Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee)
Rapporteur : Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria, SOC
Origin - Reference to committee : Assembly decision of 26 January 2015, Reference 4105. 2015 - First part-session
Summary
The Monitoring Committee reasserts that the illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation is a gross violation of international law, including of the United Nations Charter, the Helsinki Final Act of the OSCE as well as the Statute of the Council of Europe and Russia’s accession commitments to this Organisation. In addition, the committee is extremely concerned about the developments in eastern Ukraine and condemns Russia’s role in instigating and escalating these developments, including with arms supplies to insurgent forces and covert military action by Russian troops inside eastern Ukraine, which are a gross violation of international law, including the Statute of the Council of Europe as well as of the Minsk protocol, to which Russia is party. In addition, the committee expresses its dismay about the participation of large numbers of Russian “volunteers” in the conflict in eastern Ukraine without any apparent action of the Russian authorities to stop this participation, despite it being in violation of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation itself.
In the view of the committee, no solution to the conflict in Ukraine will be possible without the full participation and commensurate political will of the Russian Federation. The Parliamentary Assembly therefore needs to maintain a constructive dialogue with the Russian delegation on this issue as well as on the honouring of its obligations and commitments to the Council of Europe. However, it emphasises that such dialogue can only take place if the Russian authorities are willing to participate, in good faith and without preconditions, in a constructive and open dialogue with the Assembly. The committee therefore proposes ratifying the credentials of the Russian delegation, but, at the same time, as a clear expression of its condemnation of the continuing grave violations of international law, suspending a number of the delegation’s rights and privileges. In addition, the committee proposes that the Assembly annul the credentials of the Russian delegation at its June 2015 part-session if no progress is made with regard to the implementation of the Minsk protocols and memorandum as well as the demands and recommendations of the Assembly, as expressed in the draft resolution.
