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Doc. 8455
22 June 1999
Parliamentary questions for oral answer
Discussion of the communication on the activities of the Committee of Ministers1
1. Mr Dokle,
Considering that the crisis in Kosovo is moving towards a settlement and peace is approaching,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
If he thinks the Committee of Ministers might now play a more active role in establishing democratic institutions and civil society in Kosovo, what the Committee's practical plans in this field are and when it might schedule the opening of the Council of Europe office in Kosovo.
2. Mrs Squarcialupi
In view of the fact that the UN, in allocating the tasks assigned to the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, has given responsibility to the OSCE for the creation and democratisation of institutions, including respect for human rights, election observation and even the development of human resources in the fields of justice, the police and public administration; and
Given the extent and importance of the tasks assigned to the OSCE, but in view also of the Council of Europe’s ability and experience in these fields,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
How can our Institution make its contribution to these important stages in the reconstruction of Kosovo.
3. Mr Ruffy,
Considering that several initiatives have been taken to help the south eastern European countries in their efforts to reconstruct the region and to establish democratic institutions in the after war period;
Noting that The Council of Europe has recognised expertise in most of the areas mentioned in both the Stability Pact, adopted at the initiative of the European Union in Cologne on 10 June 1999, and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244(1999); and
Noting that, at present the Council of Europe does not figure publicly amongst the international organisations to whom the UN Secretary General plans to assign major responsibilities in the civil implementation of the UNSC Resolution 1244, and, although it is a full participant, the Council of Europe is mentioned only briefly in the Stability Pact,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
What action has, and will, be taken to ensure a major and visible contribution of the Council of Europe to the work of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and to the implementation of the Stability Pact.
4. Mr Gross,
Considering that many friends of the Council of Europe have the impression that the Council of Europe has failed to take the opportunity of its 50th anniversary to draw the attention of the public on the national and the continental levels on its specific potential and possibilities which in today's world are more required than ever; and
Noting that every war is a symbol of the failure of politics and policies; and that the war in Kosovo is also an occasion for the council of Europe to evaluate its own work during the 90s in a self-critical way,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
What is his evaluation of the performance of the Council of Europe, how can it be improved and whether the Committee of Ministers is ready to mandate a professional group of specialists with such an evaluation of the resolutions, recommendations and concrete engagements of all organs of the Council of Europe concerning Kosovo; and
Why the recommendations and resolutions of the Parliamentary Assembly concerning the relations with the United Nations have been ignored by the Committee of Ministers for years and not replied to and whether the Ministers will assume their responsibility within the Council of Europe more seriously in the coming years instead of delegating serious matters of the Council of Europe to the lower diplomatic level?
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5. Ms Durrieu
Noting that the implementation of the Stability Pact for south-eastern Europe is being addressed by three working tables devoted respectively to security, the economy, and democracy and human rights,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
Whether he has taken any steps to ensure that the Council of Europe chairs the working table responsible for democracy and human rights, with the OSCE looking after security and the European Union the economic questions; and if he has, whether he will inform the Parliamentary Assembly of the results of his approaches.
6. Ms Ringstad,
Considering that the Chairman-in-office of the OSCE – and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway – Mr Knut Vollebæk, has made it quite clear that he attaches great importance to developing close working relations with the Council of Europe,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
How he regards this relationship at present, and which initiatives the Icelandic chairmanship will take to further develop the co-operation.
7. Mr Iwiński,
Noting his priority for the Icelandic chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to use the Nordic chairmanships of our organisation, the European Union (Finland) and the OSCE (Norway) to further improve co-operation between these bodies,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
How he intends to achieve closer co-operation between these organisations.
8. Ms Ragnarsdóttir,
In view of the leading role that the Council of Europe has played in the reconstruction of the institutions of democracy and human rights in central and eastern Europe;
Considering the priorities set out for the Icelandic Chairmanship, which among other things specify "work on the basis that the Council of Europe will have an important role to play in reconstruction in south-eastern Europe";
In view of the increasing role played by the OSCE in the reconstruction of society in south-eastern Europe, most recently in Kosovo; and
Considering recent statements by the current Chairmen-in-office of both the Council of Europe and the OSCE on closer co-operation between the two institutions,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
Whether he considers it appropriate that, rather than the OSCE, it should be the Council of Europe, which has the largest and most extensive experience in democratic institution-building and standard-setting in Europe, which takes the lead in the implementation as regards the Working Table on democratisation and human rights of the Stability Pact for south-eastern Europe; and if so, what initiatives will the Chairman-in-office take?
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9. Ms Gogoberidze,
Considering that ethnic cleansing is a crime against humanity and must be severely condemned and punished always and everywhere, regardless of by whom it is committed - by central government or representatives of minorities; and
Noting the case of Abkhazia, Georgia, where the fact of ethnic cleansing is recognised by international organisations, such as OSCE and the Council of Europe,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
Whether he thinks it necessary to learn a lesson from the drama of Kosovo and do everything possible to solve the crisis in Abkhazia which has been frozen for a long time, with tragic consequences for 300,000 refugees, for stability in the region and in Europe as a whole, and for the development of all countries of the Caucasus?
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10. Lord Judd,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
What consideration the Council of Ministers has given to the future role of the Council of Europe in the light of the likely realignment of relationships between the Western European Union and the European Union.
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11. Mr Bársony,
Noting that in its Recommendation 1403 (1999) the Parliamentary Assembly invited the Committee of Ministers to “decide at its meeting in Budapest to allocate, as an exceptional measure, the unspent balance of the 1998 budget to finance specific activities aimed at assisting refugees and facilitating their return” ,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
Whether this has been done.
12. Lord Ponsonby,
Considering that the Assembly remains convinced that the Council of Europe is not endowed with the financial resources necessary to carry out its activities; and that the problem lies in the fact that the financing method established by Resolution (94) 31 has proved inadequate to ensure a stable and sufficient flow of resources, in particular with the recent creation of the European Court of Human Rights;
Noting that the Assembly, in its Opinion 212 (1999), asked the Committee of Ministers to start to consider alternative methods of funding with the aim of establishing a new mechanism that, while ensuring a greater degree of solidarity among member States, could provide the Organisation with the financial resources it needs to attain its objectives; and that in practical terms, this entails deleting the population factor from the formula contained in Resolution (94) 31 and using the GDP factor alone to calculate the new scale of contributions for the Organisation’s member States, alternatively, the Committee of Ministers could consider introducing an additional provision in Resolution (94) 31 fixing a minimum contribution to be paid by each member States, perhaps in the amount of some 2 MF, in order to cover at least the cost of the judge sitting in the new European Court of Human Rights,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
Whether the Committee of Ministers is prepared to examine carefully these proposals in the coming months and whether the Committee of Ministers aware that, with the present method of funding which does not make separate provision for the Court, the budgetary implications of the European Court’s growing financial needs risk adversely affecting the activities and priorities of the other sectors of the Organisation.
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13. Ms Vermot-Mangold,
Considering that last year the Council of Europe plenary session discussed the Vermot-Mangold report on "The humanitarian situation of Kurdish refugees and displaced persons in south-eastern Turkey and northern Iraq", and this year the Schwimmer/Barsony report on "Honouring of obligations and commitments by Turkey";
Considering that both reports contain proposals and recommendations;
Asks the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
What measures the Committee of Ministers should take to ensure a substantial improvement in the situation of Kurdish refugees in Turkey?
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14. Mr Cox,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
When his Committee expects to make a recommendation as to what future action is to be taken in the case of Mrs Loizidou v Turkey in view of the very clear decision made by the European Court of Human Rights in this case.
15. Mr Christodoulides,
Taking into account that the European Court of Human Rights on 28 July 1998 awarded the applicant in the Loizidou V Turkey case just satisfaction due to the violation of her property rights in the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus,
Noting that deadline for payment has already expired and that Turkey has not yet paid or has demonstrated any will in doing so; and
Considering that an initiative was undertaken by the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers to send a letter to the Turkish Government aiming to obtain execution of the Court’s decision,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
Whether Turkey’s reply to his letter gave any indications as to whether and when it intends to comply with the said decision, and what further steps does the Committee of Ministers intend to undertake to ensure Turkey’s full compliance to the E.C.H.R. decision.
16. Mr Jurgens and Mr Marty,
Noting that, despite earlier questions to the former Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, to date no satisfactory information has been forthcoming from the Committee of Ministers about the necessary execution measures which have been taken in the cases of the Socialist Party and others v. Turkey (judgment of 25 May 1998) and Hakkar v. France (Committee of Ministers decision of 15 December 1995, application No.19033/91); and
Considering that the Committee of Ministers appears now also confronted with a case - the Loizidou case against Turkey (judgments of 23 March 1995 (preliminary objections), 18 December 1996 (merits) and July 1998 (just satisfaction)) - in which the government concerned even considers the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights to be "inapplicable" and thus refuses even to pay the just satisfaction awarded to the applicant,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
What measures have been taken by the Committee of Ministers or by Turkey in order to ensure respect for the judgment of the Court and for the Committee of Ministers Interim Rsolution DH(99)245 so that the unjustified criminal conviction of the applicant, Mr Perinçek, the former leader of the Socialist Party in Turkey, for certain political statements made in an election campaign, is erased without delay, through action by the competent authorities - thus ensuring that the applicant is released from hail and anew allowed to engage in political activities?;
Whether the Committee of Ministers has now received assurances from the French Government that the French authorities will respect the finding of the violation found by the committee of Ministers more than 3 years ago so that they will review Mr Hakkar's conviction to life imprisonment and take into account the fact that he has always denied having committed the crime in question and that his present conviction was imposed in proceedings violating basic concepts of fairness, notably as he was not - as found by the European Commission of Human Rights - "not himself present at the proceedings, nor assisted or even represented, by a lawyer"?
If the Committee of Ministers could provide further reasons as to why the French Minister of Justice did not avail herself of her powers to put the question of the possibility of new fair proceedings for the applicant before the courts, as have done in other cases the executives of a number of other countries with legal provisions on reopening of proceedings very similar to those in France;
Whether the Committee of Ministers has been informed of any change of position on the part of the new Turkish Government regarding the Loizidou case and, if not, what measures have been taken or are planned in order to ensure that those states who are members of the Council of Europe also abide by their obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights?
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17. Ms Wohlwend,
Noting that at the end of May the House of Lords, acting as Privy Council, rejected the appeal of nine persons sentenced to be hung in Trinidad and Tobago and that since then the nine persons have been hung.
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
What is his reaction to that decision of the highest court in the United Kingdom which is in contradiction with both the policy of the Council of Europe on the death penalty and with the United Kingdom's own ratification of Protocol No.6?
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18. Ms Gelderblom-Lankhout,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
Whether the Committee of Ministers has had an opportunity to discuss the question of the proposal of a Charter for human rights for the European Union and what is its opinion on the possible consequences of such a Charter for the system of protection of human rights of the Council of Europe?
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19. Mr Clerfayt,
Considers that the reply provided by the Committee of Ministers to written question no. 379 from Mr Clerfayt, Mr Beaufays, Mr De Decker and Mr Henry (Doc. 8350) on the application of a judgment by the European Court of Human Rights on the use of languages in education in Belgium is completely unsatisfactory; that it states that in 1972 the Committee of Ministers took note of the measures taken by Belgium in the context of its constitutional reform; that it appends the Memorandum of 12 April 1972 by the Belgian Government, which is declassified… adding that "the Committee of Ministers has not been seized of any case concerning the measures taken by Belgium"; whereas question no. 379 seizes the Committee of Ministers of a very concrete case, namely the fact that Belgium has never enforced the Court's judgment of 23 July 1968;
Noting that the Memorandum of 12 April 1972 by the Belgian Government maintains the confusion with other general matters, mendaciously states that "Parliament … resolved the problem raised by the judgment of 23 July 1968 of the European Court of Human Rights" and denies the obvious facts by contending that the "discrimination on purely residential grounds noted by the European Court has thus disappeared …".
Noting that discrimination on purely residential grounds has not disappeared; that French-speaking children in the municipalities of Alsembourg and Beersel (and other municipalities in the same position) are still barred from the French-speaking schools in Rhode St Genèse or Linkebeek (municipalities which are in the Flemish Region but which have facilities for French-speakers), whereas Flemish children from the same municipalities are allowed into schools in these multi-facility municipalities,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
Why, as this is still the case, the Committee of Ministers does not agree to reconsider this matter by sending an expert to the area to ascertain the legal and de facto situation on the ground;
If the Belgian State has supplied the Committee of Ministers with a document which does not state the truth, does not this mean that the matter should be re-examined?
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20. Mr Gürkan,
Considering that terrorism and acts of terror continue to pose a threat to the values of the Council of Europe and our societies; that as such they are serious issues of concern for the Council of Europe in general and to the Parliamentary Assembly in particular; and that the Parliamentary Assembly has repeatedly condemned terrorist activities and the support given to terrorism; and
Noting that the European convention on the Suppression of Terrorism (1977) and other international instruments, including the Helsinki Final Act and the Paris Charter impose on all States the obligation to:
- combat terrorism,
- prevent their territories from being used for terrorist activities against other States and their citizens,
- refrain from assisting, encouraging or tolerating terrorist activities,
- co-operate at the international level in the fight against terrorism,
- prosecute or extradite the perpetrators of terrorist acts,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
What further action the Committee of Ministers contemplates taking, particularly in the case of one or more member states of the Council of Europe not meeting their obligation, under international law, to refrain from assisting terrorism?
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21. Mr Kosakivsky,
Considering that many of the problems which the Council of Europe faces result from a failure of the authorities of the member States to implement recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly; and
Noting that the Government of Ukraine has not yet fulfilled the Court decision of
1 October 1997 on the re-establishment in his post at the mayor of Kyiv who was illegally deprived of his position regardless of the Monitoring Committee appeal of 2 December 1998, continuous resolutions and appeals of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, including two appeals directly to President, L. Kuchma,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
What steps he plans to take in this respect to improve the effectiveness of the Council of Europe’s work.
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22. Mr Behrendt,
Noting that in November 1998 the Assembly adopted Recommendation 1389(1998) on consumer safety and food quality; and
Considering that the Committee of Ministers has so far made no pronouncement on the subject,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
What the Committee of Ministers has done or intends to do in this sphere, which touches on public health and is a source of great concern to the public?
23. Mr Goulet,
Noting that the recent dioxin crisis has again highlighted the weakness of national and European legislation and the inadequacy of inspection procedures in the agrifood industry. In farming and animal husbandry, food manufacturing and distribution, there are problems which can only be solved through harmonisation of regulations and inspection at European level; and
Considering that certain general principles must be recognised (the precautionary principle, traceability of produce, information of the public, etc) and it is the Council of Europe's role to secure their recognition and application in all the member states,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
Whether the Committee of Ministers will at last take action to this effect?
24. Ms Mikaelsson,
Considering that after the BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) crisis and other food-related problems (antibiotics, hormones, etc) there is now been faced with another serious situation with the contamination of certain foods by dioxin; that this state of affairs is no longer acceptable and strict measures need to be taken to strengthen European food safety legislation, and that the public's right to health must be guaranteed and the Council of Europe has a responsibility in this field; and
Noting that the Parliamentary Assembly has urged the Committee of Ministers to draw up a European outline convention on food safety,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
What measures the Committee of Ministers intends to take on food safety?
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25. Mr Hegyi,
Following the report on Fighting social exclusion and strengthening social cohesion in Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly adopted Recommendation 1355 (1998). The reply from the Committee of Ministers was adopted on 15 December 1998, half a year ago. In this reply the Ministers promised to set up shortly “a unit with specialist remit to observe, compare and tackle problems of social cohesion in all the Council’s member states,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
What has happened in this field, has the unit started its job, what kind of experts and specialists work in this unit, and when can the member states benefit from the activity of this unit.
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26. Sir Sydney Chapman,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
What action the Committee of Ministers will be taking with regard to the damage caused to the environment by the conflict in Serbia.
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27. Mr Steolea,
Whereas the Committee of Ministers was seized of a Parliamentary Assembly proposal regarding a draft European Charter on the Danube, it agreed with the Assembly that following the changes in 1989 the Danube now offered major prospects for development and co-operation in the region;
Considering that the Committee of Ministers felt that such co-operation was a matter primarily for the States in the region rather than for the Organisation as a whole and therefore decided to take no action on this initiative;
Considering that the war in the Balkans has now had very serious effects on the state of the Danube, inter alia making large stretches of the river unnavigable,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
Whether he agrees that the proposal put forward by the Parliamentary Assembly that to organise co-operation and consultation among all the existing instruments and actions within the Council of Europe would be highly appropriate.
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28. Mr Roseta,
Noting that on 24 September the Assembly unanimously adopted recommendation 1387 (1998) asking the Committee of Ministers to create "a European maritime agency, possibly as a partial agreement among European States interested in increasing their co-operation in this field",
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers
What action has so far been taken to pursue the objective propose and what overall progress has been made in this matter?
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