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EMBARGO UNTIL DELIVERY D 04(2022)
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY 25.01.2022
Communication of the Committee of Ministers
presented by
Benedetto DELLA VEDOVA
Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and International Co-operation of Italy
on the occasion of the
first part of the 2022 Ordinary Session
of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly
(Strasbourg, 24-28 January 2022)
(Extract of the verbatim records)
Mr President of the Parliamentary Assembly, Madam Secretary General, members of parliament, ambassadors, ladies and gentlemen,
I am pleased to be here before you today and to keep alive the traditional channel of dialogue between the Presidency of the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly.
I would first like to express my sincere congratulations and best wishes for the newly elected President of the Assembly, Mr Tiny KOX, and confirm our full readiness to work together towards our common goals. At the same time, I would like to express my gratitude to the outgoing President Mr Rik DAEMS for all the work which he has done.
In the framework of the constant institutional dialogue with the Parliamentary Assembly that we strongly support, I would like to mention the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Luigi DI MAIO to the Standing Committee of the Assembly in Rome last November.
Here today, I intend to review the main activities of the Committee of Ministers since the last session of the Parliamentary Assembly, and to review the most important developments related to the priorities set by the Italian Presidency. I would like to remind you that a detailed document has been circulated.
Let me first re-affirm my firm conviction that the Council of Europe is a fundamental part of the collective effort to counter global challenges.
It represents the continental emblem of the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms and the expression of a multilateral vocation. Italy fully endorses this. We see the Council at the forefront of this.
Our continent has a consolidated tradition in the protection of rights, an advanced maturity of public opinion, regulatory and operational tools that can allow us to face the most difficult challenges, such as the current pandemic, without failing to respect the fundamental principles of co-existence, respect for human rights, promotion of democracy and the rule of law.
Unfortunately, there is no absence of backward forces, yet the Council of Europe is a joint project, desired and affirmed by its member countries. We have built its principles and values together. It is therefore the Member States themselves that must give this body substance and it is more important than ever, to pursue dialogue and co-existence.
Faced with situations of conflict and growing tensions in some parts of the continent, the Council of Europe's responsibilities in maintaining peace are even stronger. Peace, from the point of view of ensuring that the great achievements of European civilization can be upheld, is one of the priorities of the Italian Presidency.
For this reason, one of the priorities of the Italian Presidency is to promote a renewed commitment to common principles and values, starting from issues of common interest such as culture, the legal tools that are proposed to be available to States to deal with the pandemic; the protection of social rights; inter-religious dialogue.
This common ground, this willingness to engage in dialogue and inclusion, must serve to consolidate our common responsibilities.
Precisely for this reason, it is essential that the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights be executed, thus ensuring the efficiency of the supervisory system, which is a specific characteristic of the Council of Europe.
The action of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, in its capacity as the body responsible for supervising the execution of judgments, remains of crucial importance for the stability and credibility of the system. In this context, as the President of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, I hope for a prompt resolution of the open cases, including the Kavala and Navalny cases, in line with the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.
In this sphere of common responsibility, the protection of women's and children's rights holds an important place.
Italy continues to be convinced that the Istanbul Convention is the most advanced tool for combating violence against women and domestic violence, and for this reason its Presidency intends to encourage those States – that have not yet done so – to sign and ratify the Convention.
In this context, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November), the Minister for Equal Opportunities and the Family, Ms Elena BONETTI, issued a joint statement with the Secretary General Ms Marija PEJČINOVIĆ-BURIĆ to further promote the Istanbul Convention.
The Italian Presidency gives priority to the theme of the empowerment of women, and in particular to the reconciliation between private and professional life, an aspect of particular relevance in the context of the health crisis to which a specific event will be dedicated in Italy.
The fight against discrimination of LGBTI people will have a prominent place. In Italy, we will host a meeting of the LGBTI Network and we will work to give the issue more and more relevance in the context of the program of work of the Council of Europe against discrimination.
Yesterday, the Parliamentary Assembly held a debate on children's rights, from which very interesting points emerged, as well as indications that we can largely share on the future work programme of the Council of Europe.
In the context of our presidency, a special event on the specific theme of "Making the circle of trust truly safe for children" was organized on 18 November on the occasion of End Child Sex Abuse Day.
The Committee of Ministers also adopted a recommendation on measures aimed at the protection of children against radicalisation for terrorist purposes, aimed at addressing the problem of the particular vulnerability of children to messages from terrorist associations and groups, conveyed through social media.
Finally, the new Council of Europe Strategy on the Rights of the Child will be launched at a high-level event in Rome on 7 and 8 April 2022.
Fighting counterfeit medicines has never been more important than it is today – not only to protect the health of our citizens – but also to inspire confidence in the fight against the pandemic. Hence, the importance of the MEDICRIME Convention of the Council of Europe, which is the only international instrument with the purpose of preventing and combating threats to public health.
On 25 November, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Convention, the Committee of Ministers invited interested states – that have not yet done so – to ratify it.
The program of the Italian Presidency includes a specific focus on the effective response of national social-health systems to the pandemic crisis, to which a specific online conference will be dedicated.
Cultural cooperation will also receive a renewed impetus with the organisation of a meeting of the Ministers of Culture (the last one in the framework of the Council of Europe took place in 2013) on 1 April, which aims to revitalise the existing tools, and to identify new initiatives for collaboration in this area.
On the subject of co-operation in the sports sector, last month, the Committee of Ministers adopted a recommendation on the revised European Charter for Sport, which formulates the principle of the "Right to Sport".
On 6 and 7 December, the Italian Department of Sport co-organized a Conference on Fairness in Sport in Rome, to take stock of the work developed in three main areas:
- preparation of guidelines on sport fairness
- fight against manipulation of sport competitions
- good governance in sport.
An informal Committee of Ministers on Human Rights and Sport was also held on 20 January 2022.
Debates on soccer governance and sports policies in times of crisis, which will be held in the Parliamentary Assembly tomorrow, will therefore be given extreme attention.
A high-level meeting was held on 18 October 2021, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the opening at the signing of the Social Charter in Turin. On that occasion, the Committee of Ministers adopted a declaration that reaffirmed the eminent role of the European Social Charter in guaranteeing and promoting social rights in Europe and reaffirmed its determination to ensure its effectiveness.
As a concrete follow-up, the Committee of Ministers also established a Working Group on the Implementation of the Social Charter System, with the task of making proposals and proposing solutions, for the May ministerial, to improve the implementation of the principles of the Charter and its monitoring mechanisms.
We expect that in May, it will be possible to reach an agreement to define the scope of action of the Council of Europe on a central issue for our future – that of the use of artificial intelligence – not to limit development, but to ensure that it is expressed in terms that respect human rights. A mix of non-binding and binding instruments seems the most appropriate solution and in line with the orientation of the membership. I hope that on the occasion of the May ministerial meeting, the start of negotiations for the definition of an appropriate transversal regulatory instrument can be announced and that they can proceed rapidly.
The Council of Europe has a regional dimension, but it also has a capacity to assert itself globally, as evidenced by the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime.
On 17 November, the Committee of Ministers adopted a Second Additional Protocol to the Convention that strengthens co-operation on the collection and dissemination of electronic evidence. The opening for signature of the protocol will take place under the Italian Presidency. As soon as in force, this instrument will represent a valuable aid for our respective national authorities in the fight against the complex and rampant scourge of cybercrime.
On 12 January 2022, the Committee of Ministers has endorsed the Venice Declaration on Restorative Justice in Europe, adopted at the Conference of Ministers of Justice of the Council of Europe, organised in mid-December by the Italian Presidency.
Italy wanted to give particular emphasis to restorative justice, which is an innovative complementary dimension of the traditional approach to criminal justice, although not new for the Council of Europe, which has already dealt with this issue, with reference to justice for children, under the Georgian Presidency. The conclusions of the Ministers of Justice in Venice last December represent a step forward which the Council of Europe is now called upon to make operational.
We sincerely hope that in 2022, there will be progress in the resolution of the conflict in Georgia and the reduction of tensions and conflicts in other geographical areas of the Council of Europe, such as Ukraine and the South Caucasus region.
With regard to the conflict in Georgia, the Committee continues to closely monitor developments on the ground, thanks to the valuable information provided by the Secretary General in her biennial summary reports. Last November, the Committee viewed and reflected on the Secretary-General's new report on respect for human rights in conflict zones, with particular reference to the civilian population and displaced persons.
The principle of respect for the territorial integrity of States and that of the peaceful resolution of disputes must remain our points of reference. In this context, we hope that the Council of Europe, although not having among its institutional tasks security issues, as the Secretary General has just mentioned, will continue to offer itself as a forum for dialogue.
The Council of Europe continues to provide assistance to its member states to support their efforts to implement at the national level the Council's standards on human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Last December, the Committee of Ministers adopted a new Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period 2022-2025.
Assistance is also provided to countries that are not members of the Council of Europe, such as Morocco and Tunisia, with which the Council has close relations and with which it has concluded or signed partnership agreements until 2025.
The issues of enhanced co-operation with other international organisations, the reform of the Neighbourhood Policy and the contribution made by the Council of Europe to sustainable development and international order remain relevant and require our reflection.
Last November, Mr President, the Committee of Ministers adopted by consensus the Programme and Budget 2022-2025, presented for the first time in a four-year strategic perspective, as agreed at the Hamburg Ministerial last May. The budget cycle remains on a two-year basis and we agreed to implement a Mid-Term Review during 2023.
The Ministers' Committee adopted the budget on the basis of zero real growth, which allows for inflation recovery and maintains an adequate level of financial resources.
The decisions of the Committee of Ministers were accompanied by the implementation of administrative reforms, such as the new Staff Regulations, and the establishment of "results based management approaches" and working methodologies.
I am particularly pleased with this outcome, which was by no means a foregone conclusion. Adjustments will be possible, and even welcome, as the work progresses, but the direction is set. It is necessary to give security and perspective to The Organisation. These are the indications of the Secretary General Ms Marija PEJČINOVIĆ-BURIĆ, starting from the Strategic Framework, that we have made our own and that allow us to look with more serenity at the material future of The Organisation.
Also in this perspective, we consider it essential to continue to work together with the Parliamentary Assembly, respecting the respective competences and the specific statutory provisions. We will therefore work to ensure that communication between the two bodies is further developed and deepened. We will explore them together, just as it will be useful to try to exploit every possible synergy.
In conclusion indeed Mr President, I am pleased to announce that the meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Council of Europe will be held on 20 May 2022 in Turin.
Thank you for your attention.