Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov addresses PACE
“It is a great honour for me to once again address this distinguished Assembly in my capacity of Chairman of the Committee of Ministers. I will not particularly focus on all the achievements of the Committee of Ministers since the last session of the Assembly in June, of which you can read the details in the activity report provided.
In the humanitarian field, the Committee of Ministers encouraged the Secretary General to examine how the Council of Europe can address, in co-ordination with other international organizations, the humanitarian needs and the human rights consequences of the military operations in Ukraine. In particular it underlined that the people living in Crimea, including the Tatars, must fully enjoy the protection afforded to them by the European Convention on Human Rights”.
Mammadyarov said that “in a few weeks' time, on 13 November, Azerbaijan will hand over the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers to Belgium”.
The minister further said: “Under this particular chairmanship priority, a conference on international standards and national experiences in the fight against corruption was organized in Baku on 30 June - 1 July 2014, together with GRECO and the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA). Three dedicated plenary sessions allowed for profound exchange of views on a variety of issues like the implementation of anti-corruption legislation and its role in increasing of the efficiency of the judicial-legal system, fighting corruption through education, preventive measures against corruption, economic development and fight against corruption, international cooperation between specialized anti-corruption agencies, protection of participants of the criminal process during the investigation of corruption crimes. The participants had the chance to learn about the success stories and challenges of individual countries.
“The next important event under this chairmanship priority, the Council of Europe 2014 Exchange on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue was held in Baku in September. The Parliamentary Assembly also contributed to this event through highlighting the role of the Assembly in strengthening intercultural and interreligious dialogue. The theme of the exchange, “Intercultural dialogue: interaction between culture and religion”, led to a rich and lively debate. Participants highlighted the role of religions and non-religious convictions in combating discrimination and intolerance. Important references were made to preservation and protection of cultural and religious heritage as one of the integral elements of people's identity and essential resource for peaceful coexistence. The latest edition of Exchange in Baku in our view once again testified to the importance of this platform as a valuable Forum and gave rise to proposals regarding the future prospects for the exchanges. The Committee of Ministers will examine the conclusions of the 2014 Exchange in the weeks ahead”.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister also informed about the Baku Humanitarian Forum, saying: “Let me inform the distinguished Assembly of another major event that started its work today in Baku, namely the 4th session of the Baku Humanitarian Forum. This Forum is an annual gathering of famous representatives of political scientific and cultural elite of the world including famous statesmen, Nobel Prize winners in the various fields of science and leaders of international organizations. This year’s Forum will discuss among others the topical themes such as the philosophy of multiculturalism, the political and legal aspects of concepts of national identity and the practice of cultural diversity, multiculturalism as a policy of the tolerant co-existence of different cultural practices. Although this event was not included into the list of Azerbaijani chairmanship events, it will certainly contribute to our chairmanship priority dealing with the consolidation of culturally diverse societies.
As we stated at the very beginning of our chairmanship, Azerbaijan has always been supportive of strengthening synergy and partnership between the United Nations and regional organizations. In this context, we would like to emphasize the importance and relevance of the traditional Resolution on cooperation between the United Nations and the Council of Europe which we expect to be adopted by consensus by the United Nations General Assembly. Azerbaijan will be privileged to conduct the negotiations on this draft resolution this year as the current Chairman of the Committee of Ministers.
When it comes to the OSCE, co-operation between the two Organisations in the fight against terrorism and trafficking in human beings will be on the agenda of the next meeting of the Coordination Group which will be held in Vienna on 31 October.
In a few moments I will be happy to reply to your questions but first, as I am addressing you in my capacity of Chairman of the Committee of Ministers for the last time, I would like to say that I am honoured to be so closely involved in our Organisation's work. The Council of Europe has a mission to help all our countries along the path of democracy and human rights. I am convinced that, to accomplish this task, it is vital that your Assembly and our Committee continue to work in close collaboration. I would like to thank you for the support you have provided throughout our Chairmanship. I would also like to thank the Secretary General for his commitment and availability.
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