At today’s session, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe supported the Resolution calling for member states to improve the protection of whistle-blowers, strengthen accountability and bolster the fight against corruption and mismanagement, both in the public and private sectors. In its Recommendation, which was adopted on the same occasion, PACE calls for the Committee of Ministers to stimulate further improvement of protection of whistle-blowers by initiating a negotiation process on a legally binding act, in form of a framework Convention, which could also be joined by non-member states of CE, and which would also relate to transgressions pointed out by the employees of the intelligence security services.

Upon completion of debate on partnership for democracy in respect of the Parliament of Morocco, a Resolution was adopted, where PACE welcomed significant support of this partnership at the level of the Government and the Parliament of Morocco, in political circles and among representatives of the civil sector, as one of more significant means of launching and developing key reforms in this country. PACE recognised progress that Morocco achieved in the previous period regarding strengthening of democratic governance, but also noted that dynamics of legislative and institutional reforms needed to be accelerated.

Today, a Resolution on the functioning of the democratic institutions in Azerbaijan was also adopted, where PACE called for the Azerbaijani authorities to promote the implementation of the constitutionally guaranteed principle of the separation of powers, strengthen parliamentary control over the executive and promote independence of the judiciary, as well as to undertake a series of activities in order to promote the electoral process, freedom of expression, and freedom of association.

In the morning part of the Session, the Parliamentary Assembly was addressed by the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. He reiterated the UN’s commitment to combating violent extremism and antisemitism, and other forms of discrimination. He welcomed the activities that the Council of Europe was undertaking in this field, especially the adoption of the Additional Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism and the creation of the No Hate Parliamentary Alliance, and announced a presentation of the United Nations action plan to prevent extremism in November this year. In his address to the parliamentarians, the UN Secretary General also called for protection of the rights of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. Speaking of the Ukraine situation, he emphasised that all efforts should be invested in realisation of full honouring of the Minsk Agreements and achieving a political solution.

In the afternoon part of today’s Session, Mr Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, answered questions from the parliamentarians.

Within elections and appointments, PACE elected judges of the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Armenia, Latvia, Luxembourg, and Monaco, and appointed Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

On day three of the Summer Session, debates will be held on previously ratified credentials of the delegation of the Russian Federation, and situation in Hungary following the adoption of PACE Resolution on the opening of a monitoring procedure in respect of this country, as well as a joint debate on increasing transparency of media ownership, and media responsibility and ethics in a changing media environment.