Armenia's President of the National Assembly, Alen Simonyan, recently met with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE), Marija Pejčinović Burić. Simonyan presented the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2023-2026, highlighting the country's commitment to democracy, human rights, and peace. Burić praised Armenia's implementation of reforms and reaffirmed the CoE's support for Armenia's efforts to maintain democracy and regional security. The meeting also discussed joint programs with the CoE, including the Convention on Preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, the Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations, the security situation in the region, and the imperative of the return of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages. The perspectives of Armenia-EU relations were also addressed.
In another meeting, Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić met with Minister of Justice Inese Lībiņa-Egnere from Latvia. They discussed the implementation of judgments from the European Court of Human Rights and the resolutions adopted at the informal conference of Ministers of Justice in Riga in September 2023. They also discussed the forthcoming High-Level Conference organized under the Lithuanian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers and Latvia's recent ratification of the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (known as the 'Istanbul Convention'). The Minister of Justice signed the Convention on Access to Official Documents ahead of the meeting [62ebdd01] [a7e2a401].
Justice Minister Maria Pavlova presented awards for excellence in the field of justice at a solemn ceremony in Sofia. The honours were given on the occasion of the 145th anniversary of the founding of the Ministry. Among the awardees were constitutional experts Prof. Pencho Penev and Prof. Emilia Drumeva, Prof. Ognyan Gerdzhikov, lawyer Daniela Dokovska, Dr. Ivaylo Dermendzhiev, Prof. Ekaterina Mihaylova, Prof. Daniel Valchev, and others. An award was also presented to the team of Sofia University, which won first place in a competition on private international law.
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dato Lim Jock Hoi, met with the Minister of Justice of Japan, Yoko Kamikawa, to discuss cooperation between ASEAN and Japan in the field of justice. The meeting took place on May 24, 2024. They discussed various areas of cooperation, including legal and judicial capacity building, exchange of legal experts, and sharing of best practices. The Secretary-General expressed appreciation for Japan's support in strengthening the rule of law in ASEAN member states. Both parties agreed to continue working closely to enhance cooperation in the field of justice. [e770c36e]
Despina Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis, the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, discussed the initiatives taken by PACE to address the consequences of the war in Ukraine. PACE was the first international body to call for the establishment of an ad hoc international criminal court to investigate and prosecute the crime of Russia's aggression. Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis emphasized the importance of addressing the missing children of Ukraine and highlighted the informal group Women@PACE, which heard Ukrainian women parliamentarians describe the horrors of the war. She also announced that the Assembly will discuss a report on the destruction of religious heritage and the looting of religious artifacts in Ukraine. Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis spoke about her collaboration with President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Theodoros Roussopoulos and the increase in women's participation in PACE. She expressed hope for active participation in the upcoming European elections and discussed the need for women's representation in leadership positions. Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis also mentioned the actions of PACE for the protection of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the resolution on the preservation of the bicultural character of Imvros and Tenedos. The interview was conducted on the sidelines of Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis's participation at the 4th Congress of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Athens. [1143e9e2]
A Council of Europe delegation, led by Turkey Rapporteur Stefan Schennach, visited Istanbul and Ankara and called for the release of Selahattin Demirtaş and Osman Kavala. The delegation discussed the implementation of European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rulings and the continuation of high-level dialogue with the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe's legislative and executive bodies also reiterated their calls for the release of Demirtaş and Kavala. The Committee of Ministers initiated infringement proceedings against Turkey for failing to implement ECHR rulings regarding Kavala. The Committee noted Turkey's violation of its obligations under the ECHR and called for their release. The cases of Kavala and Demirtaş were also discussed at the Committee of Ministers' meetings, where similar calls for their release were made. The Committee highlighted the lack of evidence linking Kavala to the Gezi events and the coup attempt and urged the Turkish Constitutional Court to address his application promptly. The Committee also requested detailed information from Turkish authorities on the rulings against Demirtaş and called for the Constitutional Court to expedite the processing of their applications. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan labeled Kavala and Demirtaş as 'terrorists' and stated that the judiciary had decided their cases [2b358b94].
Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, pays tribute to the support given by Council of Europe member states to millions of refugees. Europe has faced refugee crises with more than ten million people finding refuge within member states. The Council of Europe has launched initiatives to strengthen the rights of refugees and enhance countries' asylum systems. They have also developed programs to address war-related trauma among refugee women and children and assist young refugees in their transition to adulthood. The Council of Europe is committed to contributing towards the objectives set out in the Global Compact on Refugees. [6daaf2fe]