The third part of the 2018 Ordinary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe ended today after a five-day work.
The Parliamentary Assembly adopted several proposals for resolutions and recommendations on topics that were discussed over the past week, with special focus on the position of refugees and migrants and the impact of the so-called “external dimension” of European Union asylum and migration policy on the protection and exercising of their human rights.
The agenda included the debates on the position of NGOs in certain Council of Europe member states, the protection of human rights defenders, the humanitarian situation of refugees in the countries neighbouring Syria and the findings of the PACE observation mission on the presidential elections in Azerbaijan, and there was also discussion on the measures for economic empowerment of women, the fight against forced marriages in Europe, striking a balance between the best interest of the child and the need to keep families together. and the protection of cultural heritage from the deliberate destruction and illegal trafficking.
The Summer Session was marked by the addresses of Croatian Prime Minister Mr Andrej Plenković, Prime Minister of Slovakia Mr Petar Pellegrini, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg Mr Jean Asselborn. The activities of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe were presented by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia Ms Marija Pejčinović-Burić, who focused on the priorities of the Croatian Presidency of the Committee, including the protection of the rights of national minorities and vulnerable groups, the fight against corruption, the strengthening of local self-government and the protection of cultural heritage.
At the beginning of the session, a member of the Swiss delegation Ms Liliane Maury Pasquier was elected President of the Parliamentary Assembly. On day two of the session, the Parliamentary Assembly elected the San Marino candidate Mr Gilberto Felici as a judge of the European Court of Human Rights.
