22 Feburary 2007
With the compliments of the Director General of Political Affairs
Avec les compliments du Directeur Général des Affaires Politiques
INFORMATION NOTE
FOR THE ATTENTION OF THE MINISTERS' DEPUTIES
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NOTE D'INFORMATION
A L'ATTENTION DES DELEGUES DES MINISTRES
RE: Report from the Council of Europe Field Offices and Outpost* / January 2007
Rapport des Bureaux et de l’antenne du Conseil de l’Europe sur le terrain* / janvier 2007
Please find attached the Report from the Council of Europe Field Offices and Outpost for January 2007.
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Veuillez trouver ci-joint le rapport des Bureaux et de l’antenne du Conseil de l’Europe sur le terrain pour janvier 2007.
Ce document n’existe qu’en anglais
* For a more complete list of activities, see the Council of Europe activities database (CEAD) – http://dsp.coe.int/CEAD / Pour une liste plus complète des activités, voir la base de données des activités du Conseil de l’Europe (CEAD) – http://dsp.coe.int/CEAD
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FIELD OFFICES |
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YEREVAN Ms Bojana URUMOVA Special Representative of the SG Tel: +374 10 24 33 85 Fax: +374 10 24 38 75 E-mail: [email protected] |
CHISINAU Mr Vladimir RISTOVSKI Special Representative of the SG Tel: +373 22 202 304 or +373 22 202 212 374 Fax: +373 22 202 305 E-mail: [email protected] |
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BAKU Mr Denis BRIBOSIA Special Representative of the SG Tel: +994 124 975 489 Fax: +994 124 975 475 E-mail: [email protected] |
BELGRADE Mr Denis HUBER Special Representative of the SG Tel: +381 11 3 088 411 Fax: +381 11 3 086 494 E-mail: [email protected] |
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SARAJEVO Mr Tim CARTWRIGHT Special Representative of the SG Tel: +387 33 264 360 or 361 Fax: +387 33 233 937 E-mail: [email protected] |
PODGORICA Ms Slobodanka KARISIK Acting Head of Office Tel: +381 81 230 819 or +381 81 230 825 Fax: +381 81 230 176 E-mail: [email protected] |
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TBILISI Mr Igor GAON Special Representative of the SG Tel: +995 32 98 54 40 Fax: +995 32 98 96 57 E-mail: [email protected] |
PRISTINA Mr Zurab KATCHKATCHISHVILI Head of Office Tel: +381 38 243 749 Fax: +381 38 243 752 E-mail: [email protected] |
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OUTPOST |
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TIRANA Ms Delphine FREYMANN Special Adviser Tel: +355 4 22 84 19 Fax: +355 4 24 89 40 E-mail: [email protected] |
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Yerevan
1. Political and legislative developments
President Kocharian signed a decree on 29 January, setting 12 May as the date for holding the Parliamentary Elections.
The killing of the journalist Hrant Dink in Istanbul provoked a wave of different reactions in Armenia. While some saw this tragedy as an opportunity to work towards reconciliation with Turkey, many others accused the Turkish State of complicity in Dink's death. Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakossian attended Dink's funeral in Istanbul.
The Office of the Prosecutor General formally requested Artashes Geghamyan, the leader of the Opposition National Unity party, to present proof in support of his statement regarding the alleged involvement of Aleksandar Sargsyan, brother of the Minister of Defence, in an assassination attempt against Gagik Tsarukyan, the leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party. According to the Prosecutor General, Mr Geghamyan failed to substantiate his allegations.
On 12 January the Appeal Court of Military and Criminal Cases completed its review of the case on Arman Babajanyan, who had been sentenced to four years in prison for illegally avoiding military service. The new decision shortens his sentence by 6 months to 3.5 years of imprisonment. Although the defendant - who served as Editor-in-Chief of the Opposition-oriented daily Zhamanak Yerevan - admitted to forging documents in 2002 in order to avoid doing his military service, many believe that his sentence is excessive (the usual sentence for draft evasion is between two and three years) and in fact constitutes retaliation for his persistent criticism of government policies.
In January two international NGOs made public their reports on human rights developments in Armenia. In its annual report, Freedom House included Armenia in the group of "partially free countries", citing inter alia the procedure for appointment of the media regulatory bodies, which does not provide for “sufficient independence to provide objective and diverse news coverage". In its World Report 2006, Human Rights Watch indicated that the Armenian Government has done little to address serious human rights violations.
On 31 January, the Opposition Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) Party announced that it does not possess enough funds to carry out a pre-election campaign. The party has apparently been plagued with financial difficulties ever since its departure from the ruling Coalition last May.
MP Shavarsh Kocharyan, leader of the Opposition National Democratic Party, announced on 30 January that his party is going to run separately from the Justice bloc in the Parliamentary Elections.
On 11 January the European Court of Human Rights gave its judgment in the case of Mkrtchyan v. Armenia (application no. 6562/03). The Court held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the European Convention on Human Rights. Under Article 41 (just satisfaction), the Court held that the finding of a violation constituted in itself sufficient just satisfaction for any non-pecuniary damage sustained by the applicant.
In January, President Kocharian signed the Laws amending the Electoral Code, Criminal Code, the Law on Local Self-Government, the National Assembly Statute (7 January), the Civil Code, the Administrative Code, the Codes of Civil and Criminal Procedure, and the Law on Advocacy (13 and 24 January).
2. Council of Europe action
On 23 January Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted the Report and Resolution 1532 (2007) on Honouring of obligations and commitments by Armenia. Parliament Speaker Tigran Torosyan characterised the resolution as being "without precedent" in terms of its positive tone towards Armenia.
3. Other action / co-ordination and co-operation with partner organisations
On 31 January Transparency International presented the report on the Corruption Perception Survey it carried out with support from UNDP, based on a questionnaire sent to 1500 respondents representing a cross-section of Armenian society. The results of the survey indicated that people in Armenia are still very much concerned about corruption. Also, most respondents pointed to the necessity of ensuring free and fair elections. The UNDP Resident Representative, the OSCE Head of Mission and the CoE SRSG participated in the presentation of the report. IOCE contributed by providing CoE promotional materials (CoE-Armenia Newsletter and the text of PACE Resolution 1532 (2007).
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§ Information activities
IOCE Director took part in USAID Implementers and International Donors Coordination Meeting on Decentralisation on 26 January 2007, organised by USAID Armenia. The Armenian and English versions of PACE Resolution 1532 (2007) were distributed to inform the participants on the local-self government component of the resolution.
On 18 January IOCE Director held meetings with representatives of the Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs to discuss cooperation in the context of the CoE Stop Domestic Violence against Women campaign.
IOCE has reached an agreement with Urban Foundation on opening info points in three regions of Armenia which will be regularly supplied with IOCE publications.
Ongoing distribution of the 800 Million Europeans brochure, the Compass Human Rights Manual, 7 Good Reasons for Constructing a Europe with and for Children brochure as well as other CoE publications and promotional materials.
IOCE completed the update of the online library catalogue available at www.coe.am
Publications and translations
Publication and/or translation of 2 press releases for the website and dissemination.
Weekly monitoring on the Council of Europe visibility in the Armenian media for the Directorate of Communication.
IOCE organised the translation and dissemination to journalists and NGOs of PACE Resolution 1532 (2007) on Honouring of obligations and commitments by Armenia.
IOCE translated into Armenian the Children Have Rights Too! article prepared by DC for subsequent publication in the CoE-Armenia newsletter.
Baku
1. Political and legislative developments
The Government made a much contested decision in January to raise the price of public commodities and services in an attempt to bring energy prices closer to those of the world market. On 8 January, the Tariff Council in charge of regulating prices, decided to triple the price of electricity, to double the price of water and to raise the price of petrol by approximately fifty per cent. This move will most likely lead to a general increase in the price of everyday goods.
Opposition leaders and critics contested the decision vigorously arguing that such a drastic increase was unacceptable in a country where the minimum monthly salary amounted to 35 € only. They vowed to organise public protests against the price increases, although the two major opposition movements (the Azadliq opposition bloc and the Musavat Party) did not agree to hold joint demonstrations.
The Azadlig opposition bloc organised its own demonstration on 26 January. Since it had not been sanctioned by the authorities, nineteen people were arrested. On 28 January, the Musavat party staged an authorised demonstration in the outskirts of Baku. There were hundred of participants and no incidents. Minor incidents were, however, reported in the context of other protest actions conducted either in Baku or outside the capital.
With regard to freedom of expression, within forty-eight hours, a young activist, who had launched a website dedicated to the above-noted price increases, was arrested, convicted to twelve days’ imprisonment and finally released. On 30 January, a regional Azeri court sentenced a journalist from a local independent newspaper to two years in prison, and its editor to one and a half years, for libelling senior officials in articles published in September 2006. Meanwhile, on 24 January, Amnesty International released a detailed report denouncing the limited freedom of expression in Azerbaijan.
On 19 January, the Azerbaijan's Court for Serious Crimes delivered its decision in the widely publicised case of a former senior official of the Ministry of the Interior who had been accused of leading a gang that, for over 10 years, had committed a series of high-profile killings and kidnappings. Eleven people were sentenced to life imprisonment while another thirteen were sentenced to prison terms ranging from eight to fifteen years.
2. Council of Europe action
On 11 January, the European Court of Human Rights delivered a second judgment with regard to Azerbaijan which was echoed in the press and widely commented upon amongst international and local lawyers. The applicant is an opposition leader who considered the presidential elections of 15 October 2003 to be illegitimate and who was arrested in connection with a demonstration which had taken place on 16 October 2003. He complained that he was ill-treated in police custody and that no effective investigation took place concerning his allegations. He also claims that he had no effective domestic remedies in this respect. The Court found that there had been a violation of Article 3 (torture) and of Article 13 (access to effective remedy) of the Convention and allocated ten thousand euros to the applicant in respect of non-pecuniary damage.
3. Other action, co-ordination and co-operation with partner organisations
In the course of this month, the Office organised bilateral meetings with ICRC, UNICEF, UNHCR, the Ombudsman’s Office and several heads of missions of Member States in order to discuss possible joint activities for 2007.
On 31 January, SRSG took part in the meeting of the Human Dimension Group with representatives of the OSCE Office in Baku.
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§ Information activities
§ Press and Information Officer met with the head of Radio Liberty office in Baku and with the Editor in chief of BBC Caucasus and Central Asian Service to discuss further possibilities of cooperation
§ Press and Information Officer met with Chief Producer of ANS TV and discussed possible highlighting the campaign Stop Violence against Children in their child programme
Support to local NGOs with CoE promotional materials:
§ The IOCE Baku provided various NGOs and Youth organisations with the new CoE publications and promotional materials.
§ The IOCE Baku provided space (meeting room) for series of seminars conducted by the Educational Center for Youth.
Publications and translations
The IOCE translated 4 Press Releases
With in the framework of the campaign Stop Violence against Children the Council of Europe Office in Baku published posters deprived from the winners of the drawing competition among the school children.
Sarajevo
1. Political and legislative developments
The complex and somewhat lumbering process of Government formation at State level finally gathered some momentum with the appointment early in the month of the Presidium of the House of Representatives and of Nikola Spiric (SNSD) as Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Prime Minister-designate. Spiric set out an ambitious agenda for the government in his inaugural speech which was generally well-received as being objective and consensual. There then followed agreement between partner parties in government (SNSD, SDA, Party for BiH, PDP, HDZ, HDZ 1990 and NSRZB) on the share-out of ministerial offices, and the vetting process, conducted by both the Central Election Commission (CEC) and the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), is expected to be complete by 1 February, prior to Committee Hearings in the House of Representatives and then formal endorsement of the nominations by this body.
This will not be a coalition in the conventional sense: some of the partners hold diametrical views on some key issues, among them constitutional reform, and the allocation of ministerial responsibility is motivated more by notions of ethnic checks and balances than it is by shared policy. To be noted that there will be no place in government for the Social Democrat SDP – the only major political party to campaign on a multi-ethnic platform, nor for some prominent members of the last government. These negotiations, even if slow, have been conducted without undue pressure from the international community, including the High Representative.
Government formation in the Federation (FBiH) remains dead-locked however, in part due to knock-on effects of absence of political agreements at cantonal level, thus highlighting again, the now overly complicated mechanics of government established by Dayton. This power vacuum at State and Federation levels has encouraged a rather go-it-alone line from the RS government, be it in the field of economic and privatisation policy, defence and police reform, higher education (Bologna) reform and even the Ombudsman set-up, where the failure at state level to create the single State Ombudsman office foreseen by enacted legislation to be operational as of 1 January has allowed the RS unilaterally to maintain its Entity body. The OHR is also watching closely developments concerning the new Raca Bridge where the RS has apparently entered into bi-lateral agreement with Serbia on border control modalities which are the sole responsibility of State-level authorities (SIPA).
The RS government also sparked a media freedom row when it announced a boycott of the BHT (V) 1, alleging editorial manipulation against RS interests. The SRSG met with members of the Communications Regulatory Agency (CRA) who confirmed that its close analysis of the impugned broadcasts offered no case to answer. The boycott was eventually called off on 30 January just ahead of the visit of the OSCE Media Representative Haraszti, invited expressly by OSCE and OHR in the light of this crisis.
January also witnessed quite intense political and diplomatic activity ahead of the February 26/27 Peace Implementation Council Steering Board Political Directors’ meeting which is set to decide on the nature of future international oversight and stewardship of BiH. The High Representative Schwarz-Schilling visits PIC Steering Board capitals to canvass support for his view that the OHR and Bonn Powers should be retained in some form after June 2007, and during the month also announced that he would not be standing for re-appointment after that date.
Also during January, some 22 indicted or convicted war criminals began a hunger-strike, demanding the right to be tried under the more lenient law of the ex-Yugoslavia, applicable at the date when the (alleged) offences were committed, and not under the 2003 BiH Criminal Code which contains a retroactive Article 4. The CoE was able to provide a timely brief on hunger-strike management requested by the Ministry of Justice. Both the President of the BiH Court and the BiH Ombudsman Office involved themselves in this complex issue, pointing to the need for full harmony in both legislation and practice at all levels of the justice system – State, Entity, Brcko. The strike was eventually called off.
In both the FBiH and RS there were some moves to implement earlier Constitutional Court decisions of 31 March, 2006 on the illegality of symbols and insignia in both Entities. The RS had asked the Court for an extension to the implementation deadline, a request that was rejected on 26 January. In the FBiH, the parliament removed its flag, and the House of Peoples took down the offending insignia. The Prime Minister and House of Representatives however did not, and the RS announced that it would not be moving at all until the 26 January decision had been gazetted.
In Brcko District, where Serb delegates withdrew for much of the month from the District Assembly, Supervisor Gregorian was obliged to step in to ensure continuity of governance, warning these delegates of the consequences of continued boycott, and eventually making a number of public appointments, including that of Chief of Police, and taking a number of other decisions, by Supervisory Order.
2. Council of Europe action
On 17 January, following his visit in December 2006, the Human Rights Commissioner published his report (CommDH (2007)2) on the IPTF police disqualification decisions.
The following day, in Zenica, the itinerant exhibition “Histories of Dialogue“ was inaugurated in the City Museum. This exhibition, coordinated by CoE and the BiH “Museum of History” is part of the CoE project on Intercultural Dialogue and Conflict-Prevention which began in 2002.
On 26 January, the CoE was represented at a meeting on Actions Plans for Roma in BiH called by the BiH Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees at which various international organisations, Roma Council, and Roma NGOs discussed how best to implement the Action Plans.
During the month, the BiH authorities agreed to the public release of the the GRECO Second Round Evaluation report (Greco Eval II (2005)8), adopted by GRECO at its 31st Plenary in early December 2006.
In the Education field, on 10/11 January in Brcko, the 5th Generation of the Practicum portfolio certification for secondary school teachers took place, bringing together some 30 teachers of Democracy and Human Rights in BiH. From 19-23 January Neum hosted the 3rd module of in-service training for 24 German and French teachers who will act as multiplicators in their respective regions in the implementation of the revised curriculum for foreign languages in BiH.
Concerning Rule of Law, from 22 -25 January, both in Sarajevo and Mostar, a CoE expert held extended consultations with the management and staff of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Training Centres (JPTCs) in order to advise them on training needs assessment methodology (CEAD 17860).
Within the Cards Police and PACO Impact project, on 30/31 January in Sarajevo a second round of training on Financial Investigations and Confiscation on Proceeds from Crime was attended by 33 participants (investigators, judges, prosecutors, Cantonal Ministers of Justice, etc.).
The same dates also saw a training course in Fojnica for judges and prosecutors on Domestic implementation of European Convention on Human Rights, designed not only to increase not only the knowledge and skill levels of participants but also to recruit and select from among their number future trainers for the project (CEAD 17384).
Tbilisi
1. Political and legislative developments
The Georgian Parliament adopted a law on property restitution and compensation for the victims of conflict in the former South Ossetian Autonomous District in the territory of Georgia on 29 December 2006. The purpose of the law is the restitution of property, providing adequate (equivalent) immovable property or compensation of property damage of natural persons who were victims of the above-mentioned conflict.
On 2 January, Presidend Saakashvili visited the Georgian village of Achabeti in the conflict zone where a Georgian peacekeeping battalion is stationed. He also paid a visit to the Georgian-controlled upper Kodori Gorge in breakaway Abkhazia on 11 January, where he attended a session of the Upper Abkhaz government.
The ruling National Movement party is considering to propose a “differentiated election threshold system” for parliamentary elections, the Georgian daily Rezonansi (Resonance) reported on 25 January. The initiative, which is expected to be presented in February, involves a proposal to introduce a 5% or 6% threshold for a party running in the elections independently without teaming up with other forces; an 8% threshold for an election bloc which unites two parties; and a 10% threshold for an election bloc in which more than two parties are teamed up, according to Rezonansi. Currently a party or an elections bloc running in the parliamentary elections must have at least 7% of votes in order to gain a seat in the country’s legislative body.
On 15 January, two Russian peacekeepers were badly injured after their vehicle hit a mine on the Georgian controlled territory in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone. De facto South Ossetian authorities called the incident an “act of sabotage”. At the same time the Georgian side called for fight against the organised crime in the conflict zone responsible for such act.
A European Union delegation which included Peter Semneby, the EU special envoy to the South Caucasus, and Hugues Mingarelli, the European Commission Director for Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia, arrived in Sokhumi on 17 January to hold talks with the Abkhaz leadership. The day before the EU officials visited Tskhinvali and held talks with the breakaway South Ossetian leadership.
2. Council of Europe Action
On 15 January, SRSG had a meeting with Minister of Justice, Mr Gia Kavtaradze where they discussed the issues related to the penitentiary reform, conflict regions and the upcoming visit of the Commissioner for Human Rights.
SRSG met with Deputy Minister of Interior, Ms Eka Zguladze on 15 January to discuss the situation in the conflict zones.
SRSG had a meeting with the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, Mr Mikheil Machavariani on 18 January concerning the rules of Party Financing and the possible visit of MPs to Strasbourg about this matter.
On 16 January, SRSG attended the consultations on the World Bank Governance and Anti-Corruption Strategy organised by World Bank. SRSG expressed his views concerning this topic.
On 30 January, SRSG attended the meeting at the office of State Minister of Economic Development and discussed the future project for fight against corruption financed by the Dutch government.
On 31 January, SRSG met with Mr Guram Chalagashvili, Chairperson of CEC to discuss the upcoming elections in 2008.
3. Other Action/Coordination and cooperation with partner organisations
SRSG had several meetings with the representative of OSCE concerning election matters.
SRSG met with representatives of OSCE and NDI on 30 January to discuss the action plan for the preparation of the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.
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§ Information activities
Seminars and conferences
4 specialised meetings with the different groups of journalists, to be selected for the partnership in 2007. The co-operation will cover the highlighting of all CoE activities in general and locally.
Publications and Translations
Declaration of the Ministerial Conference to Launch the Kyiv Initiative Regional Programme; adopted in Bucharest, Romania, 15/12/2006.
Preparations for the 12th International Heritage Photographic Experience organised by Catalan (Spain) Directorate General of Cultural Heritage, under the auspices of CoE and EC.
Chisinau
1. Political and legislative developments
The meeting between Mr Traian Basescu, President of Romania, and Mr Vladimir Voronin, President of Moldova, on 16 January resulted in an agreement to open two consular offices in the cities of Balti and Cahul in order to facilitate the procedure for visa applications for travel to Romania. President Basescu also promised that Romania would continue to support Moldova in developing its co-operation with the countries of South-Eastern Europe, in particular with a view to the European integration perspective.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration confirmed on 26 January, that the Common Visa Application Centre to facilitate the granting of visas for EU member states for Moldovan citizens would be inaugurated on 1 April.
On 25 January, a meeting with mediators and observers chaired by Spain (OSCE Chair) took place in Madrid. Participants reaffirmed their commitment to respect the territorial integrity of Moldova when looking for solutions to the Transnistrian conflict. The mediators also forwarded invitations to the sides of the conflict to participate in the next meeting, which was preliminary scheduled to take place in a “5+2” format in Chisinau and Tiraspol in February.
At its session of 31 January, the “Supreme Soviet of Transnistria” adopted the Resolution to cancel its Decision of 6 January 1993, regarding the possibility to create a confederation with Moldova. Mr Evgheny Shevchuk, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet, communicated that Transnistria would secure a status not lower than that of Kosovo. Following the meeting with President Vladimir Voronin, the EU Special Representative for Moldova expressed the opinion that the future status of Kosovo could not be used as a precedent for solving the “frozen conflicts” in the region.
On 12 January, the police forces of Moldova and Transnistria caused tensions in the relationship on the position of the checkpoints on the route Cocieri-Dubosari-Ribnitsa. The conflict was temporarily resolved with the assistance of the OSCE. On 15 January two policemen from the Bender Police Commissariat were imprisoned by the Transnistrian Police Forces. They were released from custody on 17 January. This was accompanied by an appeal by the “Ministry of Foreign Affairs” of Transnistria to Russia and Ukraine to take all necessary measures to strengthen the existing peace-keeping mechanism.
The ATU Gagauzia Executive Council (Government) was appointed on 12 January. Mr Mikhai Formuzal, Bashkan (Governor) of the ATU Gagauzia, was nominated to the Government on 17 January by the Decree of the President. On 26 January the Gagauz Executive Council approved its Strategic Programme for 2007-2010.
On 15 January, Mr Valeriu BALBAN, Prosecutor General, was appointed Adviser to the President for Special Missions and Foreign Assistance Co-ordination by a Presidential Decree.
The Court of Appeal rejected on 9 January the request of the media personnel of the Antena C and Euro TV to annul the Decisions of the Chisinau Municipal Council of 30 November and 14 December regarding their reorganisation through privatisation and the announcement of tenders for sale of both local public media. The Chisinau Municipal Council approved on 22 January the sale of both media. On 23 January the broadcasting signal for the radio Antena C was re-established.
Ms Marian Slopac was appointed President of the Supervisory Board of Teleradio Moldova at its first meeting held on 23 January. The representatives of civil society within the Board refused to recognise this appointment due to the fact that there were no Board’s rules of procedures in place.
On 26 January, the group of 14 NGOs released a joint statement expressing concern about the changes and amendments to the Law on Public Associations approved by the Parliament in its first reading on 24 November. The group proposed that the draft legislation be submitted to the CoE for the expertise.
In its report on history textbooks at the beginning of January, the Academy of Science recommended the further use and gradual review of the textbooks in the next three years. The George Eckert Institute conveyed on 11 January, that it had not suggested the publishing of the textbook versions submitted to it for the appraisal of experts and had recommended that the textbooks be completely revised to meet the European methodological standards.
To be followed next month: possible resumption of the negotiation for a resolution to the Transnistrian conflict in the “5+2” format in Chisinau and Tiraspol.
2. Council of Europe action
Training for judges on “Integrity Improvement in Public Service Organisations through Self-assessment” was carried out from 15 to 18 January. It will enable the enforcement of self-evaluation of the risks of corruption within judicial institutions. It will also contribute to a more appropriate implementation of the principles of the rule of law and human rights in the judicial practice. It will be followed by two other training sessions in February and April. JP CoE/EC MOLICO.
A seminar entitled “Correlation between the police and population in the context of the implementation of the Code of Ethics and Deontology of the Police” was organised in co-operation with the Ministry of Interior from 24 to 25 January. It should improve the co-operation among the police, prosecution bodies and judiciary. It will facilitate the implementation of the Code of Ethics for Police and foster closer relations with the citizens as well. Further support for the implementation of the Code of Ethics and to enable the Police to get closer to the citizens’ activities would be desirable. JP CoE/EC Justice.
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§ Information activities
IOCE started its bi-annual dissemination of its latest publications to regional libraries in Moldova as well as creating a special information network on its website comprising libraries from 32 regions of Moldova, Gagauzia region (Comrat) and Transnistrian region (Dubasari).
IOCE provided assistance for organising the study visit of Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold (Switzerland, SOC) to Moldova on 4 - 6 February 2007, with the aim to prepare a report for the PACE on the disappearance of new-born babies for illegal adoption.
Publications and translations
Translation of the CoE press article: “Children have rights too!!”
On the occasion of the international data protection day, 20 January, IOCE translated CoE press releases and provided it to mass media.
Creating a special web page dedicated to the Kyiv Initiative Regional Programme, launched at Bucharest on 15 December 2006.
Belgrade
1. Political and legislative developments
Following a long lasting electoral campaign, the parliamentary elections were held, in a generally calm and orderly atmosphere, on 21 January. According to the official results, eleven political parties/coalitions will be represented in the Parliament of Serbia. The results clearly point out a victory of the so-called “Democratic block”, within which President Tadic’s Democratic party achieved the major progress in comparison with the last elections in 2003. Despite some fears about a potential voters’ fatigue, the total turnout was beyond all expectations, with the participation of 60,3% voters. It is worth noting that six out of twenty electoral lists represented minorities, and that for the first time in recent years Albanian minority parties participated in national elections. The International Observation mission comprising ODIHR and the CoE, OSCE and NATO Parliamentary Assemblies considered the election free and fair, stressing that significant progress towards ensuring a true expression of the will of the electorate has been achieved.
The real challenge now is to set up a new government which will probably demand a long lasting and tough negotiation. It seems that all parties in the democratic block have powerful cards to play. A first round of bilateral consultations between President Tadic and parliamentary parties has ended without any concrete result. There are at least two major issues affecting the ongoing consultations. One is related to the Kosovo status prospects, for which DSS requires a prior and absolute consensus based on their own platform. Another is the post of Prime Minister, which makes a possible compromise even more uncertain. At the same time, minority parties, with their 7 seats, are trying to make an agreement on setting up a joint MP club, showing a will to become part of the new government. The new Parliament has to be constituted within 30 days after the elections and the new government within 90 days after the constitution of the Parliament.
Before starting any substantial talks on the make up of the new government, DSS coalition insists that all parties should make a consensus on the country territorial integrity and the principles on which to pursue the policy towards Kosovo. These principles embodied in the so called Platform on Kosovo are mainly based on the recently adopted Serbian Constitution and assert that Kosovo must represent an undeniable part of the territory of the Republic of Serbia for its government. It is also stated in the platform that ‘should any country or international organisation decide to recognize Kosovo as an independent entity, the Government should inform all foreign governments that it would consider such a decision “illegitimate, nul and void”. These principles are an essential prerequisite to any further discussions on the new government, the platform concludes. This document will obviously delay the formation of the new government and represents a message to the international community on the eve of Kosovo status resolution.
UN special envoy for Kosovo Ahtisaari submitted to the UN SG and to the Contact group a proposal for resolving the Kosovo status. According to diplomatic sources, this proposal mainly recommends limited independence for Kosovo along with leading role for the EU in controlling the function of its institutions and a great attention devoted to the protection of the Serb minority and its cultural heritage. Ahtisaari is expected to visit both Belgrade and Pristina on 2 February in order to present the proposal to the respective authorities. However neither the Serbian Prime Minister nor the Belgrade negotiation team showed readiness to meet him, arguing that the present government is a technical one, and as such not entitled to run foreign affairs. DSS spokesperson condemned Ahtisaari’s early visit, saying that he should wait until the new government is formed and then disclose his proposed solution. On his side, President Tadic reiterated that he would meet UN Special envoy explaining that he firmly stands behind the state’s policy on Kosovo that has already been formulated during Vienna talks and accepted by the Serbian parliament in November 2005.
Against this background, European diplomatic action towards Serbia is getting new momentum. The EU Troika is planning to visit Belgrade on 7 of February, in order to discuss the “European perspective” of Serbia. After the session of the EU Foreign Ministers on 22 January in Brussels, Slovenian Minister Dimitrij Rupel assessed that the EU would probably continue the dialogue with Serbia on Stabilization and Association Agreement after the government is formed. However the chief prosecutor of the U.N. war crimes tribunal Carla del Ponte initiated a meeting with EU officials on 31 January, sending them a message of renewed firmness regarding full cooperation with the ICTY.
2. Council of Europe Action
Significant progress has been made in the discussions on a new joint Project with EAR dedicated to the “Evaluation of the Implementation of the National Judicial Reform Strategy”. The main aim of this project would be to assess, in close cooperation with the Strategy Implementation Commission (SIC) and the Strategy Implementation Secretariat (SIS), the results achieved so far in the implementation of the Strategy (including adopted draft legislation) from the aspect of their internal coherence and compatibility with the European standards.
On 12 January, the SRSG also presented to the Head of the EC Delegation in Belgrade ideas on possible priority activities for Serbia for the period 2007-2009. On that occasion, prospects for future cooperation within the forthcoming IPA program, particularly regarding judiciary reforms, the fight against corruption, minority rights protection and education have been discussed.
The Belgrade Office issued two revised media publications in Serbian language “Compendium of legal instruments relevant for the media” and “Case-law concerning Article 10 of the ECHR”. The Council of Europe also organised a Round table on the European Convention on Transfrontier Television: the way to ratification.
Within the project on Strengthening Local Self Government, the Belgrade office had a number of meetings with interlocutors regarding the preparation of the round table on the new legal framework for municipal property.
The PACO Serbia - project against economic crime supported the visit of 8 local cybercrime experts to the High Tech Crime Unit in London, in the period of 21-26 January.
3. Other action /Coordination and cooperation with partner organisations
During this month, the Belgrade office had a number of coordination meetings with the Judicial Training Centre, the Supreme Court of Serbia, the Government Agent of the Republic of Serbia, the Open Society Fund and the Commissioner for the Free Access to Information.
The CoE office also took part in the Conference on Regional Cooperation in the Balkans and its European perspective, organised by the Center for regionalism and European Movement in Serbia, on 19 January in Belgrade.
In addition, the Office participated in the EU masters program at the Novi Sad University, on 20 January, presenting CoE achievements, especially in the context of the EU integration process.
4. Council of Europe profile
The first half of January was mostly dedicated to the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Serbia in terms of media coverage. The PACE observation delegation was widely mentioned in media, along with OSCE and NATO observers. Upon the announcement of the election results, the statement of the CoE Secretary General, Mr Terry Davis, on the parliamentary elections in Serbia was broadcasted by the main TV stations (RTS, B92, TV Avala) and all major daily press (Politika, Danas, Glas Javnosti, Vecernje Novosti).
The PACE session was extensively covered by nearly all media in Serbia, focusing on the report on Kosovo by Lord Russell-Johnston and the speech of UN Special Envoy on the status of Kosovo, Marti Ahtisaari. A number of other CoE activities, in particular the CEB loan project to support the refugee housing issue in Serbia and the activities carried out with the Standing conference of Towns and Municipalities under the local self government project were also covered by Serbian media.
Podgorica
1. Political and legislative developments
On 22 January, the Council of the European Union adopted the European Partnership Document for Montenegro among the key principles of which is the adoption of the new Constitution based on broad consensus and in line with European standards, especially in the fields of human and minority rights, organization of judiciary and control of defense and security forces. It was emphasized that “in order to adequately response to the European Partnership, the Montenegrin authorities shall develop the action plan with specific measures.”
After the Constitutional Court rejected two opposition initiatives, one relating to the Law on Constitutional Assembly and another one relating to the Law on Procedure and Promulgation of the New Constitution, the Constitutional Committee continued its work on 16 January, with the participation of the opposition representatives. The Committee agreed on its future method of work and constituted three sub-committees that would work on different parts of the Constitution: on the separation and organisation of powers, on constitutionality and legality and on human rights and freedoms Working versions of these parts were finalized and discussed by the Committee on 26 January. The subcommittees will work on further details of these chapters that should be discussed early February. The subcommittees did not deal with the basic provisions and the preamble, which will be discussed in the Committee’s plenum at a later stage.
On Tuesday, 23 January, the Political Committee of the PACE delivered a list of seven principles to be adopted by Montenegro prior to the elaboration of its Opinion on Montenegro’s accession to the Council of Europe. The list contains requirements such as the definition of Montenegro as a civic state, the prohibition of death penalty, retro-active applicability of the ECHR, avoiding of any decisive role of political institutions in the procedure of appointment and dismissal of judges and prosecutors etc. According to the first reactions, the parliamentary political forces find these principles acceptable, except for the Serb List, which does not agree with the principle of Montenegro being defined as a civic state. The Speaker held a meeting in Parliament on Monday, 29 January, where it was decided that a working group should be formed in order to prepare a text of Resolution on these seven principles that would be adopted in Parliament “in February”.
Investigative judge of the High Court filed with the Basic Prosecutor criminal charges against several police officers involved in the Eagle’s Flight operation for the exceed of force, maltreatment, torture and extortion of statement. Following the criminal charges pressed against the persons arrested in this operation, the Special Prosecutor, Stojanka Radovic, received threats after which the security measures of the Special Prosecutor were re-enforced.
On 11 January, the Serb list, Movement for Changes, SNP, NS and DSS submitted to Parliament a Resolution for Responsibility on Failure to Solve the Murder of Dusko Jovanovic and asked for this Resolution to be adopted at an extraordinary session of Parliament. The Parliament rejected this Resolution due to the "lack of constitutional grounds" at the extraordinary session held on 30 January.
To be followed next month: work of the Constitutional Committee, adoption of the Resolution on the seven principles needed for the accession to the Council of Europe.
2. Council of Europe Action
Within the Joint PACE/EAR Joint Initiative to Support Parliamentary Institutions, a study visit to the Parliamentary Assembly was organised for a high-level parliamentary delegation composed of the Vice-Speaker and representatives of major parliamentary forces including the opposition representatives, on 21-25 January 2007. On the occasion of this visit, the delegation attended the PACE Political Committee session and discussed the accession of Montenegro to the CoE with both the Political Committee members as well as the CoE rapporteurs. PACE 16769
Following the delivery of the report “Fiscal Equalization in Montenegro” in late December 2006, the CoE representatives and experts met the Minister of Finance and his deputy on 25 January 2007 to discuss the issues related to fiscal de-centralisation - more specifically the issue of the equalization fund distribution in Montenegro.
In accordance with the commitments undertaken during the Regional Workshop for Local Trainers to review and Upgrade the Training Materials for Financial Investigations held in Belgrade (16-17 November 2006), the second training seminar in this area was held in Podgorica on 24-25 January 2007. The seminar brought together representatives of police, prosecution and judges focusing on strengthening the capacities of the law enforcement agencies in conducting financial investigation aimed at confiscating the proceeds from crime.
Following this activity the meeting between the CoE representatives and the representatives of the Montenegrin Police, Prosecution and Police Academy was organized on 26 January 2007. The aim of the meeting was to review the state of implementation of the Regional Strategy on Tools Against Organized and Economic Crime (Brijuni Strategy) as well as to define future steps in implementation of the above-mentioned Strategy. CEAD 16982
Pristina
1. Political and legislative developments
January was the month of expectation of official disclosure of UN Special Envoy Ahtisaari’s Proposal on the future Status of Kosovo. Unofficially the content was already widely spread and assessed rather positively by local politicians.
In this context debates in the PACE on Current situation in Kosovo were extensively commented in the media: at first the overwhelming feeling was that by not supporting paragraph 4 of the Resolution, which mentioned that “conditional independence” for Kosovo would be the best solution, Europe has, in a way, shown its weakness. Later several local politicians have rectified in a positive way the perception of what had happened in Strasbourg.
UN SRSG’s visit to Council of Europe was another event widely commented by local media, based on UNMIK’s Press Release.
Political figures and media showed little interest or concern over elections held on 21 January in Serbia, but still stressing that results showed “radical state of mind” among Serbs.
US special envoy Frank Wisner paid a visit to Kosovo on 6 January. He was quoted by local media as saying: “We and our friends in Moscow started the work on Kosovo’s issue together and we will conclude it together.” According to Wisner, Ahtisaari’s proposal from the US point of view is excellent and it is a good ground for further discussions.
After long debates, the Working Group on Elections agreed that the next Parliamentary elections would use a proportional system with open lists, unlike the closed lists used in previous elections.
2. Council of Europe action
On 10 January, the Legal Assistant participated in the Educator’s Development Program (EDP) seminar. The aim of the seminar was to present and share the experiences and lessons learned from this project and introduce a book which has been published by the EDP - “ Facilitating Change”. There was a request addressed to local institutions, agencies, local and international NGO’s and organizations, who are active in the field of education, to further support the Ministry in Education in their education reform programmes.
On 15 January, the Deputy Head and the Legal Assistant attended a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Legislation, where the CoE was asked to continue and extend its support in legislation making processes.
On 15 January 2007 the Head of Office and the Deputy met Mr Hyseni, Chairman of the Committee on Legislation and agreed that CoE would be the main advisor in the future on legislation which falls under its expertise. As a consequence of this co-operation, the Deputy Head of the Office and the Legal Officer attended the next meeting of the Legislative Committee where problems around the adoption of the CoE Convention on Cybercrime as a domestic legislative act were discussed.
3. Other Action/Coordination and cooperation with partner organisations
A training of Judges on Alternative Dispute Resolution was organized by the CoE on 31 January in association with Kosovo Judicial Institute.
4. General Security Situation
Early in the morning of 3 January 2007 on the Pristina-Mitrovica highway near Babimovc/Babin Most village (majority Serbs) a bullet struck and killed KPS Officer Avni Kasumi while he was riding in a civilian vehicle driven by a civilian. Two other KPS officers were in the vehicle at the time of the shooting. KPS searched several houses in the village and briefly detained several persons for having illegal weapons. No suspects have yet been arrested.
Tirana
1. Political and legislative developments
After months of disagreements between the Majority and the Opposition over the electoral reform and the preparation of the forthcoming local elections, the President of the Republic Alfred Moisiu convened on 9 January a Roundtable of all parliamentary parties, in order to resolve the crisis. The Secretary General of the CoE and the Secretary General of the OSCE issued a joint statement supporting the President’s effort to mediate. As the roundtable continued during the following days, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities was carrying out its pre-electoral mission in Albania.
On the night of 12 to 13 January, an Agreement among the parliamentary parties was signed under the mediation of President of the Republic Alfred Moisiu. This was followed by the consensual adoption on 13 January in the Assembly of amendments to the Constitution (aimed at increasing the number of Central Election Commission (CEC) members from seven to nine as well as extending the mandate of the local leaders from three to four years), and amendments to the electoral code (related to the appointment of CEC members, the functioning of the CEC, the new composition of Local Government Election Commissions (LGECS), the requests for invalidation of elections and appeals, the special timelines for the 2007 local government elections, and the votes on birth certificates in the 2007 local elections). The Assembly also adopted amendments to the electronic media law (Law 8410) concerning the composition and decision making of the National Council of Radio and Television and the Steering Council of the Albanian Radio and Television.
On 14 January, the President of the Republic decreed 18 February 2007, as the new election date. On 15 January, the CEC started working on the implementation of the amendments passed in the Assembly relating to the composition of the LGECS and to the registration of political parties and candidates. The official election campaign started on 20 January.
On 19 January, the President of the Republic called all political parties to approve and respect the Code of Conduct that had been used for the 2005 Parliamentary Elections. On 22 January, the President created a working group with NGOs tasked to monitor the Code of Conduct for the forthcoming local government elections. Five political parties signed the Code of Conduct on 28 January.
Sokol Olldashi resigned on 18 January from his post as Minister of Interior and from his parliamentary mandate as he is running for the Democratic Party as a candidate for Mayor of Tirana.
On 11 January, the Representative of IMF in Albania commented that the current power crisis in Albania would soon have negative effects on the country’s economy. On 15 January, the Representative of the WB in Albania put the blame on the Albanian Power Corporation for the power crisis. On 22 January, the Government granted a 20-million-USD loan to the Albanian Power Corporation for purchasing electricity on the international markets.
On 30 January, the CEC and the Albanian Power Corporation signed an agreement ensuring 24-hour-a-day power supply on the day of the local government elections and on the days following the elections.
2. Council of Europe action
In the light of the forthcoming local elections in Albania, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities organised a pre-electoral mission to Albania from 10 to 14 January. The delegation met with government officials, parliamentarians, members of the CEC, local elected representatives as well as representatives of the political parties, the international community in Albania and other international observer organisations.
From 18 to 19 January, the Secretariat (DG I) organised a regional workshop in Vlora (Albania) on management skills, in the framework of the Joint Programme EC/CoE on Support to the Training of Court Administrators in Albania. Presidents of the courts, chancellors and chief secretaries from Vlora (District Court and Court of Appeals), Gjirokastër District Court, Tepelena District Court, as well as representatives of the Albanian Ministry of Justice, School of Magistrates and Office of the Administration of Judicial Budget participated in the workshop. The main themes included improving communication skills, decision-making processes, management of budget and human resources and recruitment procedures within the judicial administration.
After consultations with local partners in Albania, a meeting took place on 11 January at the Council of Europe office in Tirana to define the steps to be taken in the view of the opening of a School of Political Studies in Albania as soon as possible. This meeting was attended by Albanian personalities from the civil society, the CoE Secretariat (DGAP) and the Director of the Bulgarian School of Political Studies.
3. Other action / coordination and cooperation with partner organisations
On 16 January, the Special Adviser chaired the weekly Election Working Group meeting, which gathered together international partners and donors interested in the electoral process. During January, CoE office in Albania participated in the political briefings organised by the ODIHR Election Observation Mission in Albania.
In the framework of the Data Protection Day, the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with INSTAT organised an informative meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 21 January. The meeting was attended by representatives from various institutions such as the Ombudsman, Ministry of Justice, NGOs, with the participation of the CoE office in Albania.
On 30 January, the CoE office in Albania participated at the signing ceremony of the Civil Registry Project financed by the EC Delegation in Albania and implemented by the OSCE Mission in Albania. Complementary assistance to this project will be made available through contributions from the U.S. Government and support from the CoE and Statistics Norway. The project aims at building the legal framework and relevant infrastructure for a modern and up to standard Civil Registry and Address System in Albania. Within this framework, the CoE will support the creation, review and improvement of the data protection legal framework, in order to provide a sound basis for the establishment of the civil register.
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§ Information actvities
Seminars, conferences and other activities:
Expected Result 1
- Translation of the Resolution 1538 (2007) on honouring and commitments by Albania
- Updating of the Office website
- Introduction of CoE, its institutions, values, programs to a group of 20 students
- IOCE director participated in a Data Protection Day organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Institute of Statistics and gave an introduction on the CoE Convention on Automatic Processing of Personal Data.
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Expected Result 2
- Translation of “The rights of children” (children’s journal)
Expected Result 3
- IOCE assisted the organisation of the visit of a pre-electoral mission of the Congress from 9-13 January in Albania
- IOCE assisted and organised the visit of Mr François Friedrich and the first meeting of the cofounders of the Albanian School of Political Studies
- IOCE assisted the organisation and the program of the electoral mission of the Congress in Albania
- IOCE assisted the Special Adviser in her work and activities