Resolution (96) 9 on observer status for Canada with the Council of Europe

Doc. 7518

12 April 1996

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS

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Letter from the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers

to the President of the Assembly,

dated 4 April 1996

Dear Madam President,

    I refer to your letter dated 25 March 1996, concerning observer status for Canada with the Council of Europe. As I informed you in my letter of 15 March 1996, at their 562nd meeting (1-3 April 1996) the Deputies duly adopted Resolution (96) 9, which I enclose.

    You will see that the conditions are identical to those offered to the United States of America in Resolution (95) 37. This, of course, means that this resolution also will only enter into force after the Assembly has adopted its opinion.

Yours sincerely,

(signed)

Marie-Louise Overvad

Chairman of the Ministers' Deputies

RESOLUTION (96) 9

on observer status for Canada

with the Council of Europe

(Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 3 April 1996

at the 562nd meeting of the Ministers' Deputies)

    The Committee of Ministers,

    In view of the interest officially expressed by Canada in obtaining Observer Status with the Council of Europe in the context of Statutory Resolution (93) 26 and according to the terms of the letter of 1 February 1996 of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Canada, supplemented by information contained in the letter dated 20 March 1996, from the Canadian Ambassador in Berne;

    Considering that Canada shares the ideals and values of the Council of Europe;

    Conscious of the particular interest of Canada in strengthening co-operation with a view to increasing stabilisation in the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe;

    Bearing in mind the necessity to intensify functional co-operation between the Council of Europe and the OSCE in the Human Dimension field, recognised in the Vienna Declaration of 1993;

    Pending confirmation of the positive opinion of the Parliamentary Assembly,

    Decides to invite Canada to become an Observer with the Council of Europe. This status will give Canada the possibility of:

i.    naming a permanent observer to the Council of Europe;

ii.    sending observers to those Committees of Experts of the Council of Europe instituted in application of Article 17 of the Statute to which all member States may designate participants;

iii.    sending their permanent observer to the subsidiary meetings of the Deputies, including those devoted to the planning and programming of the activities of the Council of Europe aiming at the strengthening of democratic institutions, the establishment of the Rule of Law and the reinforcement of Human Rights;

iv.    sending, following an invitation from the host country, observers to Conferences of Specialised Ministers;

v.    participating in the activities of the Partial and Enlarged Agreements following invitation and in conformity with the rules applicable to such Agreements.