The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has four Plenary Session each year. Below is John's Delegation Leader report for the October session.
Leader's introduction. The week commencing 10th October at the Council of Europe was a very busy one for the UK Delegation. It marked the final part-Session of 2022 and covered topics such as Ukraine-Russia, the West Balkans, Brexit and human rights in Ireland, and monitoring reports on Türkiye, Hungary and Romania. We heard directly from the President of Ireland Michael Higgins, President Zelenskyy and the President of Switzerland.
Using all the procedural techniques available we tried and came very close to getting the Brexit and human rights in Ireland paper referred back to committee as it was substantially lacking in evidence. The Delegation acted together in this across party lines although we narrowly lost the vote which was very frustrating.
Another area that was raised was the continuous re-running by Armenia and Azerbaijan in every debate of the war that had taken place between them. In particular, I was incensed that Armenian diplomats had tried to put pressure on MPs including in the UK to have changes made in advance to a report being discussed in committee (in fact one prepared by me) rather than doing so in the Council of Europe. I advise all colleagues to push back on this if it happens again.
The opportunities to question President Michael Higgins and President Zelenskyy were well used and are discussed below. An opportunity to hear from the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, was characterised by boorish behaviour in the extreme by the Prime Minister and he should not be invited back.
There was also much debate about the role of the Council of Europe in the light of the new European Political Community (EPC), an idea developed by President Macron. The general feeling was in support of the idea that the Council of Europe should be reverse-engineered into providing the secretariat of the EPC. In addition there was considerable discussion about a proposed 4th Summit of the Council of Europe to discuss the way forward for the Council, and a report prepared without the influence of PACE which fundamentally missed the point of trying to see the way forward by concentrating too much on the detail.
The Delegation met representatives of the Canadian delegation over a highly successful working lunch with both delegations expressing their interest in continuing to work together.
Finally, PACE awarded the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize to Vladimir Kara-Murza who is currently in a Russian prison. Vladimir is well known to the UK Delegation and has helped us in discussions in the past.
Once again, I would like to thank our Permanent Representative in Strasbourg Sandy Moss and his team for all the expert assistance they gave us. The principal discussions are set out below.
Best wishes, John Howell OBE MP, Leader of the UK Delegation
FULL REPORT OCTOBER 2022 PLENARY SESSION
His Excellency Mr Ignazio Cassis, President of the Swiss Confederation. The Swiss President condemned without reservation the attacks on civilians in several Ukrainian cities as of that morning and called on Russia to desist immediately. Switzerland also called on Belarus to show the utmost restraint. The President said he was shocked by Russia's brutal military aggression against Ukraine and that by violating the most basic principles of international law, Russia had forced the Council to take action against a state that was a threat to the Europe of democratic values. The President set out six challenges facing Europe:
1. The disruption of the security architecture of our continent.
2. The insecurity of energy supply.
3. Food insecurity.
4. Worsening inflation due to the pandemic crisis and expansive monetary policies.
5. Climate change with its violent meteorological crises.
6. The birth of reshoring, or nationalistic protectionism, which responds to the disruption of supply chains and puts the "just in time" market model in deep crisis.
Military hostilities between Azerbaijan and Armenia, including strikes against settlements and civilian infrastructures. It was pointed out that a recent meeting in Prague between Azerbaijani President Mr Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Mr Nikol Pashinyan had led to some progress on peace terms. The issue, however, of Armenian war crimes needed to be examined more closely as did Azerbaijan’s unjustified incursion into Armenia. There were calls for the delegations of Azerbaijan and Armenia to use this Session week to engage in positive exchanges and talks. However the discussion quickly descended into the continuation of war by other means between the two sides.
Supporting a European perspective for the Western Balkans. Lord Dundee, John Howell and Sir Edward Leigh all participated in this debate. Based on a paper presented by former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou who called for the Council of Europe to develop a deeper strategic relationship with the European Union in order to play a catalytic role in the accession process of the Western Balkans. Lord Dundee emphasised the important European perspective provided by the Council of Europe for more than seven decades but supported the desire of countries in the Balkans to accede to the EU. John Howell spoke about his recent experience of election observation in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the complexity of the Dayton aftermath. He also supported Kosovo’s admission to the Council of Europe. Sir Edward Leigh called for PACE to be united in standing up for freedom and minority rights throughout the Western Balkans.
His Excellency Mr Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland. President Higgins said that we should not allow the shadows under which we are currently living to defeat what are and remain our best hopes – agreements of the Council of Europe which have an intergenerational support, particularly among young people. We must reflect on what multilateralism demands of us and what should inform it. The President pointed out that the Council of Europe demonstrated the importance of reaching out to our shared responsibilities, to social, economic and ecological rights that can offer cohesion, fulfilment and sustainability. John Howell said that if the two countries could reach agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol as it seemed we were doing, it was an indication of how inherently strong the relationship is between our two countries. President Michael Higgins replied that it had been an honour to attend the funeral of the Queen and to meet King Charles III who, in fact, both have had a deep concern that peace would sustain in Ireland. The atmosphere now is that there is the same amount of investment between the United Kingdom and Ireland, and Ireland and the United Kingdom. People are regularly in contact with each other and it is beginning to look more positive, and he was very pleased and quite hopeful. Lord Foulkes asked what could be done to try and make sure that conflict arising out of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill does not take place. President Higgins responded that relationships were excellent in relation to understanding, thanks to the late Queen and King Charles III which he though would be very, very helpful and may permeate through all the ranks of politics.
Raising awareness of and countering Islamophobia, or anti-Muslim racism, in Europe. The rapporteur began by saying that too many decision-makers and a large proportion of the public were not aware of what Islamophobia is, how widespread it is, and how severely it affects the basic rights and the dignity of millions of Muslims in Europe. His work had been carried out by visits to France and the UK. Lord Griffiths spoke to say that as a religious leader in the United Kingdom he had worked extensively with Muslims in a variety of ways. He had formed only positive impressions of everything that can be achieved when we find a way of going beyond attitudinising in order to discover the people on the other side of the attitudes that so often divide us. Nothing substitutes for meeting people and integrating with them. Tommy Sheppard MP said that Islamophobia was discrimination against and depression of people not on the basis of what they do but on the basis of their belief in Islam. It was real, and it was wrong. Tommy Sheppard said that UK Government policy should be to offer sanctuary and compassion to refugees; the Scottish Government will report later in 2022 on practical actions to combat Islamophobia.
Misuse of the Schengen Information system by Council of Europe member States as a politically-motivated sanction. The report stressed that some persons are unjustifiably denied access to the entire Schengen Area, mainly for political reasons. This was based on a review of the current functioning of the Schengen Information System (SIS) and its impact on fundamental rights. However, under public international law and the European Convention on Human Rights, states can, in principle, determine the terms and conditions under which non-nationals are admitted to their territory.
Communication from the Committee of Ministers. Questions were taken by the Minister of State for European Affairs of Ireland, Mr Thomas Byrne. John Howell MP asked that after the close co‑operation that there had been between PACE and the Committee of Ministers over Russia, whether he was looking for opportunities of synergy so that we can do that again. Mr Byrne thought the whole area of violence against women and the Istanbul Convention was something where we still have to make some progress. He thought that that's somewhere that we could all work together. In answer to a question from an Irish MP he commented that the Council of Europe, the European Convention on Human Rights, were interwoven into the Good Friday Agreement. He thought it very important that we all know that, that we all remember that and that we all understand the consequences of that. That the Good Friday Agreement itself is founded on the European Convention on Human Rights, and its incorporation particularly into the law of Northern Ireland.
Minister Byrne repeated what the President said the day before, that he was very grateful for the very warm relations that he had with King Charles III, which he had with Queen Elizabeth II, of their concern for peace in Northern Ireland. He thought that what we had seen in recent weeks had been really good connections, personal chemistry between counterparts at every level, between the British and Irish governments. That was not just welcome but really necessary too. Those relations have been really warm. There are official‑level discussions too and we do need to see progress on them. Ultimately, he said, it's about peace on the island of Ireland.
The honouring of obligations and commitments by Türkiye. I was the co-rapporteur on this report and led the discussions. We raised the question of Osman Kavala and the honouring of the Strasbourg Court, infringement proceedings brought by the Committee of Ministers, restoring the independence of the justice system and the impact on the electoral system of changes in Türkiye. Sir Edward Leigh said that it was an excellent report, absolutely forensic in its criticism and that it was the sort of issue on which the Council of Europe had to concentrate.
The honouring of membership obligations to the Council of Europe by Hungary. The report expressed deep concern about “the erosion of democratic checks and balances” and the “excessively concentrated powers”. It commented on the excessively concentrated powers further eroding democratic checks and balances which have politicised the judiciary, impeded the diversity of media, weakened the power of the parliament for checks and balances through emergency measures, centralised the competencies and revenues of local government. The report saw the cementing of a monopoly of power over Hungarian political, economic and cultural life. The report received substantial push back particularly from the ruling side within Hungary.
Safe third countries for asylum seekers / Pushbacks on land and sea: illegal measures of migration management. The report asked how safe third country concepts can be brought in line with obligations pursuant to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights? Recommendations by the Committee of Ministers on the application of this concept are from 1997 and since then the case law of the Court has greatly evolved. It argued that we need up-to-date standards to support member states in fulfilling their obligations. States should immediately re-evaluate both the presumptions of safety for every state after the other and their practice and to decide whether they opted for pushbacks, chaos and human suffering rather than human rights, order and control.
Lord Keen made particular reference to the second report on pushback, pointing out that we are faced with a report which proceeds upon a number of questionable assumptions regarding the present situation in international law. There's a consequence he feared that any resolution passed on the basis of this report might justifiably be ignored by member States. In these circumstances Lord Keen said that he could not support the proposed resolution and recommendation.
Lord Griffiths commented that so many had wilful or wilfully self-deluding understandings of the definition of a refugee. One bit of this report that he felt perhaps we could give greater attention to and really bring out in profile is the fact that although everybody has the right to come, they have to be assessed. What he saw as missing was that countries are ill-prepared in general for the mechanisms that assess the claims of those who seek refuge.
Lord Dundee commented that we must not look away when humans are suffering while trying to cross our national borders; and we must not neglect the suffering of those who transit our countries. Refugees who need protection should not be passed on to other countries.
President Zelenskyy said that Ukraine wakes up every morning with two questions. What else has become the target of the Russian terror in the previous night? And where else were our forces able to prevail over the terrorists? When Russia started its full-fledged invasion, the Council of Europe expelled the aggressor state and condemned Russian terror and the crimes of that country against international law. We now need a proper number of modern air defence and anti-missile systems. Ian Liddell-Grainger MP asked Zelenskyy to denounce the countries that won't help; countries like Germany and others who are refusing to give the tools that are needed to win this war. John Howell MP asked about air defence systems and how pleased he was to see that NATO was now moving forward. How much help was still required? Zelensky replied that he had about 10% of what was needed.
Further escalation in the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine. In this urgent debate, the issue related to the way that a democratic country had been attacked by a nationalist regime, by a regime linked to terrorism, in order to take their land. It was pointed out that this had been said by 143 countries in the United Nations. We needed to defend democracy. Jane Stevenson MP said that Russia must be held accountable for its horrific war crimes. We all must bear the responsibility to not let these crimes go unpunished, to monitor them, to record them. She pointed to the honour to stand in the chamber with our Ukrainian colleagues and hear the harrowing evidence of the atrocities that have been committed.
Geraint Davies MP commented that Russia could not win this war. It would be at best a Pyrrhic victory, because of the bravery, the determination, and the lionheartedness of the Ukrainian people. We need to stand against Mr Vladimir Putin's grotesque escalation of missile attacks launched to the cities across Ukraine.
Threatened bans of Pride events in Council of Europe member States. A current affairs debate was held on this subject.
The impact of Brexit on human rights on the island of Ireland. This report looked at the human rights situation following Brexit in Northern Ireland. It concentrated on how the Good Friday Agreement needed to be maintained and speculated on how a proposed but now shelved Bill of Rights was likely to affect influence of the European Court of Human Rights. Lord Griffiths, Ian Paisley MP, Lord Foulkes, Geraint Davies MP, Jane Stevenson MP and John Howell MP spoke. There was a very clear message given that no one wanted to override the Good Friday Agreement and that PACE had heard from distinguished Irish politicians that week how progress on the Northern Irish Protocol was being made. In the end John Howell MP moved that the report should be sent back to committee (i.e. deferred), a motion which was narrowly lost.
The fight for a level playing field - ending discrimination against women in the world of sport. This report looked at the violence against women which occurred in relation to sport, the lack of facilities available and the lack of money available. John Howell MP spoke.
The honouring of membership obligations to the Council of Europe by Romania. Another report monitoring the performance of a country against the values of the Council of Europe. This report was critically approached by some Romanian elements in PACE.
The future of work is here: revisiting labour rights. In this report the view was put forward that there is a massive shift towards new and atypical forms of work, and that we needed to have an open societal debate to discuss what we as societies value as work. Geraint Davies MP spoke in this debate.
Preventing vaccine discrimination. This report focused primarily on the different treatment that people vaccinated by different vaccines were subjected to, even when there was no scientific evidence supporting that action. Geraint Davies MP spoke.
The next Plenary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly will take place 23-27 January 2023.
