Report on functioning of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan to be heard at PACE summer session

President of the Parliamentary Assembly will make a statement on the first day of the session, changes will be in the membership of Committees, functioning of democratic institutions in Turkey will be discussed.

Communication from the Committee of Ministers to the Parliamentary Assembly presented by Mr Carl Bildt, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers in the second half of the day.

The fight against harm to the environment in the Black Sea will be discussed by members of PACE. Co-rapporteurs Andres Herkel and Mrs Evguenia Jivkova will make a report on functioning of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan on June 24. Special resolution is expected to adopt after discussions on the report. Lectures on empowering women in a modern, multicultural society and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD): focus on eastern and south-eastern Europe will be sounded.

Specific challenges facing European democracies: the case of diversity and migration (Rapporteur of the Political Affairs Committee: Mr Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC)The functioning of democratic institutions in Europe and progress of the Assembly’s monitoring procedure (Rapporteur of the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee) Mr Serhiy Holovaty (Ukraine, ALDE), The promotion of a culture of democracy and human rights through teacher education will be heard on June 25. General policy debate on the situation in China will be conducted in a day. Mr Boris Tadić, President of Serbia will address the session.

The functioning of democratic institutions in Turkey will be debated again. Activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will be debated by attendees of session (Rapporteur of the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee, Mr Michael Hancock). Mr Jakob Kellenberger, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will make a statement.

Functioning of democratic institutions in Armenia is expected to debate in the session. Discussion of the issue depends on the visit of PACE Monitoring Committee co-rapporteurs to Armenia on June 16-17. If co-rapporteurs come to a conclusion that there has not been any serious progress through the past period, PACE session will debate the issue.

/APA/