Information documents SG-AS (2021) 03 12 April 2021 ———————————————— Communication by the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly at the 1401st meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies1 (14 April 2021) ———————————————— 1 This document covers past activities of the Assembly since the meeting of the Bureau on 18 March 2021 (videoconference) and the future activities up to the meeting of the Bureau on 16 April 2021 (videoconference). I. Decisions taken by the Bureau on 18 March 2021 A. Second part-session of 2021 (19-22 April 2021) On 18 March 2021, the Bureau decided to hold this part-session in a hybrid format and drew up the draft agenda of the part-session (Appendix I). Subsequently, two requests for a debate under urgent procedure were put forward by the leaders of the Assembly’s five political groups, respectively, on “The arrest and detention of Alexei Navalny in January 2021” and on the “Functioning of democratic institutions in Turkey”. The Assembly received the lists of candidates for the posts of judges to the European Court of Human Rights with respect to Belgium and Poland. B. Observation of elections Bulgaria: parliamentary elections (4 April 2021): the Bureau approved the final list of members of the ad hoc committee to observe these elections (Appendix 2) and took note of the statement by the pre-electoral mission. Albania: parliamentary elections (25 April 2021): the Bureau approved the final list of members of the ad hoc committee to observe these elections (Appendix 3). Palestine: parliamentary elections (22 May 2021): the Bureau approved the updated list of members of the ad hoc committee to observe these elections and appointed Mr Claude Kern (France, ALDE) as its Chairperson (Appendix 4). C. Other decisions Institutional representation of the Parliamentary Assembly in 2021: the Bureau approved the nominations as set up in Appendix 5, with the exception of the proposals stemming from the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights which decided to reconsider them. The revised proposals stemming from the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, will be considered by the Bureau of the Assembly at its meeting on 16 April 2021. Participation of members in Parliamentary Assembly plenary sessions and committee meetings in 2020: the Bureau took note of the information memorandum on the participation, established in accordance with Resolution 1583 (2007), and decided to publish the statistics relating to the participation of national delegations on the Assembly’s website. Václav Havel Human Rights Prize: the Bureau re-appointed as members of the Selection Panel Ms Marie- Louise Bemelmans-Videc, for a third term of two years starting from 1 June 2021, as well as Ms Anne Brasseur and Mr Nils Muižnieks, for a second term of two years starting from 1 June 2021. Awarding the title of Honorary Secretary General of the Assembly: The Bureau decided to confer the title of Honorary Secretary General to Mr Wojciech Sawicki, former Secretary General of the Assembly, with effect from the date that he ceased to be Secretary General of the Assembly. II. Standing Committee – 19 March 2019 On 19 March 2021, meeting by videoconference, the Standing Committee: - held an exchange of views with Mr Michael Roth, Minister of State for Europe at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, Special Representative of the Federal Government for the German Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe; - heard of statement by Ms Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, on “Covid-19 and the role of the Council of Europe”; 2 - held current affairs debates on “Democracies facing Covid-19: the way forward” and “Recent developments in Turkey concerning parliamentary democracy”; - adopted the following texts on behalf of the Assembly: Recommendation 2195 (2021) Urgent need to strengthen financial intelligence units – Sharper tools needed to improve confiscation of illegal assets Resolution 2365 (2021) Urgent need to strengthen financial intelligence units – Sharper tools needed to improve confiscation of illegal assets Recommendation 2196 (2021) Impact of labour migration on left-behind children Resolution 2366 (2021) Impact of labour migration on left-behind children Recommendation 2197 (2021) The protection of victims of arbitrary displacement Resolution 2367 (2021) The protection of victims of arbitrary displacement III. Prizes ➢ Council of Europe Museum Prize The winner of the 2021 Museum Prize is the Gulag History Museum of Moscow. Given the sanitary situation in France, the award ceremony, initially scheduled to take place in Strasbourg, will most likely take place remotely on the premises of the winning museum in Moscow (date and time tbc). ➢ Europe Prize The Europe Prize is the highest distinction that can be bestowed on a European town for its actions in the European domain. It includes a trophy, a medal, a diploma and a scholarship to be spent on a study visit within Europe by young people from the winning municipality. On 15 April 2021, the Sub-Committee on the Europe Prize will consider the finalists for the 2021 Europe Prize (Bamberg in Germany, Khmelnitski in Ukraine, Kielce in Poland and Münster in Germany). The applications for the Plaque of Honour, the Flag of Honour and the European Diploma will also be considered at that same meeting. ➢ Václav Havel Human Rights Prize The award ceremony of the 2021 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize will be held in the Assembly Chamber, on Monday, 19 April 2021, at 12.30. The shortlisted candidates will participate by videoconference. It is recalled that, on 15 January 2021, the Assembly launched a call for nominations for the 2021 edition of the Prize. The deadline for submitting nominations is 30 April 2021, see Website. IV. Conference of Presidents of Parliament (21-22 October 2021, Athens) The European Conference of Presidents of Parliament, to which Presidents and Speakers of all national parliaments of member States have been invited, will take place on 21-22 October 2021 in Athens. It will address the three following themes: ➢ Democracies facing the Covid-19 public health crisis: sharing experiences ➢ ‘#EnvironmentRightNow’: national parliaments and the right to a healthy and sustainable environment ➢ Current political issue (to be identified ahead of the Conference amongst those suggested by the Presidents of Parliament) All information is available on the website of the Conference. 3 V. Activities of committees and networks, and election observation missions ➢ On 22 March 2021, meeting by videoconference, the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights: . held a hearing on Political prisoners in the Russian Federation, in the context of a report prepared by Ms Thorhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir (Iceland, SOC) with the participation of Mr Mikhail Khodorkovsky, leader of the opposition group Open Russia, and Professor Bill Bowring, Professor of Law at Birkbeck College, University of London, and Barrister. held a hearing on The Situation of Human Rights Defenders in Council of Europe member States, in the context of a report prepared by Ms Alexandra Louis (France, ALDE), General Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, with the participation of Ms Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Mr Nils Muiznieks, Director for Europe, Amnesty International, former Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. ➢ On 25 March 2021, meeting by videoconference, the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs: . held an exchange of views on Budgets and priorities of the Council of Europe for the period 2022-2025 and Expenditure of the Parliamentary Assembly for the biennium 2022-2023 with Ms Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, in the framework of the preparation of a report by Mr Tiny Kox (Netherland, UEL). ➢ On 26 March 2021, meeting by videoconference, the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media: . held a hearing on The observatory on History Teaching in Europe, in the context of a report prepared by Mr Bertrand Bouyx (France, ALDE) with the participation of Ms Maria Luisa de Bivar Black, University History Teacher and Teacher Trainer, Portugal, and consultant for the History Teaching Unit of the Council of Europe; Mr Steven Stegers, Executive Director of the European Association of History Teachers (EuroClio), The Hague; and Mr Matjaž Gruden, Director, Directorate of Democratic Participation, DG II – Directorate General of Democracy, Council of Europe; . held a hearing on The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on education and culture, in the context of a report prepared by Mr Constantinos Efstathiou (Cyprus, SOC) with the participation of Ms Olena Styslavska, Teacher trainer and educational consultant in the field of Democratic Citizenship, Human Rights and Intercultural Education, Poland; Mr Călin Rus, Director of the Intercultural Institute of Timișoara, Romania; Ms Aurora Ailincai, Deputy Head of Division, Roma and Travelers Team, DG II – Directorate General of Democracy, Council of Europe; and Mr Sixto Molina, Secretariat of the Partial Agreement of the Council of Europe Development Bank; . held a hearing on Sports policies in times of crisis, in the context of a report prepared by Mr Carlos Alberto Gonçalves (Portugal, EPP/CD), with the participation of Mr Folker Hellmund, Director, European Olympic Committees EU Office, Brussels; Mr Tomasz Frankowski, MEP, member