each refugee is issued with a Foreigners Identification ID number and a family identification number. Holding the Foreigners ID card enables refugees to have access to all services.

25. During the visit of the ad hoc committee, the Turkish authorities repeatedly stressed that access to the territory, registration and the provision of services are granted to Syrian refugees without any discrimination, on any grounds. These steps attest to the holistic approach adopted by the government.

3.2. Co-operation with UNHCR

26. UNHCR is present in Turkey, with a 300-strong staff, distributed in Ankara (headquarters), Istanbul and Gaziantep.

27. The agency is deeply involved in assisting the authorities to respond to the crisis. UNHCR staff regularly visit refugee camps and provides technical assistance on reception, registration, camp management, community representation, voluntary repatriation, preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence, as well as identifying persons with special needs, including unaccompanied and separated children, trauma and torture survivors, and support to strengthen the response mechanisms.

28. In order to reach out to needy Syrian refugees living in urban areas and to strengthen protection and assistance responses, UNHCR has encouraged the establishment of community centres and supported them in the provision of assistance and services to the non-camp Syrian refugee population. The range of services delivered by the centres is cross-cutting in nature and engages protection, non-formal education, basic needs, health, and livelihoods assistance.

3.3. Investing in the refugees’ future

29. ‘We do not want to lose this generation’ was a sentence reiterated on several occasions by our Turkish interlocutors.

30. The conflict in Syria has entered its fifth year and the end of the hostilities is not in sight. On the contrary, the conflict has extended to some areas in Iraq and has become more complex due to the number of factions fighting one another.

31. The Turkish authorities have made considerable efforts to provide education for the Syrian refugee population even if the results differ considerably, according to whether they are staying in or outside camps. There are, at the moment, 130,000 non-camp Syrian refugees in the education system but two thirds of Syrian children living outside camps are still in need of schooling.

32. The Ministry of National Education of Turkey co-ordinates and monitors education provided in the schools inside the camps. Education is provided free of charge to Syrian students from nursery school to Grade12. Teaching is in Arabic and follows the curriculum agreed by the Syrian Education Commission and the Turkish Ministry of National Education. In addition, Turkish language courses are provided to all in-camp students.

33. It is important to respond to the humanitarian emergency but also to think beyond it. Investing in the education and training of refugees is a way to facilitate their return to Syria once security conditions are restored and ensure that they can contribute to rebuilding their country. Were displacement to last much longer, the investment in education and training would be instrumental to better the social integration of refugees in Turkey or elsewhere. Finally, education is a vaccine protecting people against radicalisation and proselytism by extremist violent groups. Also in this respect, Turkey has given proof of long-sightedness and represents a model for others. Its efforts deserve to be supported.

3.4. Financial sustainability

34. The UNHCR and the other agencies involved in humanitarian relief for Syrian refugees in the region

have called for additional funding from the international community with a view to sustaining Turkey’s capacity to meet the needs of an increasing refugee population: Turkey’s estimated financial requirements amount to 624 million dollars US, only for 2015.

As of 9 June 2015, only 22 percent of this amount has been pledged.

35. Some Council of Europe member States – such as Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland and France - feature amongst the major donors of humanitarian contributions, whether unrestricted or directed to a specific State in the region. Total funding is, however, insufficient to cover real needs, and is to a large extent based on emergency appeals which do not allow for predictability and long-term planning.

36. During the briefing in Istanbul on 14 June, Professor Goodwin-Gill launched an interesting proposal: financing assistance to refugees through the frozen assets of refugee-producing countries which merits looking into further.

4. The camps of Elbeyli, Nizip I and Nizip II

37. The delegation visited the refugee camp of Elbeyli, in the province of Kilis, as well as the camps of Nizip I and Nizip II, in the province of Gaziantep. The portion of Syrian territory on the other side of the border is controlled by the terrorist group widely known as ‘Islamic State’ or DAESH. The camps are located very close to the border. We were told that one can see and hear the shooting and shelling in nearby Syria.

38. The camps – or ‘cities’, as they are commonly called – present several similarities:

they are divided in districts, whose leader (mukhtar), chosen by the refugees of each district, acts as a liaison between them and the camp management in view of identifying urgent needs, helping the distribution of social assistance and disseminating information and announcements. One of them acts as the chief mukhtar for the whole camp. The mukhtar system ensures that refugees have a voice in how they are treated, there are special committees for young people and for women, and vulnerable individuals receive special support;

each refugee is credited with 85 Turkish lira per month on an e-card, for the purchase of food and hygiene items from in-camp shops and markets. In addition, AFAD covers the basic needs of the guests including non-food items;

the camps have health clinics, which work under the supervision of the Provincial Directorate of the Ministry of Health. Services are provided free of charge. Psychosocial support is provided by specialised staff;

all children at the age of compulsory schooling receive education in the camps. Syrian volunteer teachers provide education to Syrian refugee children. Since January 2015, UNICEF remunerates them with a monthly incentive of 150 dollars US. In addition, Turkish language courses are available as well as vocational activities, accessible to women and men (such as carpet weaving, handicrafts, needle work, hairdressing, music, drawing and computer courses);

there are mosques, community centres, sporting facilities;

there is a strong police presence;

AFAD conducts voluntary repatriation interviews of those who wish to return to Syria. UNHCR participates in these interviews as an observer, to ensure the voluntary nature of the returns;

refugees are free to leave the camps and come back, in compliance with some internal regulations.

39. The camp of Elbeyli struck us as of a particularly high standard. Established in June 2013, this is a container city hosting approximately 25,000 Syrian refugees (against an official maximum capacity of 21,500 residents). It is located 24 km from the town of Kilis and only 10 km from the Syrian border. It includes around 3600 containers of 21 m2 each.

40. As regards the residents of the camp, 5600 are adult women and 5264 are adult men. There are 13,433 children, including infants born in displacement. The total number of children receiving education in the camps is 8330.

41. The ad hoc delegation visited the school – which is large, clean, well organised and nicely decorated with the children’s works and drawings – , a recreational centre where paintings and other art works by refugees are displayed, the health clinic and the psychological support centre. The streets in the camp are paved, with the level of the containers above the ground. In some large squares we saw children playing or men gathering, listening to music, and people going about their lives. All around a square there were small shops, reproducing the atmosphere of a village.

42. The Mayor of Kilis, who accompanied the delegation during the visit in Elbeyli and later to his town, told us that Kilis is the smallest province in Turkey. It counts 93,000 Turkish inhabitants and 133,000 Syrian refugees living in or outside camps. Many work in shops or in the countryside. In Kilis, we also visited a social integration project for women who have been victims of sexual or gender-based violence. Their hospitality was incredible. In this centre, women receive advice and support and learn new skills while their children are looked after.

43. Nizip I and Nizip II are respectively a tent and a container camp in the province of Gaziantep. The delegation held a meeting with the camps management and Turkish officials in Nizip II. This camp has a population of 5064 refugees, accommodated in 908 containers. There are 1246 adult women, 1120 adult men, 1187 girls and 1433 boys. 97% of the children between the age of 5 and 17 attend in-camp schooling.

44. Nizip I was established in October 2012 and hosts 10,621 residents in 1858 tents. There are 2367 adult women, 2335 adult men and 5919 children (2897 girls and 3022 boys). 95% of the children between 5 and 17 years old follow education in the camp. At the moment, 130 residents participate in the Turkish language classes.

45. Perhaps because of the time of the day, there were many children, girls and women outside the tents, willing to engage with us. The living conditions seemed less good than in Elbeyli, with less communal space and unpaved streets, but still of a fair standard.

46. We saw very young girls with their babies, which tied in with reports from reliable sources indicating that early marriage and other forms of gender-based violence, including domestic violence, could be a serious problem amongst Syrian refugees, which need looking into further.

5. Challenges and stakes

47. Due to the short duration of its visit, the ad hoc committee could see only part of the Syrian refugees in Turkey. Out of the 25 camps run by AFAD, we nonetheless visited three, hosting roughly 37,000 out of the 259,000 in-camp refugees. What we saw was impressive and benefitted a considerable number of people. Moreover, it was representative of the living conditions of refugees accommodated in AFAD camps, as confirmed during our visit by UNHCR.

48. To sustain this effort in the face of a continuous refugee influx, greater financial support from donors is indispensable.

49. Greater financial support is even more important to improve the living conditions of Syrian refugees who are not hosted in camps. At the moment, they are approximately 1,7 million people but their number continues to raise as the reception capacity of camps is exhausted. Turkey tries to meet their basic needs by opening up education, access to health, access to work. Their presence is not without a financial and a social cost for the host country.

50. In an interview for the Luxembourger Wort following the visit, Mr Yves Cruchten, representative of the Luxembourg delegation and myself said that Turkey’s generosity puts the rest of Europe to shame. Turkey has opened its doors to 2 million refugees so far, and spent 6 billion dollars US in humanitarian assistance to Syrians in forced displacement. What other Council of Europe member State can match this level of engagement?

51. For the rest of Europe, supporting the efforts of Turkey and other neighbouring countries is not only a matter of fairness, solidarity, consistency with one’s own purported values. It is also an issue of self-interest and good migration management. When they are not be able to find refuge in the region and survival becomes a problem, Syrian refugees will be ready to put their lives at risk to travel further into Europe.

52. This is already happening: in the first five months of 2015, almost 90,000 refugees and migrants have crossed the Mediterranean, compared to 49,000 people during the same period in 2014. This includes some 46,500 who landed in Italy and 42,000 in Greece. Smaller arrivals have been recorded in Spain (920) and Malta (91). Over 60% of the arrivals to Greece are Syrians. Overall, in the first 6 months of 2015, Syrians represented 39% of boat arrivals in Europe. In 2014, they were one third.

53. Finally, European governments should not contradict their own political priorities. At a time when all Council of Europe member States have put the prevention and the fight against radicalisation and terrorism high up on their political agenda, they should not make the mistake of abandoning Turkey and its neighbours alone to cope with the biggest displacement of our times alone, at the risk of further regional destabilisation. They should not abandon 11,5 million forcibly displaced persons in their desperation, exposed to the fanaticism and proselytism of extremists and terrorist groups.

6. Follow-up

54. Prior to the visit of the ad hoc committee, I addressed a letter to the Presidents/Speakers of parliaments of the members of the Assembly having confirmed their participation, putting an emphasis on the importance to ensure a follow-up.

55. There are many ways in which members of the delegation and of the Assembly in general can do this. I will refrain from trying to make a comprehensive list but a few examples could include:

acting as multipliers, organising awareness-raising events in their own parliaments or at national level;

initiating debates in parliament and raising the issue during discussions on the budget or in the foreign affairs committee;

ensuring that their governments comply with the recommendations contained in previous Assembly texts on the Syrian humanitarian crisis, including Resolution 1971 (2014) on Syrian refugees: how to organise and support international assistance? and Resolution 2047 (2015) on Humanitarian consequences of the actions of the terrorist group known as “Islamic State”;

encouraging their governments and other stakeholders to step up their financial contribution to sustain Turkey’s efforts, under the Regional Refugee Response and Resilience Plan or through other donations;

supporting resettlement, or other forms of admission, of Syrian refugees to their countries.

56. Another follow-up activity that could be explored is involving the Council of Europe Development Bank in the funding of projects for refugees in Turkey, as already recommended by the Assembly in its Resolution 1971 (2014).

57. In the above-mentioned letter, I underlined that enhancing the capacity of countries such as Turkey to cope with the Syrian refugee crisis in the region creates more favourable conditions for refugees to return to their country once the situation allows it and reduces the risk that they undertake a perilous journey in search for safety, risking their lives or falling prey to smugglers and traffickers.

7. Concluding remarks

58. I fully agree with the analysis provided by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres:

‘The continued growth in displacement is staggering. But at the same time, the nature of the refugee crisis is now changing. As the level of despair rises, and the available protection space shrinks, we are approaching a dangerous turning point (…) After years in exile, refugees’ resources are long depleted, and their living conditions are drastically deteriorating. (…) With humanitarian appeals systematically underfunded, there just isn’t enough assistance to provide for Syrian refugees (…) Abandoning their hosts to manage the situation on their own could result in serious regional destabilisation, and more security concerns elsewhere in the world. It should be obvious that in order to prevent this and to preserve the protection space in the region, refugees and host countries need massive international support’.

59. In concluding this report, I cannot help recalling the words of the manager of the Nizip II Camp: ‘People come here. See what we have done. They are impressed. Then they go home. And nothing happens’.

60. We must ensure that this time it will be different.

Appendix 1 – Programme

(open)

Sunday 14 June

5.00-6.45 pm Welcome and preparatory briefing

Mr Reha DENEMEC, Chairperson of the Turkish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Ms Anne BRASSEUR, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Challenges faced by Turkey in dealing with the influx of refugees from Syria

Presentations by:

Mr Fuat OKTAY, President of the Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD)

Ms Pascale MOREAU, Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Turkey

Mr Guy S. GOODWIN-GILL, Professor of International Refugee Law at Oxford University and Senior Research Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford University

Discussion

8.00 pm Dinner hosted by H.E. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, and exchange of views

Monday 15 June

10.05 am Arrival in Gaziantep and departure for Kilis by bus

11.30 am Visit to Elbeyli Visiting Centre and exchange of views with Mr Hasan KARA, Mayor of Kilis

1.00 pm Visit of the social integration project in Kilis

2.00 pm Departure for Nizip by bus

3.30 pm Visit to Nizip I and Nizip II Visiting Centers

5.00 pm Departure for Gaziantep by bus

6.00 pm Dinner hosted by Ms Fatma Şahin, Mayor of Gaziantep and exchange of views

7.30 pm Departure for Gaziantep airport

Tuesday 16 June

Cultural programme

Appendix 2

(open)

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS / LISTE DES PARTICIPANTS

Members of the ad hoc committee / Membres de la commission ad hoc

Chairperson / Présidente

Ms Anne BRASSEUR, President of the Assembly

Presidential Committee / Comité des Présidents

Mr Andreas GROSS (Switzerland, SOC)

Mr Pedro AGRAMUNT (Spain, EPP/CD)

Mr Jordi XUCLÀ (Spain, ALDE)

Mr Robert WALTER (United Kingdom, EC), replacing Mr Christopher CHOPE

Mr Andrej HUNKO (Germany, UEL) replacing Mr Tiny KOX

National delegations / Délégations nationales

Mr Senad ŠEPIĆ Chairperson (Bosnia and Herzegovina, EPP/CD)

Ms Dana VÁHALOVÁ Chairperson (Czech Republic SOC)

Mr Jacob LUND Chairperson (Denmark, SOC)

M. René ROUQUET Chairperson (France, SOC)

Mr Tobias ZECH Member (Germany, EPP/CD)

Ms Ioanneta KAVVADIA Member (Greece, UEL)

Mr Karl GARĐARSSON Chairperson (Iceland, ALDE)

Ms Olivia MITCHELL Member (Ireland, EPP/CD)

Mr Michele NICOLETTI Chairperson (Italy, SOC)

Ms Judith OEHRI Member (Liechtenstein, ALDE)

Ms Birutè VĖSAITĖ Chairperson (Lithuania, SOC)

M. Yves CRUCHTEN Vice-Chairperson (Luxembourg, SOC)

Ms Deborah SCHEMBRI Member (Malta, SOC)

Mr Piotr WACH Chairperson (Poland, EPP/CD)

Ms Doris FIALA Chairperson (Switzerland, ALDE)

Mr Reha DENEMEҪ Chairperson (Turkey, EC)

Other participants / Autres participants

Guest speakers / Intervenants invités

Mr Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey

Mr Fuat OKTAY, President of the Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD)

Ms Pascale MOREAU, Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Turkey

Mr Guy S. GOODWIN-GILL, Professor of International Refugee Law at Oxford University

Mr Hasan KARA, Mayor of Kilis

Ms Fatma Şahin, Mayor of Gaziantep

Turkish representatives / Représentants turcs

Members of the Turkish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly / Membres de la délégation turque auprès de l’Assemblée parlementaire

Mr Şaban DİŞLİ

Mr Ömer SELVİ

Ms Tülin ERKAL KARA

Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Ministère des Affaires étrangères

Mr Atılay ERSAN, Ambassador, Adviser to the Turkish delegation to the Assembly

Ms Esen ALTUĞ, Deputy Director General, Asylum, Visa and Immigration

Mr Can Sabih KANADOĞLU, First Secretary

Council of Europe Secretariat / Secrétariat du Conseil de l’Europe

Mr Wojciech SAWICKI Secretary General of the Assembly

Mr Mark NEVILLE Head of the Private Office of the President of the Assembly

Ms Sonia SIRTORI Head of the Secretariat of the Bureau of the Assembly

Mr Angus MACDONALD Press Officer, Secretariat of the Assembly

Ms Annick SCHNEIDER Assistant, Secretariat of the Assembly

Mr Sandro WELTIN Photographer, Secretariat of the Council of Europe