The first working day at PACE begun with the Plenary Sitting, and following procedural questions and determining the agenda, the members of PACE were addressed by the President of Germany, Mr Joachim Gauck, who, speaking of fundamental human rights, pointed out that rights and freedoms are not sufficient only on paper, but they also must be guaranteed and carried out in practice. He also reminded that 211 conventions had been adopted, which is an impressive data, and which relate to the area of human rights, and he invited the member states of PACE to implement the adopted conventions into the national legislation and to accept the standards promoted by the Council of Europe.

Speaking of the European Court of Human Rights, he pointed out that the Court is “the last hope for the desperate and the rightless”. He invited the member states of PACE to respect the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. He commended the role of the Council of Europe in fight against discrimination and racism, especially focusing the attention toward the campaign that the Council of Europe is conducting in that regard. Additionally, he pointed out the contribution of the campaign “Enough!” dealing with protection of the rights of Sinti and Roma.

At the end of his address to the parliamentarians, the President Gauck told them that without courage and determination, many promises of the Council of Europe would remain only on paper.

The Report of the Committee of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Andorra and the chairperson of the Committee of Ministers Mr Gilbert Saboya Sunye , as well as the Report on the Presidential Elections in Armenia (February 2013), by the rapporteur Ms Karin S. Woldseth had been considered.

The meeting of the Bureau was also held, where the Head of Delegation and the Vice President of PACE Zoran Vukčević, PhD, participated, and there was also the Report on Presidential Elections in Montenegro. The members of Delegation participated in the work of the Socialists Group.

The meetings of the Committee on Social Issues, Health and Sustainable Development were also held, where the MP Predrag Sekulić, PhD, participated; the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Youth where the MP Damir Šehović, MA, participated, and the Committee on Political Issues and Democracy, attended by the Head of Delegation, Zoran Vukčević, PhD.

On the second working day, the items on the Agenda of the Plenary Session will be as follows: Draft Resolution on banning child sex tourism, Draft Resolution Parliaments United in fighting sexual violence against children: mid-term overview of the campaign “One in Five”, as well as the Draft Resolution on fighting discrimination against Roma children.

At the Plenary Session the Report on Post-Monitoring Dialogue with Turkey, by the rapporteur Ms Josette Durrieu (France) will also be considered.

The MPs will also be addressed by Ms Bidzina Ivanishvili, Prime Minister of Georgia and Mr Didier Burkhalter, Vice President of the Federal Council, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland.