24 April 1997       Doc. 7811

ADOC7811

WRITTEN DECLARATION No. 253

on the state of emergency in Albania

This written declaration commits only the members who have signed it

      The undersigned, members of the Assembly,

      Noting that the Council of Europe has a duty to take action, without delay and using all possible means, to avert further violence, with due respect for civil rights;

      Taking account fully of the 1989 New York Convention on the Rights of the Child, the 1992 European Charter on the Rights of the Child, and the Recommendation on the European Strategy for Children adopted by the Council of Europe on 24 January 1996,

      Request the adoption of an emergency action plan for children in Albania, providing for:

a.       a task force, to be set up immediately, to monitor the situation of children in Albania;

b.       a register of children without families which will serve to identify them and their family details, and the place in which they are living;

c.       a guarantee that children are not taking part directly in the hostilities;

d.        continued rights to education and medical assistance;

e.       the adoption of all measures capable of protecting children from any form of commercial and sexual exploitation;

f.       a corps within the military contingent being sent to Albania responsible for the protection of children's rights.

Signed:

(see overleaf)

Signed: 1

Pozza Tasca, Italy, LDR

Gatterer, Austria, EPP

Iotti, Italy, SOC

Martelli, Italy, EDG

Van Der Maelen, Belgium, SOC

Maximus, Belgium, SOC

Staes, Belgium, EPP

Squarcialupi, Italy, SOC

_______________

Total = 8

1 ¹       SOC : Socialist Group

      EPP : Group of the European People's Party

      EDG : European Democratic Group

      LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers Group

      UEL : Group of the Unified European Left