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23 June 1993
Doc. 6875
1403-21/6/93-6-E
REPORT
on the amendment
of Rule 55a
of the Assembly's Rules of Procedure
(special guest status)
(Rapporteur : Lord FINSBERG,
United Kingdom, European Democratic Group)
Summary
The Assembly considers that the states whose parliaments apply for special guest status should be formally bound by the United Nations Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic Social and Cultural Rights.
However, the present wording of Rule 55a (1) has given rise to some difficulties of interpretation and the Committee on Rules of Procedure therefore proposes to make some modifications with a view to clarifying this point and the other obligations listed therein.
I. Draft resolution
1. The Assembly considers that the states whose parliaments apply for special guest status (Rule 55a of the Rules of Procedure) should be formally bound by the two United Nations Covenants of 16 December 1966 on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
2. However, the present wording of Rule 55a (1), which deals with this question could lead to some uncertainty as it requires states only "to apply and implement ... the two United Nations Covenants of 16 December 1966...".
3. With a view to clarifying this point as well as the meaning of the other obligations listed in Rule 55a (1), the Assembly decides to amend this provision and to reword the text as follows:
"The Bureau enlarged to include the chairmen of the political groups may grant special guest status to national legislative Assemblies of European non-member states which have signed the Helsinki Final Act of 1 August 1975, the Charter of Paris for a New Europe of 21 November 1990, accepted the other instruments adopted at the CSCE conferences, and who have signed and ratified the two United Nations Covenants of 16 December 1966 on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, if such Assemblies show an interest in being granted this status. (1)
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1. This paragraph refers to the CSCE documents and the United Nations Human Rights Covenants and not to the European Convention on Human Rights, because the latter is not open to signature by non-member states of the Council of Europe, whereas all sovereign states are normally members of the United Nations and can thus accede to the United Nations Covenants and can also become participants of the CSCE if they are situated in the CSCE area."
II. Explanatory memorandum
by Lord FINSBERG
A. Introduction
1. At the meeting of the Political Affairs Committee on 15 December 1992, further to an exchange of views on the interpretation of the words "which apply and implement the Helsinki Final Act... together with the two United Nations Covenants of 16 December 1966...", the Clerk was asked to prepare a memorandum and submit it to the Committee on Rules of Procedure.
2. On 1 February 1993 the committee took note of the memorandum and appointed a rapporteur. At its meeting on 25 February 1993 the Committee on Rules of Procedure adopted a draft resolution and decided to present the report (Doc. 6790) to the Standing Committee on 26 March 1993. Following a procedural motion (Rule 33 (1d) of the Rules of Procedure) it was referred back to committee (Reference No. 1862).
B. The problems
3. When the first proposals for the introduction of a special guest status were made in the Committee on Relations with European Non-Member Countries the main condition was that the states whose parliaments were to be granted that status must abide by the principal international instruments relating to human rights, particularly those concluded within the framework of the CSCE and the United Nations. (The European Convention on Human Rights was not included for the obvious reason that only members of the Council of Europe can become parties to the Convention.)
4. Rule 55a (1) currently stipulates that the parliaments concerned must "apply and implement" the aforementioned texts. However the interpretation of these words gave rise to difficulties. Discussion in the Assembly committees concerned showed that no agreement could be reached in this respect.
5. The reference back to the Committee on Rules of Procedure of the report (Doc. 6790) was essentially motivated on the grounds that it had not analysed the repercussions of Recommendation 1204 (on the creation of a transitional mechanism for the protection of human rights in European non-member states of the Council of Europe) on the criteria for obtaining special guest status. Following this recommendation the Committee of Ministers adopted Resolution (93) 6 on the control of respect for human rights in European states not yet members of the Council of Europe. Another resolution on the provision of an interim consultative committee on human rights for non-member states of the Council of Europe is under preparation. It should also be recalled that in its Order No. 485 (1993) the Assembly instructed "its Political Affairs Committee to report regularly to it on the situation of human rights in states whose legislative assemblies enjoy special guest status, and, in particular, on their compliance with the requirements laid down in Rule 55a of the Assembly's Rules of Procedure."
The Assembly also instructed its Committee on Relations with European Non-Member Countries to give an opinion on this report.
C. Solutions
6. The following questions are to be decided:
a. whether the reference to the United Nations Covenants (and, possibly, to the CSCE texts) in Rule 55a (1) should be replaced by that to the interim mechanism for the protection of human rights by non-member states which the Council of Europe could provide (interim consultative committee on human rights);
b. in case of a negative reply whether it is desirable that states whose parliaments request special guest status should be formally bound by the United Nations and CSCE instruments mentioned in Rule 55a (1);
or if de facto application of these texts is sufficient.
7. From a political point it would appear preferable if Rule 55a (1) of the Rules of Procedure referred to Council of Europe instruments and not to those of other bodies. However practical considerations advocated at the meeting of the Committee on Rules of Procedure on 5 June 1993 speak against this. References to the United Nations and CSCE instruments also have advantages as they imply that the state whose parliament requests special guest status is internationally recognised. If Rule 55a (1) only required the acceptance of a Council of Europe mechanism it might not be ruled out that the parliament of a state may apply for special guest status before the latter's admission to the United Nations or the CSCE. In such a case the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe would have to examine the problem of recognition in order to make operational the proposed interim consultative committee. Moreover, because of the rather far-reaching obligations, this mechanism would be more suitable for a state whose parliament already
enjoys special guest status.
8. It ensues from the preliminary work done on Rule 55a (1) and the subsequent modifications made to it that
—th e wording "which apply and implement the Helsinki Final Act ... together with the two United Nations Covenants of 16 December 1966", proposed by the Rapporteur of the Committee on Relations with European Non-Member Countries, Mr Sager in February 1989, remained practically unchanged and was introduced as such into the Rules of Procedure (for details see the Clerk of the Assembly's memorandum of 29 January 1993);—
—wh at mattered mainly for that committee was that the European non-member states concerned abided by the principal United Nations and CSCE instruments relating to human rights (for example, see Doc. 6036, paragraph 7);—
—wh en the Committee on Rules of Procedure updated the first-paragraph of Rule 55a in 1992 it stated that the passage "which apply and implement the Helsinki Final Act of 1 August 1975, the Charter of Paris .." does not imply stricto sensu the signature of the Final Act and the Charter of Paris.9.
9. When the Committee on Rules of Procedure was informed of the two options on 1 February 1993, there was consensus in favour of the variant according to which any states whose parliaments apply for special guest status should be formally bound by the United Nations Covenants and sign or accept the other instruments mentioned in Rule 55a (1). That is why the preliminary draft resolution proposes a corresponding amendment.
10. The Committee on Rules of Procedure agreed to add to Rule 55a (1) the following explanatory footnote:
"This paragraph refers to the CSCE documents and the United Nations Human Rights Covenants, and not to the European Convention on Human Rights, because the latter is not open to signature by non-member states of the Council of Europe, whereas all sovereign states are normally members of the United Nations and can accede to the United Nations Covenants and can also become participants of the CSCE if they are situated in the CSCE area."
11. The Committee on Rules of Procedure also proposes to make a drafting amendment at the end of paragraph 1 (in the French version only).
D. Final remark
12. The amendment should enter into force immediately after the adoption of the draft resolution by the Standing Committee.
Reporting committee: Committee on Rules of Procedure.
Budgetary implications for the Assembly: none.
Reference to committee: Reference No. 1862 of 26 March 1993.
Draft resolution adopted by the committee on 5 June 1993.
Members of the committee: Sir Anthony Durant (Chairman), MM. Dimmer, Kozłowski (Vice-Chairmen), Mrs Aguiar, MM. Alloncle, André, Gudmundur Bjarnason, Borg, Cummings (Alternate: Hardy), Lord Finsberg, MM. Fiorini, Franck, Galanos, Gjellerod, Gregory, Gül (Alternate: Mimaroglu), Gundersen, Junghanns, Karcsay, Laakso, Leccese, Marten, Masson, Moya, Neumann (Alternate: Antretter), de Paoli, Rokofyllos (Alternate: Pangalos), Schieder, Schiesser, (Alternate: Mrs Haller), Mrs Soutendijk-van Appeldoorn, MM. Stoylov (Alternate: Panov), Thissen, Vinci.
N.B. The names of those members who took part in the vote are printed in italics.
Secretary to the committee: Mr Heinrich.