Statement by the Delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Participation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Reaffirming the commitment to the principles and values of the Council of Europe (CE) and acknowledging the significant historical achievements of its statutory body, the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), in promoting and monitoring the observance of human rights;
In view of the crisis in the Assembly caused by the significant weakening of the PACE's ability to counteract to the breaches of the Statute of the Council of Europe and to monitor compliance of the Member States with their obligations and commitments by way of amending the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly on 25 June 2019;
Noting at the same time the importance of maintaining the human rights protection mechanisms guaranteed by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in the territories of the Member States of the Council of Europe, including in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine;
The Delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the PACE:
Acknowledges the unacceptibility of the decisions that have weakened the Parliamentary Assembly in its capacity to monitor the compliance of the Member States with their duties and obligations and allowed the resumption of the full participation of the delegation of the Russian Federation in the PACE without the fulfilment of any of the key PACE resolutions / recommendations approved by it in response to the Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as the systematic violations of human rights by the Russian Federation, both in its own and the occupied territory;
Calls on the PACE to reaffirm the obligatory nature of all the decisions and requirements set out in the Assembly’s resolutions that pertain to the condemnation of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, as well as to the human rights situation in the territory occupied by Russia, adopted by the PACE over the recent years when Russia did not participate in the work of the CE;
Reminds the PACE that in its Resolution 1988 from April 9, 2014, it condemned the Russian aggression and annexation of Crimea as a clear violation of international law, including UN Charter, the Final Act of the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Charter and the core principles of the Council of Europe;
Emphasizes that by its Resolution 1990 from April 10, 2014, the PACE rightfully and proportionally to the violations of international law committed by the Russian Federation, restricted the rights of the Russian delegation and announced the possibility of revoking its powers if the Russian Federation would not de-escalate the situation and cease the annexation of Crimea;
Further reminds the PACE that following the Resolution 1990, it has adopted at least 10 more resolutions condemning the aggressive actions, violations of international law and systemic violations of human rights by the Russian Federation.
The violations of international law noted by the PACE have become the basis for a series of court and arbitration proceedings at the European Court of Human Rights, the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, international investment arbitrations and a preliminary examination by the International Criminal Court;
Fully supports the statements by the delegations of Ukraine’s partner countries that have announced their non-participation in the celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the CE due to the unconditional return of the Russian delegation to the PACE. Considering that a large part of our country’s territory remains occupied while the armed aggression of the Russian Federation continues, we deem it impossible for the Ukrainian delegation to participate in the celebrations on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Council of Europe and do not consider such a celebration timely;
Declare refusal to submit credentials of the new Ukrainian delegation during the autumn part of the PACE session between September 30 and October 4, 2019. That will be Ukraine’s response to the return of the Russian Federation to the PACE session hall without meeting the requirements of the Assembly resolutions approved in response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine;
Informs the PACE that during this part of the session, the delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will conduct consultations with its Assembly partners with the goal of developing common approaches and solutions that would restore the PACE reputation of a pivotal model of democracy, rule of law and protection of human rights and freedoms in Europe;
We appeal to the delegations of the Member States of the Council of Europe to hold extensive consultations on the consequences of the unconditional return of the Russian Federation to the PACE and on the development of effective mechanisms of bringing to responsibility the Member States offending the CE statutory documents and rules of international law;
Addresses France, currently chairing the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, with a proposal to initiate consultations with the participation of the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and all parties concerned, to broadly discuss the ways of restoring trust in the Council of Europe, as well as the institutional and moral crisis of the CE that has resulted from the unjustified voluntary refusal of the Committee of Ministers and Assembly to insist on Russia's adherence to the principles and standards of the Council of Europe.
Delegation members:
Bardina Maryna
Bilozir Larysa
Vasylenko Lesia
Honcharenko Oleksii
Zaburanna Lesia
Kalchenko Serhii
Kamelchuk Yurii
Kravchuk Yevheniia
Kovalchuk Oleksandr
Lubinets Dmytro
Medianyk Viacheslav
Mezentseva Mariia
Merezhko Oleksandr
Natalukha Dmytro
Ovchynnykova Yuliia
Skichko Oleksandr
Soboliev Serhii
Umierov Rustem
Khomenko Olena
Yasko Yelyzaveta
Mr. Bohdan Yaremenko, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Inter-parliamentary Cooperation