The Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) officially refused to participate in the October...
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The Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) officially refused to participate in the October 4th Autumn Session to boycott Russia’s return to the organization.
“We declare our refusal to submit the credentials of the new Ukrainian delegation for approval during the autumn part of the PACE session from September 30 to October 4, 2019,” head of the Ukrainian delegation to the PACE, MP from the Servant of the People parliamentary faction Lisa Yasko said on Facebook on September 23rd.
The decision was also published on the website of the Ukrainian Parliament.
“Reaffirming the commitment to the principles and values of the Council of Europe (CoE) and recognizing the significant historical achievements of its statutory body, the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), in promoting and monitoring the observance of human rights;
Taking into account the crisis in the Assembly, which has resulted in a significant weakening of the PACE’s ability to counteract the breach of the Council of Europe’s Statute and to monitor Member States’ compliance with their obligations and obligations through the amendments made to the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure on 25 June 2019;
Noting at the same time the importance of maintaining the human rights protection mechanisms guaranteed by the Convention on 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.
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The abovementioned [measure] will be Ukraine’s response to the return of the Russian Federation to the PACE session hall without having fulfilled the conditions of the Assembly’s resolutions adopted in response to Russian aggression against Ukraine,” the official statement said.
It also urged France, which currently chairs pace to rethink the position and return the Council of Europe back to “morality” by removing Russia from the ranks once again.
Lisa Yasko furthermore said that Ukraine would sit down with partners from PACE and attempt to identify common approaches and solutions “that would restore the Assembly’s reputation as an important model of democracy, the rule of law and the protection of human rights and freedoms in Europe.”
So far, Ukraine is supported by Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia in boycotting the October 4th PACE Session by not attending. The Georgian delegation is also likely to not participate in the PACE session, according to representative of Georgia in the PACE, Member of Georgia’s Parliament from the European Georgia Party Giorgi Kandelaki.
Kandelaki told Ukrainian news outlet LB.ua that he was in support of the boycott.
“I support this boycott. I advocated for this from the very beginning. Despite the fact that in July this vote [to reinstate the delegation of the Russian Federation] wasn’t in our favor,” he said.
The final decision on Georgia’s participation in the autumn session will be confirmed by the delegation’s head. According to Kandelaki, the fact that in the PACE there will be no representatives of the countries that were against the return of Russia, namely Ukraine, Georgia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, will put the organization in a difficult position.
Back when Russia was reinstated in PACE, following a June 26th decision, this is how the vote went:
Countries that supported by an absolute majority of the delegates:
Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Switzerland, Cyprus, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, San Marino, Turkey.
Countries that mostly abstained or had an equal number of votes for and against:
Andorra, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Croatia, Lichtenstein, the Netherlands, Sweden.
Countries that were mostly against or completely against:
Albania, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom.
It is plain to see that Ukraine’s decision is barely supported, since the countries that voted against are mostly ones which have just 1 delegate, excluding the UK which is one of the “big players.”
It is more than apparent that the Council of Europe bureaucrats care less about Ukraine’s mostly imaginary issues with Russia than receiving Russia’s funding to the organization.
Russia, before discontinuing payments of its contributions to the Council of Europe paid approximately €33 million per year to the body. Out of a budget that is almost €440 million for 2019.
In a declaration made on June 25 by PACE, the assembly says it “regrets that a contingency plan has had to be drawn up to absorb the size of the debt left voluntarily by a member State” [Russia]. It is concerned about the human cost that this will represent: the loss of jobs for 250 people, or 10% of the Council of Europe’s staff.
According to reports, after the return of Russia to the PACE, the organization’s bureaucracy immidiately achieved bonuses for this success.
Russia’s financial contribution “is one of the strongest factors”, says Kastouéva-Jean. “This is where the Russians can say, “Money can fix everything (…) It gives Russia a very real argument about the possibility of buying European loyalty.”
The other major contributors are: France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. Out of them only the UK voted against. Turkey was a former major contributor, but reduced its commitment a while back.
Essentially, Russia, in addition to France, Germany and Italy accounts for approximately 40% of the CoE’s budget, and this is further reinforced by the many countries that voted in favor. To put it simply, the countries that voted in favor of returning Russia to PACE account for more than 50% of the budget.
The ones that are boycotting it are essentially contributing close to nothing, but are attempting to use it further their political agenda.
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