Statement in Response to H.E. David Zalkaliani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, President of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe delivered at the 1257 PC meeting

30 January, 2020

Mr. Chairperson,

The delegation of Armenia warmly welcomes H.E. David Zalkaliani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, President of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and thank him for presenting the priorities of the Georgian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers. Let me once again congratulate our Georgian friends on assuming the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers for the first time since the country’s membership.

Armenia attaches high importance to the Council of Europe and its mission in promoting democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and we are committed to working closely with the Georgian Chairmanship towards upholding these shared values on our common European continent. We know from our own experience of 2013 how much efforts and preparatory work the conduct of the Chairmanship requires, and we wish all the success to our Georgian colleagues in this important endeavor.

As you rightly emphasized Minister, primarily, the cooperation of our two Organizations is based on the shared values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Based on these values the Council of Europe and the OSCE should cooperate and strengthen the security on our continent.

While protecting democracy and security on our continent, we should make a better use of the different monitoring mechanism that our two Organizations possess. As the main watchdog of the European Convention of Human Rights, the Council of Europe should ensure that the provisions of the Convention are applied equally and unconditionally, without any distinctions and limitations. In this regard, I would especially like to highlight the role that the Council of Europe can play in improving human rights protection in conflict areas. Any impediment to the access of international monitoring bodies to these areas goes against the letter and spirit of international human rights law.

Mr. Minister,

We fully share your approach that the institutional cooperation between our two Organizations should be based on their comparative advantages.

You mentioned many important aspects of work during the upcoming six months of your leadership of the Committee of Ministers. We positively note that during the meeting of the Coordination Group between the Council of Europe and the OSCE the prospects for cooperation in the areas of the promotion of tolerance and non-discrimination and the protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities will be further explored. We also highlight your focus on gender equality and women`s rights. In this regard we welcome your plans to organize an event in the framework of the 64th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York later this March. Let me assure, that as a country that currently chairs the Commission on the Status of Women, Armenia is ready to support your initiatives.

In conclusion, let me once again reiterate Armenia’s full support to Georgia in fulfilling their important task and wish them every success in the months to come.

MFA RA
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