Adopting its final agenda at the opening of the 2020 Winter Session, the Assembly decided to hold an urgent debate on the theme “International obligations concerning the repatriation of children from war zones”, as well as a current affairs debate on “Recent developments in Libya and in the Middle East: what consequences for Europe?”. The Session opened this morning with the election of Rik Daems (Belgium, ALDE) as the new PACE President.
The Presidents of Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, as well as the Georgian Foreign Minister and President of the Committee of Ministers and the newly-elected Secretary General of the Council of Europe, will address PACE and answer questions.
Debates on the agenda include a complementary joint procedure between the Committee of Ministers and the Assembly in response to a serious violation by a member State of its statutory obligations, the functioning of democratic institutions in Poland, and reported cases of political prisoners in Azerbaijan.
Parliamentarians will also discuss threats to media freedom and journalists’ security, a report on “Democracy hacked? How to respond?” and the protection of freedom of religion in the workplace.
The Assembly will hold two joint debates – one on migrant trafficking and missing refugee and migrant children, and another on organ transplant tourism and trafficking in human tissues and cells.
A report on minimum standards for electoral systems and a report on the observation of elections in Belarus are also on the agenda.
Related items
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2023 Winter session: the legal and human rights aspects of Russia's aggression against Ukraine
An urgent debate* on the legal and human rights aspects of the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine, with the participation of Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Center for Civil Liberties, 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, will be among the highlights of the Winter plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), to be held in Strasbourg from 23 to 27 January 2023.
#OnTheRoadToReykjavik, a report on the fourth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe, to be held in the Icelandic capital on 16 and 17 May, will present PACE's proposals.
There will also be addresses by the Prime Minister of Iceland Katrin Jakobsdóttir and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. The Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić will present her communication to PACE members. The Assembly will also elect its President and Vice-Presidents.
Combating violence against women will also be a focus of the session, with a first debate on conflict-related sexual violence, and a second joint debate on the Istanbul Convention, on the role and responsibility of men and boys in stopping gender-based violence against women and girls, and on finding solutions for marital captivity.
Other topics on the agenda include the environmental impact of armed conflict, Daesh foreign fighters and their families returning from Syria and elsewhere, and the ethical, cultural and educational challenges of contact tracing applications.
* The Assembly will decide its final agenda at the opening of the session.
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The final document of the International Conference "Dialogue is a Guarantee of Peace", held in Ashgabat on December 11, 2022 in the frames of the Ashgabat International Week, was published in the six official languages of the UN (A/77/651) as an official document of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly under paragraph 14 Agenda "Culture of Peace".
The document reflects the fundamental goals and principles of the UN Charter, which include obligations to resolve disputes by peaceful means and methods. In this context, the document emphasizes that inclusive dialogue in its various manifestations plays an important role in strengthening relations and cooperation among UN member states.
The Outcome Document also supports the initiative of the UN Secretary General on the formation of a New Agenda for Building Peace, which is consonant with the initiative of Turkmenistan to promote the philosophy of "Dialogue as a guarantee of peace".
In addition, the published document notes the need to implement global strategies and programs of the UN, in particular, the joint implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Final Document emphasizes that the policy of neutrality plays an important role in the development of a peaceful dialogue, trusting, friendly and mutually beneficial relations between the countries of the world and contributes to the strengthening of international peace and security at the regional and global levels. At the same time, the importance of preventive diplomacy is emphasized, in particular, the effective activities of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia in Ashgabat in order to support the efforts of the world community to peacefully resolve conflicts in the interests of maintaining peace, as well as the need to develop and strengthen preventive diplomacy tools.
The Global Initiative “Dialogue is a Guarantee of Peace” promoted by Turkmenistan is aimed at consolidating the efforts of the international community in strengthening the traditions of peaceful and trusting coexistence of the peoples of the world, restoring values and worldviews, defining a culture of peace and trust as an integral factor in international relations.
The conference “Dialogue is a Guarantee of Peace”, which laid the foundation for the launch in 2023 of the Global Campaign for Dialogue as a Guarantee of Peace, has become a clear confirmation that Turkmenistan, being an active member of the world community, is not limited only to putting forward significant initiatives aimed at developing wide international cooperation that meets the fundamental interests of all countries and peoples, but also takes consistent steps towards their practical implementation.
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On December 6, 2022, the 45th plenary meeting of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly was held. During the meeting, the General Assembly considered the draft resolution "International Year of Dialogue as a Guarantee of Peace, 2023", submitted by Turkmenistan under agenda item 14 "Culture of Peace".
Presenting the draft resolution, the Turkmen delegation stressed that the President of Turkmenistan for the first time put forward the global initiative "Dialogue is a guarantee of peace" in December 2021 during the International Conference "Policy of peace and trust - the basis of international security, stability and development".
The delegation of Turkmenistan noted that the draft resolution "International Year of Dialogue as a Guarantee of Peace, 2023" was prepared after a wide range of consultations between UN member countries, taking into account all constructive opinions and proposals.
The document reflects the fundamental purposes and principles of the UN Charter, above all the obligation to settle disputes by peaceful means and the determination to save future generations from the scourge of war. The draft resolution confirms that inclusive dialogue in its various manifestations plays an important role in strengthening relations and cooperation among member states.
Presenting the draft resolution, the delegation of Turkmenistan paid special attention to the fact that on December 11 this year Turkmenistan will host the International Conference “Dialogue is a Guarantee of Peace”, which will create a platform for a broad exchange of views on the topics covered in the draft resolution and lay the foundation for launching 2023 Global Campaign for Dialogue as a Guarantee of Peace. The delegation of Turkmenistan invited all member countries and agencies of the United Nations to take an active part in the upcoming Forum.
After discussions, this resolution was adopted by consensus. The resolution was co-sponsored by 68 member countries of the Organization.
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Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili is visiting France to attend high-ranking meetings in Strasbourg and Paris.
The president will participate in the World Forum for Democracy 2022 and the Paris Peace Forum.
According to the President’s press office, Zourabichvili will meet with Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, and PACE President Tiny Kox.
On the sidelines of the World Forum for Democracy, Zurabishvili will also meet the Prime Minister of Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir.
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The Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili, wrote a letter to the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Martinus Tiny Kox, stating that the inclusion of Mikheil Saakashvili in the amendment to the Resolution changes the essence and spirit of the Resolution and undermines the fundamental values of PACE and the credibility of the organisation in upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law across Europe. "News Day Georgia" offers this statement in full:
To the PACE President, Tiny Kox
Mr. President,
A long-standing partnership of the Parliament of Georgia with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe allows me to address you with regards to Resolution 2463 (2022): “Further escalation in the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine, debated under the urgent procedure of the fourth part of the ordinary session. Despite our full solidarity to Ukraine in the face of the Russian aggression, approval of the following amendment has prevented the members of the Georgian Delegation from supporting the Resolution: “the Assembly calls on the Russian authority for the immediate release of Vladimir Kara-Murza. The Assembly also calls for a review of cases of other political prisoners opposed to Putin in the Russian Federation and other countries, and for their release (including Mikheil Saakashvili – a Ukrainian citizen and former President of Georgia)”.We believe that the inclusion of Mikheil Saakashvili in this amendment (a) changes the essence and spirit of the Resolution, and (b) undermines the fundamental values of PACE and the credibility of organization in upholding human rights, democracy and rules of law across Europe. The European Court of Human Rights issued over 100 judgements during Mr. Saakashvili’s rule, including 13 cases on Article 2 (right to life), 34 cases on Article 3 (prohibition of torture), 15 cases on Article 5 (right to liberty and security), and 44 cases on Article 6 (right to a fair trial). Moreover, the Court underlined in its Alexander Girgvliani murder case (Enukidze and Girgvliani v. Georgia) that Mr. Saakashvili hindered an effective investigation and appropriate punishment.
The Report on Human Rights Development in Georgia in 2004-2012 made by Mr. Thomas Hammamberg, former Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and the EU Special Adviser on Constitutional and Legal Reform and Human Rights in Georgia in 2013 is a testament to systemic violations of the Convention-related rights during Saakashvili’s presidency. It identifies an alarming situation in areas of judiciary, penitentiary, law enforcement, rights of minorities, rights to take part in public affairs, freedom of expression, assembly and association, and social justice. Mr. Saakashvili has been convicted in Georgia in two criminal cases (the one on the above-mentioned Girgvliani case and the other on organizing an attack against opposition MP Valeri Gelashvili).
Three other criminal cases are pending (on the exceeding and abusing of official powers during the breaking up of anti-government protests on November 7, 2007, and the subsequence seizure of Imedi TV, an independent television broadcaster; on embezzlement of funds from the State Protection Service for personal use; and on illegal crossing of the Georgian state border). The ECHR refused to accept Mr. Saakashvili’s case regarding his treatment by Georgia’s penitentiary system. ECHR has found there were no “special circumstances” in the application relating to respect for human rights, which would have required the body to continue the examination of the case.
The decision of the European Court has once again confirmed that the rights and interests of Mikheil Saakashvili were fully protected in the penitentiary system per the standards of the ECHR. Georgia has both a clear track record of protecting human rights, democracy and rule of law since 2012 and closely cooperating with the ECHR in implementing its judgements. Georgian cases to the ECHR dropped 5,5 times in 2013-2021 compared to Mr. Saakashvili’s rule in 2004-2012, owing to the progress in credibility, independence and professionalism of the Georgian courts.
This progress has been duly reflected in the Resolution 2438 “The honoring of obligations and commitments by Georgia” adopted by the Assembly during the second part of the 2022 ordinary session. Having this in mind, we believe there is no evidence of political motivations in the charges against Mr. Saakashvili other than politically-driven speculations. Therefore, the adoption of language as in amendment 4 represents an unsubstantiated challenge for the Georgian legal system, invites unjustified suspicion against our country in international fora and undermines Georgia’s reform progress in human rights and the rule of law since 2012.
More importantly, the unfounded provisions on Mr. Saakshvili jeopardize the credibility of PACE within the wider Georgian public and erode our efforts to solidify support for the ambitious reform agenda aligned with recommendations of the relevant PACE resolutions.
We remain hopeful that PACE members will in future be guided only by the best interests of the organization and its fundamental values. We stand ready to provide detailed insight on any issue of your interest about Georgia. Please, accept, Mr. President, the assurances of my highest consideration and esteem.
Sincerely,
Shalva Papuashvili
The Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia
