COE Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1780 on the current situation in Kosovo

COUNCIL OF EUROPE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

 

Provisional edition

 

Current situation in Kosovo

 

Recommendation 1780 (2007)1

 

1.    Referring to its Resolution 1533 (2007) on the Current situation in Kosovo, the Parliamentary Assembly reiterates the historical role of the Council of Europe in improving good governance, strengthening democracy and the rule of law, raising human rights standards and improving the protection of national minorities in Europe. The Assembly is convinced that a similar role should be played also as regards Kosovo, with a view to contributing to the full implementation of the Standards for Kosovo.

 

2.    Similarly, the Assembly believes that the Council of Europe should give special support to Serbia, a member state which is going through a delicate political phase, and to the development of friendly and neighbourly relations between all the main actors in the western Balkans.

 

3.    The Assembly therefore asks the Committee of Ministers to ensure that the Council of Europe, in cooperation with other international actors, including the EU, plays a key role in putting in place measures to ensure the protection of the human rights of all persons in Kosovo, including to:

 

 3.1.    expand the role of the Council of Europe in Kosovo, in particular as regards:

 

  3.1.1. the protection of human rights;

 

  3.1.2. the voluntary return in safety and dignity of refugees and displaced persons and their sustainable reintegration;

 

  3.1.3. the protection of national minorities;

 

  3.1.4. the use of minority languages;

 

  3.1.5. inter-cultural dialogue and cultural heritage;

 

  3.1.6.    the fight against corruption, organised crime, money-laundering and trafficking in human beings;

 

  3.1.7. democratisation and financing of political parties;

 

  3.1.8. the accountability of the police;

 

  3.1.9. the independence and the efficiency of the judiciary;

 

 3.2.    communicate with the United Nations Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the future status process for Kosovo (UNOSEK) in order to ensure that standards and mechanisms of the European Convention on Human Rights be fully applied and integrated in the Status Agreement for Kosovo;

 

 3.3.    increase the information activities of the Council of Europe in or addressed to Serbia, as well as the activities relating to history teaching, human rights education, youth and inter-cultural dialogue;

 

 3.4.    in the prospect of its increased involvement in Kosovo during the post-status stabilisation period, engage in a dialogue with the appropriate European Union bodies to secure an enhanced role for the Council of Europe, including by deploying a Human Rights Adviser to be appointed by the Council of Europe to work within the future enhanced EU presence in Kosovo;

 

 3.5.    in accordance with Recommendation 1588 (2003) on population displacement in South Eastern Europe, cooperate with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and where applicable with International Organization for Migration (IOM), to find durable solutions for refugees, displaced and stateless persons;

 

 3.6.    reconsider the request made by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior of Kosovo (PISG) to receive Council of Europe expertise through the temporary appointment of a human rights' adviser to their institutions;

 

 3.7.    give an increased role to the institution of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe to assist in enhancing the protective role of the Ombudsperson in Kosovo.

 

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1 Assembly debate on 24 January 2007 (5th Sitting) (see Doc.11018, report of the Political Affairs Committee, rapporteur: Lord Russell-Johnston).

 

Text adopted by the Assembly on 24 January 2007 (6th Sitting).