02 October 2018, 11:45
(an abridged and pared-down version)
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine condemns endeavours to lift restrictions against the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, bypassing the resolutions of the Assembly and amending the charter documents that alter the fundamental principles of the organization's operations
The relevant resolution was supported by 242 MPs.
The instrument approves the statement of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to parliaments of the member states of the Council of Europe (CoE) in connection with the situation at PACE.
The Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine A.Parubiy has commissioned to immediately submit the statement’s text to PACE and the Council of Europe’s parliaments.
The decision enters into force from the date of its adoption.
In the statement, the Ukrainian Parliament stresses that the issue of powers of the national delegations to PACE has a decisive role for the PACE’s work as practical mechanisms for implementing the policy of the Council of Europe, monitoring compliance with the Council of Europe’s Statute, Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and a wide range of responsibilities and obligations of the Council of Europe’s member states.
The existing system of procedure rules, which provides for the appeal of powers of national delegations in essence and on formal grounds, was an effective PACE control mechanism for the compliance of member states with the CoE principles and values.
When the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly are going through one of the most difficult crises in their history, associated with the violation by the member state of the CoE purposes and principles and avoiding voluntarily assumed duties and obligations, the rejection of the mechanisms of political influence over the member states or substantial complication of the application order may bring about permanent injury to the Assembly, its monitoring procedure and the Council of Europe at large.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine underlines that the preparation of a decision altering the Assembly’s rules of procedure pertaining to the abolition of opportunities to appeal the national delegations’ powers on the merits or substantial complications of the procedure for such an appeal is politically motivated and aims to ensure unobstructed and unconditional return of the Russian delegation to the PACE against the background of resolute refusal of this state to fulfill the legitimate demands of the Assembly related to the violation of the Council of Europe's Charter by Russia and voluntarily assumed duties and obligations, and support of the aggressive Russian state policy by the Russian parliamentarians.
The Ukrainian parliament observes that the preservation of the authority and political capacity of the Parliamentary Assembly in the face of besetting challenges in Europe is only possible once the existing institutional capacity is ensured by the Assembly and its policy-conducting tools.
Considering the destruction of the institutional framework would mean the
recognition by the PACE of its political failure to follow its own decisions
and public demonstration of avoiding the CoE values and principles - rule of
law, democracy and human rights - might bring the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in
concert with its permanent PACE delegation to undertaking a wide revision of
the principles of cooperation with the Assembly, as well as the instruments for
such cooperation.