Standing Committee

Brdo, Slovenia, 10 June 2009

Speech by Mr Damjan Bergant

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honour for me to address you on behalf of the Slovenian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and in the name of minister Žbogar. I take this occasion to welcome you here in Slovenia.

Slovenia very recently took over the Chairmanship from Spain, on the occasion of the 119th Ministerial Session which was held in Madrid on 12 May.  We intend to continue the very open, fruitful and frank dialogue with all institutions of the Council of Europe, including the Congress of local and Regional Authorities.

I will present the Slovenian Chairmanship priorities to you. I will also say some words about the results of the Ministerial Session and the work that lies ahead of us and the Council of Europe in the months to come.

The priorities of the Slovenian Chairmanship are closely defined in accordance with the Warsaw Summit commitments agreed by the Heads of State and Government in 2005. Slovenia will promote the realisation of the Council of Europe’s core objective – to protect and promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law. This core objective was reconfirmed by the Ministers in Madrid through the adoption of the Madrid Declaration.

As I am sure you are well aware, one of the main challenges for the Council of Europe is to consolidate the long-term effectiveness of its system of human rights protection.  The Slovenian Chairmanship has as its first priority the follow-up of the 2004 reform package in line with the 2006 Declaration of the Committee of Ministers on sustained action to ensure the effectiveness of the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights at national and European levels. 

Our Chairmanship will give a particular focus to strengthening the rule of law and to promoting its development at national and international level. Many of the activities and conferences that we have planned in this context are also geared to bringing the ECHR’s backlog down in the long-term perspective.

Slovenia advocates the position that minorities are an expression of pluralism in society and provide a foundation for tolerance and understanding. We pursue an active policy of integration and protection of minorities, including Roma and Travellers.

Slovenia will actively promote children's rights within the Council of Europe programme "Building a Europe for and with Children” and has planned several events in this regard. A special emphasis will be put on combating all forms of violence against children.  We support the work on Council of Europe Guidelines on National Integrated Strategies for the Protection of Children against Violence and would like to see them adopted during our Chairmanship.

Slovenia will also realise a human rights education project for children entitled “Our rights!” which will contribute to the systematic education on children’s rights within school curricula in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and North Ossetia. In addition, the Slovenian Parliament will host a high-level international conference on the rights of the child and the right to protection against violence.

Among our priorities is also the fight against terrorism, organised crime, including trafficking in human beings, and corruption. Slovenia welcomes the Declaration: Making gender equality a reality adopted by the Ministers in Madrid. 

Slovenia will pay special attention to the promotion of democracy, the rule of law and human rights in South-East Europe, the Caucasus and Belarus. Our aim is to include South-East Europe in all Council of Europe activities. In this context, we will also focus on intercultural dialogue and on the coexistence of different cultures.

Special attention will be devoted to the protection of cultural heritage and we intend to organise a follow-up conference to the Ljubljana Process, for the protection of cultural heritage in South East Europe.

Slovenia will also promote a strengthened co-operation with the United Nations and the OSCE, particularly in the field of human rights.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Ministerial session in Madrid was also an occasion to celebrate the Council of Europe’s 60th anniversary.  Member states’ great commitment to our Organisation and its values and objectives was clear from the presence in Madrid at Ministerial level of not less than 40 member states.

The very concrete decisions that ministers took in Madrid are to improve the situation of the Court. Although, Slovenia would have preferred to see Protocol No. 14 enter into force and still has this goal, the adoption of Article 14 bis and also the agreement reached at the Conference of the High Contracting Parties to the European Convention on Human Rights held in Madrid, were important steps.

A number of decisions were adopted at the Ministerial Session under the item “the Council of Europe and the conflict in Georgia”.  The Committee of Ministers will give a detailed account in its replies to the Assembly’s recommendations on this issue. Our aim is to provide you with these replies before your June Session.

Belarus is still not a member of our Organisation. Ministers had informal lunch in Madrid and discussed this issue. Minister Žbogar also visited Minsk on Monday and Tuesday this week. We all look forward to the day Belarus is ready to join with due respect to the Statute.  Slovenia will follow-up on the initiatives taken by previous chairmanships as regards Belarus. The opening of the Information Office of the Council of Europe in Minsk on Monday represents a real step forward in strengthening the co-operation between Belarus and the Council of Europe.

At the Ministerial Session, Ministers took note of a report on the Council of Europe’s relations with the European Union.  This report indicated that significant progress has been made during the last year. This is very positive and Slovenia will continue to support this process. The Council of Europe is an important partner of the European Union in preserving a high level of human rights protection and in promoting democratic stability. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

One of the issues that we are following very closely is the selection of the new Secretary General of the organization. The Committee of Ministers hopes that the Parliamentary Assembly will vote on the list of two candidates that has been sent to the Parliamentary Assembly on 12 May 2009.

In conclusion, let me just say that the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers pays great attention to the work of the Congress and is looking forward to the further cooperation with the Congress of local and regional authorities in the future.

Thank you.