Information Documents - Council of Europe



DGAP/Inf(2007)16

14 May 2007

With the compliments of the Director General of Political Affairs

Avec les compliments du Directeur Général des Affaires Politiques

INFORMATION NOTE

FOR THE ATTENTION OF THE MINISTERS' DEPUTIES

__________

NOTE D'INFORMATION

A L'ATTENTION DES DELEGUES DES MINISTRES

RE: Report from the Council of Europe Field Offices and Outpost* / April 2007

Rapport des Bureaux et de l’antenne du Conseil de l’Europe sur le terrain* / April 2007

Please find attached the Report from the Council of Europe Field Offices and Outpost for April 2007.

_________________________

Veuillez trouver ci-joint le rapport des Bureaux et de l’antenne du Conseil de l’Europe sur le terrain pour avril 2007.

Ce document n’existe qu’en anglais

* For a more complete list of activities, see the Council of Europe activities database (CEAD) – / Pour une liste plus complète des activités, voir la base de données des activités du Conseil de l’Europe (CEAD) –

|FIELD OFFICES |

|YEREVAN |CHISINAU |

|Ms Bojana URUMOVA |Mr Vladimir RISTOVSKI |

|Special Representative of the SG |Special Representative of the SG |

|Tel: +374 10 24 33 85 |Tel: +373 22 202 304 or +373 22 202 212 374 |

|Fax: +374 10 24 38 75 |Fax: +373 22 202 305 |

|E-mail: bojana.urumova@coe.int |E-mail: vladimir.ristovski@coe.int |

|BAKU |BELGRADE |

|Mr Denis BRIBOSIA |Mr Denis HUBER |

|Special Representative of the SG |Special Representative of the SG |

|Tel: +994 124 975 489 |Tel: +381 11 3 088 411 |

|Fax: +994 124 975 475 |Fax: +381 11 3 086 494 |

|E-mail: denis.bribosia@coe.int |E-mail: denis.huber@coe.int |

|SARAJEVO |PODGORICA |

|Mr Tim CARTWRIGHT |Mr Vladimir PHILIPOV |

|Special Representative of the SG |Special Representative of the SG |

|Tel: +387 33 264 360 or 361 |Tel: +381 81 230 819 or +381 81 230 825 |

|Fax: +387 33 233 937 |Fax: +381 81 230 176 |

|E-mail: tim.cartwright@coe.int |E-mail: vladimir.philipov@coe.int |

|TBILISI |PRISTINA |

|Mr Igor GAON |Mr Zurab KATCHKATCHISHVILI |

|Special Representative of the SG |Head of Office |

|Tel: +995 32 98 54 40 |Tel: +381 38 243 749 |

|Fax: +995 32 98 96 57 |Fax: +381 38 243 752 |

|E-mail: igor.gaon@coe.int |E-mail: zurab.katchkatchishvili@coe.int |

|OUTPOST | |

|TIRANA | |

|Ms Delphine FREYMANN | |

|Special Adviser | |

|Tel: +355 4 22 84 19 | |

|Fax: +355 4 24 89 40 | |

|E-mail: delphine.freymann@coe.int | |

Yerevan

1. Political and legislative developments

Following the appointment of former Defence Minister Serge Sargsyan as Prime Minister, General Mikhail Harutyunyan (formerly Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces) was appointed Minister of Defence; the rest of the governmental team remained unchanged.

The official election campaign period started on 8 April. The Central Election Commission approved the schedule of appearances in free and paid airtime for proportional contestants on public television and radio. Public television will provide up to 60 minutes free and 120 minutes paid airtime; as for public radio, the respective limits are 120 minutes for free and 180 for paid airtime.

The Caucasus Media Institute, which is carrying out independent media monitoring with the financial support of the Council of Europe under its Action Plan to support parliamentary elections, issued two further reports in April (Phase 2 report and first interim report of Phase 3). The monitoring found that, since the beginning of the official election campaign period, the Republican Party received the highest share (24 %) of coverage in terms of total content across all channels monitored. The public broadcasters H1 Television and Public Radio provided access to a range of parties.

On 7 April the President re-appointed Grigor Amalyan as member of the National Commission on Television and Radio (NCTR) for the next six years (his previous term had expired in March). As expected, the NCTR re-elected Mr Amalyan as its Chairman shortly thereafter (9 April).

On 25 April the Vienna-based International Press Institute issued its annual World Press Freedom Review for 2006 on the situation in 180 countries. The review notes that while there was some improvement in Armenia's human rights records, media freedoms remained limited, with the independent media under pressure, and the broadcast media remaining pro-government. Cases highlighted in the review include the situation of A1+ television, the detention and prison sentence imposed on Arman Babajanian of "Zhamanak-Yerevan" daily (which, it has been argued, may amount to a disproportionate response to his offence of illegally avoiding military service), as well as incidents of harassment and physical attacks against journalists.

Certain violent incidents, which may have had a connection with the elections, occurred during the month. On 2 April unidentified persons fired gunshots at the car of the Mayor of Gyumri (Armenia's second-largest city) seriously injuring the Mayor (Republican Party) and his deputy, and killing four bodyguards. On 12 April, two Yerevan offices of Prosperous Armenia Party were targeted with explosive devices. Property of two majoritarian contestants in Vagharshapat (Armavir region) was damaged on the night of 7-8 April. All of the above-mentioned incidents are being investigated.

The OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission (EOM) issued two interim reports on the period from 29 March to 17 April and from 21 to 28 April. The reports found that the Central Electoral Commission is generally working efficiently, candidate registration took place in an inclusive manner and many of the proportional contestants exceeded the 15 percent requirement for representation of women on their list. On 26 April the CIS observers issued their first interim report, in which they gave a positive assessment of the election campaign.

On 26 April Grigor Harutyunyan, the Secretary of the Opposition People's Party of Armenia, expressed concern about the course of the pre-election campaign, referring to pressure allegedly exerted by local administration representatives during regional meetings of Stepan Demirchyan, the Party leader. The Secretary also referred to multiple cases of passport collection, which is said to be for the purpose of vote-rigging.

At the end of the month, the Armenian National Movement (the party of former President Levon Ter-Petrossian) withdrew from the electoral race, leaving 22 parties and one bloc in the proportional contest.

On 20 April a stir was caused by the publication in the newspaper Golos Armenii of extracts from a clandestinely-taped conversation between Artur Baghdasaryan (leader of the Opposition Country of Law Party) and a British diplomat which had taken place in a Yerevan restaurant in February. According to the material published, Mr Baghdasaryan reportedly said that electoral fraud would be "programmed" before voting day and asked that the international community issue a warning ahead of that time. The British Embassy in Yerevan released a statement (26 April) expressing dismay at the clandestine recording of the conversation, which it said had been "grossly misrepresented". At a subsequent appearance (27 April) before students at Yerevan State University, President Kocharian referred to Mr Baghdasaryan's remarks to the diplomat as "treason".

The Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) held a press conference (4 April) to present his report on 2006. According to the report, most of the complaints received concerned the functioning of the justice system (courts), the administration of the City of Yerevan and the police. The following day, the Court of Cassation issued a statement claiming that the Ombudsman's statistical data do not reflect the real picture.

President Kocharian ratified the Judicial Code and the Law on Entering into Force of the Judicial Code (7 April), as well as amendments to the Administrative Code and the Code of Criminal procedure (26 April).

2. Council of Europe action

From 11 to 13 April a pre-election delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly, headed by Leo Platvoet (Netherlands, UEL), visited Armenia to assess the political climate in the run-up to the parliamentary elections. The delegation commented positively on the assurances given by the authorities and other political stakeholders that the elections would meet Council of Europe standards. At the same time, the delegation regretted that inking had not been introduced, and expressed concern over apathy among the electorate.

Implementation of the CoE Action Plan to support parliamentary elections continued. On 13 April a discussion for journalists was organised on the coverage of the elections and the results of the media monitoring by the Caucasus Media Institute (cf. above). An electoral law expert of the Venice Commission provided technical assistance to the Central Electoral Commission (3 to 13 April); furthermore, the Venice Commission held a two-day seminar (25 to 26 April) on elections. The Council of Europe Office in Yerevan provided considerable support to various Action Plan activities.

3. Other action / co-ordination and co-operation with partner organisations

During the month, there was regular co-ordination with the international community on electoral and other matters. The SRSG held a number of meetings with the members of the ODIHR core team, as well as representatives of the European Commission, delegations to OSCE, and diplomats based in Yerevan. Active participation in the OSCE-co-ordinated elections working group continued.

On 5 April the Bryusov Linguistic University held a conference on human rights and education, with the participation of MP Hranush Hakobyan (Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture, and Youth), the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court, the Head of UNDPI, the Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, and the SRSG.

4. Activities of the Information Office

Publications and translations

Weekly monitoring on the Council of Europe visibility in the Armenian media for the Directorate of Communication.

A new section featuring full texts of Council of Europe publications was created on the website. The webpage can be accessed at .

Organisation

Contribution to the implementation of the CoE Action Plan in Support of Parliamentary Elections in Armenia. The IOCE provided support to CoE Missions. The films on the new modalities of the vote are being broadcast on seven TV channels and can be accessed at .

The films were also uploaded on , a special site devoted to the 2007 elections.

On 2 April the IOCE Director held a meeting with Maternity NGO where she presented the campaign "Building a Europe for and with Children" and provided information for further dissemination in Yerevan and the regions.

Attendance

Volunteer Fair, 10 April, organised by Future is Yours NGO in co-operation with the British Embassy.

Presentation of the phase 2 Results of Media Monitoring in the run-up to May 12 parliamentary elections.

Presentation on Internet Resources for Librarians, 17 April, organised by the US Embassy.

Presentation of a Guidebook for Journalists on How to Receive Electoral Information, 27 April, organised by the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

Presentation of the Youth in Action Programme, 30 April 2007, organised by EU Directorate for Education and Culture.

▪ Statistics of the office:

a) general information/library – 29 visitors, 300 phone inquiries

b) ECtHR information – one person

c) Website: coe.am

- Total Hits: 28903/ Average Hits per Day: 963/ Average Visitor per Day: 30

- Total Page Views: 6139/ Average Page Views per Day: 204 

- Total Visitors: 921/ Total Unique IPs: 599

- Total Bandwidth: 404398 MB/ Average Bandwidth/Visitor: 439 KB

Baku

1. Political and legislative developments

Debates in the Parliamentary Assembly on the draft resolution on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Azerbaijan were the focus of considerable interest in the course of April and received wide media coverage. The Office in Baku estimates that at least one hundred and forty-five press articles directly related to the preparation of the resolution and its adoption (on 17 April) were released by the main newspapers and press agencies.

In the resolution itself, the Parliamentary Assembly notes some positive developments in a number of fields but underlines numerous shortcomings and resolves to pursue its monitoring. The Assembly also states that it attaches particular importance to the forthcoming presidential election in 2008 “which must be the first in the history of the country to comply fully with international standards for free and fair elections”.

The resolution was welcomed by all political forces. Political observers generally described the resolution as a well balanced document that accurately reflects the difficulties with which the country is currently faced.

The freedom of the media has taken a further blow with new criminal prosecutions of journalists this month. On 13 April, an appeal court in Baku upheld the prison sentences of two journalists given for a series of articles written by them in connection with alleged corrupt practices and infighting in the Ministry of Interior.

On 20 April Mr Fatullayev, an outspoken editor-in-chief of two independent and popular newspapers in Azerbaijan, was sentenced to two and half years’ imprisonment, which led to strong reactions from human rights defenders as well as representatives of the international community.

On 24 April, the Supreme Court confirmed a three-year prison sentence for possession of heroin against another journalist in a case that had been described by several international bodies as being politically motivated.

 

On a more positive note, the Azerbaijan's National Television and Radio Council extended the licence of ANS Broadcasting Company for another six years on 27 April.

On 20 April Mr Ali Insanov, the former Minister of Health who was arrested among several senior government officials in the run-up to the 2005 parliamentary election, was sentenced to eleven years’ imprisonment. He was found guilty of embezzlement of government funds, abuse of office and of receiving brides. He denied all charges and alleged that the ruling was politically motivated. Ten other officials received prison terms ranging from three to nine years.

On 29 April, and for the third time since the beginning of this year, the Musavat party organised a demonstration to protest against the government's socio-economic policy. Earlier this month, President Aliyev stated that the economy had grown by 40% in the course of the last three months and that the inflation rate over this period equalled 16.6%.

2. Council of Europe action

On 2-4 April, a Council of Europe delegation took part in a meeting with the working group that had prepared draft amendments to the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan on the basis of experts opinions provided in December 2005 (CEAD 18414).

On 2-4 April, the Council of Europe co-organised a training seminar for criminal lawyers on selected articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (CEAD 18544).

On 10-11 April, experts and representatives of the Venice Commission and of ODHIR met with Azerbaijan representatives to discuss amendments to the Election Code.

On 18 April, the SRSG in Baku took part in the first round table of partners and donors in the project about a cultural route “Alexander Dumas in the Caucasus” which is being developed under the Kyiv Initiative. The round table was organised by the Ministry of the Culture and Tourism.

On 26-27 April, an eighteen-month Council of Europe training programme on the European Convention on Human Rights for Azerbaijani prosecutors was successfully launched. The programme is being supported by the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (CEAD 19104).

On 26 April, the Secretary General delivered a video recorded message at the opening of the International Conference on the Role of the Media in Encouraging Tolerance organised by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry and the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC).

On 30 April and 1 May, the Council of Europe co-organised with various national and international agencies a conference aimed at assessing the draft National Strategy of the Republic of Azerbaijan for increasing Transparency and Combating Corruption.

3. Other actions / co-ordination, and co-operation, with partner organisations

In the course of April, the Head of Office and/or representatives of the Office took part in various meetings and activities organised by the OSCE Office in Baku (in relation to supporting Milli Majilis and freedom of the media), by Azerbaijani parliamentarians (a conference in Sumgait Police Station in the context of the campaign “Stop domestic violence against women”, a meeting of the task force on alleged political prisoners) and by four local NGOs (including a press conference in the context of the campaign “All equal – all different”).

On 18 and 24 April, the Office hosted regular meetings of the Legal Reform Group with the participation of representatives of OSCE, USAID, ABA CEELI, GTZ and UNHCR.

Other actions include:

- preparation and/or translation of fourteen press releases for the website and dissemination;

- publication of the first issue of the magazine “Council of Europe and Azerbaijan;

- weekly monitoring on the Council of Europe visibility in the Azerbaijani media;

- organisation of interviews between Venice Commission experts and local journalists.

Statistics: In April, the Office answered forty-two requests for general information on the activities of the Council of Europe from journalists. It provided fifty-three visitors with information on procedures before the European Court of Human Rights and delivered training materials and documents to three local partners. Fifty-eight university scholars and students visited the library of the Office and made use of its resources.

Sarajevo

1. Political and legislative developments

 

The unseasonably high April temperatures in BiH seemed to match the political climate, without however melting anything of the residual political permafrost. Tempers frayed under the sun; political and inter-ethnic relations, viewed through the statements of the principal protagonists, stayed stuck in polar positions, and were characterised by uncompromising and – for the most part – unconstructive statements.

The cause of this small tidal-wave of ethnic posturing and rhetoric was the effect of the ICJ Srebrenica Genocide decision, which increasingly muddies the political waters both in BiH and in the region more generally.

The BiH tri-Presidency, which had operated in consensual fashion in previous months, was the first casualty of this development. On April 11, the Bosniak and Croat members, Siliajdjic and Komsic, instigated a majority decision of the Presidency calling on Serbia immediately to take steps to fulfil its obligations in accordance Convention on Genocide Prevention. This decision was vetoed by the Serb Chair-in-Office, Radmanavic, on April 13, on the grounds that it was destructive to the Vital National Interest (VNI) of the Republika Srpska and to the foreign policy objectives of BiH as a whole. As provided under the constitution, Radmanovic referred this VNI issue to the RS National Assembly, which on 23 April upheld the veto, with all 69 representatives of RS political parties outvoting the 6 SDA and SDP members. The High Representative, bidding to calm matters, then wrote to Serbian President Boris Tadic enquiring what Serbia proposed to do to improve its cooperation with the Hague Tribunal and attracted a robust retort from Belgrade.

Meanwhile, to raise the stakes and following the municipal initiatives reported previously, representatives of the disaffected Bosniak population of Srebrenica had set up a tented protest-camp in Sarajevo. Federation politicians followed suit with the SDP introducing in the FBiH parliament a resolution charging the Entity government both with improving the material and legal situation of Srebrenica and working to remove it from RS.

In a bid to encourage calm and rational thinking, and to diffuse calls for constitutional amendment of Srebrenica’s status, the International Community (IC), under an OHR lead, set up an IC Assessment Group on Srebrenica to review existing aid arrangements and to propose additional steps to improve the economic and social conditions there, including how the considerable sums earmarked during the month by State, RS and Federation governments might most effectively be used. On 27 April, senior OHR officials met with the Prime Ministers of BiH and the two Entities, Messrs. Spric, Brankovic and Dodik, whose discussions were generally assessed as positive and included agreement to set up a joint coordinating body for Srebrenica. They also included a ground-breaking, agreement for a joint session of the RS and FBiH parliaments, and intimation that such sessions might become regular occurrences. Notwithstanding these moves, emotions continue to run high on all sides, fuelled also by a stand-off in Bratunac over a burial and memorial site for recovered remains of Muslim victims of the war, a dispute in which RS PM Dodik was instrumental in resolving to general acclaim, and this following his earlier well-received visit to Srebrenica.

Elsewhere in government, the Council of Ministers (CoM) continued to function – at least formally – during April. Since its first convocation in February, only three laws have been adopted, and even these were amendments to existing legislation. All complex questions from Police re-structuring through Higher Education legislation and defence property transfer to constitutional reform are blocked. Agreement on distribution coefficients for VAT revenue allocation is also still proving a sticking point, 16 months after the introduction of this State-level tax.

One brighter note was struck on the very last day of the month which saw a decision taken by the UN Security Council in New York on a question that has long exercised the IC, and the CoE in particular, namely the issue of IPTF de-certified police officers. Thanks to outstanding coordination between the various actors and the highly instrumental role of the HRC, this matter was resolved in a manner that, though perhaps not optimal, met with the declared support of all parties.

2. Council of Europe action

General

CoE visibility in the three main newspapers (Dnevni avaz, Nezavisne novine and Dnevni list) and main TV news during the month in April was reflected in more than 30 major stories of a positive or neutral nature, with all newspapers and TV stations covering both PACE session and visit of HRC Thomas Hammarberg on 20/21 April concerning de-certified police (see above).

The Dosta! Awareness-Raising Campaign TV spot is still being broadcast by all major State and Entity TV stations, as is the radio spot on the main radio stations.

On 24 April, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sven Alkalaj attended a reception at the Sarajevo Office for its staff hosted by the SRSG on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of BiH’s accession to the CoE.

On 3 April, in Banja Luka, the six 2007 laureates of the 2nd round of the BiH Beacon Scheme for local government best practice, the municipalities of Banja Luka, Laktasi, Pale, Samac, Posusje and Bosanska Krupa, were awarded Beacon status.

In Education, on 5 April, the CoE and OSCE co-organised a seminar for history textbook reviewers from BiH, building on the joint CoE-CIDA project on Training of new textbook authors. In an important breakthrough, the various education authorities in BiH have agreed to have mixed teams of history textbook reviewers so that reviewers from the FBiH will sit on review boards in the RS, and vice versa. This was followed on 21/22 April in Sarajevo by the 2nd module of training for pedagogical advisors and history teachers on topic of multi-perspectivity in history teaching.

In Higher Education, on 3 April and ahead of the 5th Bologna Conference of education ministers in London in May, the steering board for the joint EC/CoE project “Strengthening Higher Education in BiH” (SHE) met to take stock of the project’s achievements, endorse an updated work plan and identify priorities for a possible successor project to support the reform process in Bosnia and Herzegovina (CEAD 15112).

On 18 April, the SHE project coordinator and the education project officer attended an Embassies' briefing on education issues organised by the OSCE.

In the Rule of Law field, on 18 April parallel IT training for trainers of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Training Centres took place on Sarajevo and Banja Luka (CEAD 18795 and 6). On April 23/24, the CIDA-financed Judicial and Prosecutorial Training Centres (JPTCs) Project contributed to the organization of the Regional conference on distance learning for judges and prosecutors (CEAD 19035)., and on 27 April the same project team organised follow up training for judges and prosecutors on “Child witnesses and their evidence".(CEAD 18788).

Concerning the sister CIDA project Assistance for the Reform of the Prison System in BiH, within CEAD activity 18398, the final version of the draft Law on Detention and Imprisonment was communicated to all relevant national institutions. At a meeting on 24 April organised by the UNICEF, the CoE project team, representatives of NGOs and international bodies dealing with Juvenile Justice, agreed to take formal steps to encourage the Council of Ministers to implement the Juvenile Justice Strategy and accompanying Action Plan that the CoM had itself approved in July 2006. The SRSG and Heads of all relevant NGOs and IC institutions addressed a common letter to the Ministry of Security and Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees to this end.

Within the Cards Police and PACO Impact project, during the month the working group for financial investigations completed updating of the Manual on Financial Investigations and Confiscation of Proceeds of Crime. The new edition will contain more relevant and practical information and will be a single publication for the whole region. On 16/17 April, the CoE, with EUROPOL assistance organised a training event on Intelligence-led Policing for some 27 participants representing institutions at State, Entity and cantonal level (Ministries of Interior, Police forces, Prosecutor's Offices, etc.).

Several Human Rights events took place during the month. On 10/11 April, within the joint EC/CoE project “Development of a reliable and functioning Prison system respecting fundamental rights and standards, and enhancing of regional co-operation in the Western Balkans”, the CoE office, in cooperation with DG II, organised a train-the-trainers course on “Human Rights in Prisons” (CEAD 17029), followed by a conference the next day on the same subject for State and Entity Ministers of Justice, assistant ministers, directors or deputy directors of prisons, and inspectors (CEAD 17028). On 18/19 April in Banja Luka, the CoE Office organised a training course for judges on Implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights, followed by a similar course for lawyers in Mostar on 25/26 April (CEAD 17391 and 17387).

Tbilisi

1. Political and legislative developments

On 13 April the Georgian Parliament, on its third reading, passed a draft law with 160 votes to three on the creation of a provisional administrative entity in South Ossetia. The entity aims at creating tools, which should help to resolve the conflict peacefully, to define the region’s autonomous status and to prepare for democratic elections, according to the draft legislation.

The Parliament of breakaway South Ossetia has condemned Tbilisi’s plans for the creation of a provisional administrative unit in the region, saying that “such actions aggravate Georgian-Ossetian relations”.  

NATO parliamentarians, foreign ambassadors accredited in Georgia, Georgian MPs and government ministers, as well as NGOs and representatives of international organisations, including the OSCE and EU, participated in a three-day NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s seminar in Tbilisi. The seminar which started on 19 April discussed relations between the South Caucasus and the European Union and NATO, as well as the region’s security challenges. The South Ossetian alternative leader Dimitri Sanakoev advocated in the seminar the involvement of the alternative government in the negotiating process.

2. Council of Europe action

On 12, 19 and 26 April meetings of the Election Legislation working group were held in the Parliament on the initiative of the CoE and OSCE. Members of the ruling and opposition parties, NGOs and representatives of the CoE and OSCE attended the meeting. SRSG and the representative of OSCE had several meetings with the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Mr Machavariani concerning election legislation.

On 2 April the SRSG attended the meeting organised by the Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation concerning missing persons in Abkhazia. On 10 April the meeting was held with Mr Bernard Betrancourt from ICRC attending a meeting on the same topic.

On 11 and 13 April the SRSG had a meeting with the Chairperson of the Parliament, Ms Nino Burjanadze, to discuss elections related matters and other current legislative developments.

11-12 April- 1) Round table on the concept paper on the regional development planning and implementation process in Georgia (parliament DG I, 11.04.07); 2) Consultation meeting on the law on the budget of local self-government units of Georgia (parliament-DG I, 12.04.07).

On 5 April the SRSG attended the briefing organised for diplomats by the Ministry of Interior concerning the events in the Kodori gorge. After the briefing the SRSG had a short meeting with the Minister of Interior to discuss the current situation in Kodori.

On 26 April the SRSG met with the Minister for IDPs and Accommodation, Mr Giorgi Kheviashvili, to discuss the draft law on repatriation.

On 16 April the Office was represented at the meeting organised by the Central Election Commission together with the Civil Registry Agency concerning the voters’ lists, during which the plans for improving the lists were presented.

A Roundtable on regional development law and Consultations on the law of local budgets, organised as a joint initiative of the Parliament and CoE, was held in the Parliament on 11-12 April.

3. Other Action/Coordination and cooperation with partner organizations

The SRSG had several meetings with the representative of the OSCE concerning election matters and issues of the rule of law. The SRSG also met with Ambassador Roy Reeve, OSCE, concerning the creation of the restitution commission on 18 April. On 19 April the SRSG attended the Technical Working Group meeting organised by the OSCE concerning the election matters. Representatives of different international and local organisations participated in the meeting.

4. Activities of the Information Office

Publications and Translations

• publications:

- Re-print of “Human Rights educational fact sheets - The European Convention on Human Rights – Starting Points for Teachers” (in Georgian). Under the support of DC for the CoE campaigns: ''All Different, All Equal'' and ''Building a Europe for and with Children''.

- IOCE's web-publication of SBX portal's Georgian version of data on campaign "All Different, All Equal" - Campaign for diversity, human rights and participation;

- T-Kit 4 - Intercultural Learning – for the campaign: ''All Different, All Equal'': Campaign for diversity, human rights and participation

- SBX portal’s web-page on ''Human being - not for sale'': Campaign to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings (to be published on coe.ge);

• translations:

- SBX portal's material on campaign ''Stop domestic violence against women''.

Seminars and conferences co-organised by the IOCE

3 April – Launching of Campaign ''Building a Europe for and with Children'' in the regions of Georgia.

5 April – Joint press-conference of IOCE with the Public Defender, Experts in Psychology and UNICEF on organisational aspects CoE campaign: ''Building a Europe for and with Children'', in Georgia.

24-25 April – Co-organisation of training on “Rights Defined by the ECHR and Procedures for the Application to the ECtHR”. (IOCE and the Georgian Young Lawyers Association).

28 April – Co-organisation of a Debate-Contest for the students of legal faculties form regional universities of Georgia (Kutaisi, Batumi, Telavi, Rustavi, Gori). The theme of the event was HR protection and the respective European legal mechanisms. (IOCE, Georgian Young Lawyers Association and its Foundation for the Support of Legal Education).

29 April – Opening of CoE Info-Point at Guria (Ozurgeti, Western Georgia) central library.

30 April – Opening of CoE Info-Point at the newly opened EU Information Office in Georgia.

Statistics of IOCE

31 - Press releases issued;

73 - Visitors;

533 - CoE promotional material distributed;

104 - Phone calls responded;

59 - Replies of IO by mail.

Chisinau

1. Political and legislative developments

On 11 April the European Commission communicated a new EU regional co-operation initiative titled Black Sea Synergy to ensure greater coherence and policy guidance in the states of the respective region. Its short and medium-term priorities concern: democracy, human rights, settlement of frozen conflicts, good governance, combating organised crime and illegal migration, cross-border co-operation, etc. On 13 April the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine accepted the Agreement with the European Commission and the Republic of Moldova for prolongation of the mandate of the EUBAM for two years 2008-2009.

The rumours and articles published referring to the secret agreement achieved between Chisinau and Moscow on the resolution of the Transnistrian conflict strongly attracted the attention of the public and caused wide political debate. On 20 April the Parliament announced the examination of the implementation of the Decision Nr. 117-XVI of 10 June 2005 on the Ukrainian initiative for democratisation and demilitarisation of Transnistria. The existence of any Agreement was officially denied by President Vladimir Voronin on 27 April. A number of high-level meetings with representatives of the international community re-affirmed the necessity of resuming the talks within the “five + two” negotiation format without further delay.

According to the Official Monitor of Moldova of 13 April, 27 parties and social-political organisations will be able to take part in the general local elections to be held on 3 June. The OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission was established on 23 April. The Central Electoral Commission accredited 50 international observers on 26 April. It also approved the composition of the second-level district electoral councils on 11 April. The Chisinau District Electoral Commission registered 13 candidates running for Mayor of the capital on 27April.

The survey Socio-Political Barometer of IMAS-Chisinau published on 19 April, based on the statistical example of 1091 respondents and relevant for the period from 13 to 24 March, indicates that Mr Vladimir Voronin continues to be the most popular politician in Moldova although the trend of trust of citizens towards the President has declined compared with the same period last year. He is followed - according to the survey’s popularity rating - by Mr Vasile Tarlev, Prime Minister, Mr Marian Lupu, Speaker, Mr Serafim Urechean, President of the Moldova Noastra Alliance, and Mr Iurie Roska, Vice Chairman of the Parliament and President of the Popular Party of Christian Democrats.

The OSCE Mission to Moldova in co-operation with the Superior Council of Magistrates presented the First Report of the Trial Monitoring Programme on 19 April. The findings indicate that the delays and frequent postponements of the cases within the national judicial system cause inefficient and slow trials. The Supreme Court's hearing on the Passat case was postponed on 19 April for a third time because the Deputy General Prosecutor was prevented from taking part in it. A new hearing was scheduled for 3 May.

The procedure for the granting of frequencies and broadcasting licenses by the Audiovisual Co-ordination Council to the “Divasery Media” for the Balti-based “City FM” and the “Germers Nord” was criticised on 17 April on the grounds that it was possibly being influenced by high officials and partial deciding. The Audiovisual Observation Council of Teleradio-Moldova published on 26 April a new contest for the position of Director of Radio Moldova. Mr Veacelsav Ionita withdrew from the membership of the Audiovisual Observation Council on 27 April stating its inefficiency and lack of transparency as a reason for his decision.

The Government approved the draft amendments to the Citizenship Law at its session held on 25 April.

To be followed next month: the general local elections process.

2. Council of Europe action

A Roundtable on the development of the Public Prosecutor's Service for the representatives of the judiciary, Ministry of Justice, Parliament’s Legal Standing Committee and other legal professions was organised on 17 April. It drafted the expert recommendations on the changes and amendments of the Law on Public Prosecutor’s Service and discussed the need for further reform of the prosecutorial policy.

An expert meeting on the organisation of a Legal Advice System to bring in line the legal framework on organisation and functioning of the judicial system with the European standards was held on 24 April. CEAD 18735. JP EC/CoE

A Roundtable on the Strategy of Consolidation of the Judiciary was carried out on 25 April. Its aim was to fine-tune the quality of the draft judicial policy and promote the co-ordination between main stakeholders in order to draw up a feasible Action Plan, as well as to envisage appropriate financial resources for its implementation. CEAD 17798. JP EC/CoE

The second training on risk assessment in the judiciary “Integrity improvement in public service organisations through self-assessment” took place from 2 to 5 April with a view to strengthening the capacities of the judicial institutions to conduct self-evaluation of the risks of corruption. CEAD 17828. JP EC/CoE

A working meeting with the representatives of the State Committee for the Financial Monitoring of Ukraine was organised in Kiev on 23 April. It focused on designing appropriate curricula for comprehensive training for anti-money laundering specialists from Moldova. The first ten-day training session for representatives from the Centre for Combating Economic Crime and Corruption, intelligence and security service, Ministry of Interior, judiciary and other professions obliged to report on money laundering cases is scheduled for 18 June. JP EC/CoE

A Roundtable “Training in the human rights field: results, problems and prospects” was carried out in co-operation with the Ministry of Justice and the national Institute of Justice on 19 April. It assessed the current state and discussed further necessary steps, resources and methodology for enhancing the national capacities for efficient application of the ECHR in domestic judicial practices. Three follow-up training sessions for judges, prosecutors and lawyers will be organised by the end of the year.

3. Activities of the Information Office

Translations:

- An opinion article of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on terrorism

- CPT updated information to be included in the brochure “CPT –European non-judicial Committee

Statistics of the office:

▪ a/ Applications and specific documents on the ECHR were given to 14 persons at the IOCE premises. b/ required documents on general issues: registered 21, sent on request: 12

▪ Visitors to the Office: 36

▪ Visitors to the library: 39

▪ Phone calls: _app. 180

▪ Donation of publication/materials: _1165_

▪ Press releases translated and sent to mass media: 12

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Seminars/conferences/ workshops etc:

17-18 April - a seminar on mass-media and elections was organised. It brought together representatives of public and private TV channels and broadcasting stations from Chisinau and other regions, representatives of news agencies, Central Election Commission, Co-ordinating Council on Audiovisual, political leaders, NGOs and political analysts and representatives of international organisations.

On 24 April, a press conference launching a national photo competition of school children “Childhood – a world without violence” was organised by the IOCE at Moldpres News Agency. The competition is organised within the frame of the CE campaign “Building a Europe for and with children”. (CEAD 19225)

25 April – opening of an Infopoint at the Science Library of the Balti State University (North of Moldova).

Attendance

On 12-13 April, the IOCE Director participated and took the floor in a Round Table on the Action Plan 2007-2010 to support Roma from Moldova, organised by the Bureau of Interethnic Relations of Moldova and the Council of Europe.

Donation of materials

2 April - donation of materials (ECHR, Glossary on ECHR, Human Rights Handbook Nos 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 -50 copies of each) to the National Institute of Justice for the organisation of a round table on training in human rights: achievements, issues and perspectives, organised by the Institute in co-operation with the Council of Europe.

18 April - donation of human rights literature to the Association Promo-Lex for the participants in a seminar on “Human Rights – general notions” organised in Cocieri (Dubasari) on 21-22 April.

Belgrade

1. Political and legislative developments

The Secretary-General of the Council of Europe Terry Davis visited Belgrade on 3 and 4 April, in order to discuss the state of preparation of the country’s upcoming chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers. During his visit he had meetings with the President of Serbia Boris Tadic, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vuk Draskovic, the Serbian delegation in PACE, the Head of the Kosovo Coordination Centre and a number of NGO’s. The Secretary General also attended a meeting of the National Committee in charge for the preparation (and subsequent implementation) of the chairmanship, comprising the representatives of all relevant state authorities at governmental, parliamentary and judiciary level as well as local and regional authorities and the civil society. This was the occasion for in-depth discussions on the priorities and activities for the chairmanship and its political background. Following the visit and a number of additional consultations, the Government of Serbia adopted a National Platform for the chairmanship on 26 April.

Once again, the political agenda in April was mostly dominated by the continuing negotiations on the future status of Kosovo. Special attention was paid to the UN Security Council session held on 3 April, in which PM Kostunica reiterated the firm opposition of Serbia to the UN Special Envoy’s proposal. Serbian officials and local media pointed out that the session showed that the decision on the status of Kosovo would not be brought easily and that disagreement existed among the members of the SC. As a result of the Security council session, a fact finding mission of ambassadors from the 15 current SC member states visited Belgrade and Kosovo on 26 and 27 April. The mission visited some of the Serbian enclaves in Kosovo, but not the administrative border between Serbia and Kosovo, where thousands of internally displaced Serbs protested. When meeting the SC ambassadors, PM Kostunica presented a model of supervised autonomy, as a basis for compromise. A similar message came from the meeting with President Tadic, who backed the concept of substantial autonomy, and presented the situation of the IDP’s while drawing attention on the position of remaining Serbian community in Kosovo.

More than three months after the parliamentary elections, Serbia still does not have a new government. Despite a number of meetings between the three main political parties from the “democratic block” and sporadic announcements of a possible breakthrough, there is still no clear indication when exactly the final cabinet agreement could be reached. The lack of any real progress in this respect generated a number of speculations and exchange of accusations between rival political parties, opening other scenarios as an option, including the perspective of new elections. According to the constitution of Serbia the new government must be formed within a deadline of 90 days after the constituting session of the Parliament, which is 14 of May.

On 16 April, Dejan Anastasijevic a well known journalist of Belgrade's independent Vreme weekly escaped without injuries when a hand grenade exploded on a window of his apartment in the city center. This is the latest in a series of attacks against journalists in Serbia in the last few years. Although the police said they have launched an intensive investigation in the incident, no substantial traces of the perpetrators have been found yet. Anastasijevic is an investigative reporter specialised in war crimes and organised crime.

2. Council of Europe action

New project

At a meeting held on 25 April with the Minister of Education, an agreement was reached on a new Joint Programme between the CoE and EAR on Strengthening of Higher Education in Serbia. The implementation of the program which aims to support and accelerate higher education reforms in Serbia, based on the Bologna Process, will start on 1 September.

Support to the Parliamentary Institutions in Serbia

On 10 April a second round of English language course was launched for the civil servants and the MPs of the Serbian Assembly. Continuation of other project activities depends on the establishment of the Parliamentary bodies and committees.

PACO Serbia project

Due to the current political situation, the Project did not perform any activities in the territory of Serbia, but held a series of meetings with the beneficiary parties – Ministry of Justice and the Administration for Prevention Money Laundering in order to discuss plans for further activities, after the Government is formed.

Human Rights and Media

As a part of human rights training activities for the judiciary the CoE Office in Belgrade in cooperation with the Judicial Training Centre of Serbia has organised two seminars for prosecutors dedicated to freedom of liberty and security of person and fair trial guarantees under the ECHR. Seminars were held in Uzice and Cacak, on 13/14 and 20/21 April.

Strengthening local self-government in Serbia

On 26 April, the Steering Committee of the “Strengthening local self-government in Serbia” program, held its second meeting on which the 1st Interim report was presented and afterwards adopted. The meeting was attended by the representatives of the Ministry of Finance, Standing conference of municipalities and towns, EAR and CoE while the representatives of the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, were absent.

Within the Leadership benchmark part of the program, the third Peer Review Visit to the Municipality Mediana in the City of Nis was held on 23-26 April. In the context of the best practice program, the application period for the submission of proposals from municipalities lasted until 30 March 2007 and around 100 applications from municipalities have arrived. A meeting of the Selection Panel and the CoE expert was held on 19 April, where a verification visit to short-listed municipalities has been discussed.

Judicial and police reform

The implementation of the new joint Project between CoE and EAR on the assessment of the national judicial strategy has been discussed at separate meetings with EAR on 23 April and with the Strategy Implementation Secretariat on 25 April. The aim of both meetings was to agree on the dynamics and way of its implementation

The Strategy Implementation Secretariat (SIS) held a Donors Co-ordination meeting on 19 April, in order to make a stock of future assistance programmes regarding the judiciary reforms It was agreed that all international organisations that are involved in this area, will send their work plans for the next 3-6 months, in order to avoid overlapping and improve co-ordination.

Prison reform

The CoE office organised an Information seminar and workshop on the system of internal inspection on 17 and 18 April. The aim of the seminar was to contribute to the establishment of a prison system in Serbia in accordance to European prison standards. This was followed by a visit to one prison institution in Pozarevac, where simulated inspection were carried out.

 

The 1st training session for new probation officers (''commissioners'') was held on 19 and 20 April. The session is supporting the setting up of efficient system for implementation of alternative sanctions  and development of probation service that is orientated toward the sustainable rehabilitation of ex-inmates.

3. Other action /Coordination and cooperation with partner organisations

The Belgrade office took part in the regional evaluation meeting on human rights training for judiciary in the countries of the former Yugoslavia with the title: “How to Make it More Useful”, organised by a group of NGOs from the region in Sarajevo on 31 March – 1 April.

The CoE participated in the UNDP cluster meetings about the rule of law on 5 April and on good governance on 24 April. Participants discussed the list of issues to be presented by each donor at the meetings with new Ministers in order to have co-ordinated approach of the present international organisations.

Meetings with Mr Dragoljub Popovic, the ECtHR judge and Mr Slavoljub Caric, Serbian Government Agent before the ECtHR, took place in the Office on 20 and 26 April.

The CoE office participated in the conference on the new Law on territorial organisation and the status of cities in Serbia, organised by the Centre for public administration and local self-government on 23 April in Belgrade.

On 17 April, the Belgrade office attended the International conference on the cooperation between capitals in the region of SEE, organised by the City of Belgrade and the Centre for regionalism. The conference was attended by mayors of Belgrade, Zagreb, Ljubljana and Sarajevo, as well as representatives of several international organisations.

The Ministry of Interior invited the Belgrade office to participate in the presentation of the Framework for the National Strategy on the Prevention of Criminality, on 23 April.

4. Council of Europe profile

The month of April was to a large extent devoted to the visit of the Secretary General, Terry Davis, to Serbia. All major electronic and printed media followed the visit of the Secretary General and reported on his meetings with the Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs and the President of Serbia.

The “European Forum” in cooperation with the Belgrade office, the French Cultural centre and the weekly Vreme published a special supplement of the Vreme weekly edition devoted to the CoE and Chairmanship of Serbia. The edition has been presented on 26 April in the French cultural centre.

The Venice Commission opinion on the Serbian Constitution raised a vast interest among the media in Serbia. Glas Javnosti and Kurir reported on the statement of the Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government whereby he said that “Serbia is prepared to acknowledge some of the suggestions of the Venice Commission that might have a positive effect on the constitutional and legal shaping of the state’s new legal system” .

The bomb attack on the journalist Dejan Anastasijevic in Belgrade raised a lot of tension among the Serbian media and population, and nearly all major media reported on the Secretary General’s statement on the freedom of expression and the condemnation of the attack on Dejan Anastasijevic.

The PACE session from 16 to 20 April also raised a lot of interest in the media. In particular, the comprehensive debate on the state of human rights and democracy in Europe for the first time, with leading individuals involved in human rights, was noted, with special emphasis to the adopted resolution, in which the Parliamentary Assembly calls for human rights to be respected, recommending greater vote rights, gender equality and more direct democracy, and to the Secretary General statement in which he hoped that this debate would lead to concrete results and that the population of Europe will learn more about this issue. RTS1 (TV) Dnevnik

Serbian media also reported on the election of Lord Russell-Johnston as the Rapporteur on the Kosovo issue.

Podgorica

1. Political and legislative developments

On 17 April CoE PACE recommended the Council of Ministers to invite Montenegro to join CoE. Speaker Krivokapic addressed the Assembly.

On 4 April, a 30-day public debate on the Draft Constitution began. Most of the opposition parties have assessed it as badly organised. Upon the proposal of two Albanian MPs it was decided that it would be prolonged till 28 May. The press published unofficial information that one of the disputable issues, i.e. the election of judges has been resolved: they are apparently to be elected by the Judicial Council mostly composed of judges and to be confirmed by the President. State symbols and free access to information remain other disputable issues. The Movement for Changes repeated its request that the new Constitution be followed by the elections.

After the Montenegrin Orthodox Church (MOC) Promotion Committee announced they would “take over from the Serb Orthodox Church all temples and churches in Montenegro with or without the help of State”, their Meitropolitanate Council said they would rather resort to the judicial system in Montenegro for the “illegally taken property to be returned”. Three days later, on 17 April, the MOC synod decided to perform a liturgy in the Monastery in Cetinje next day. Special police forces prevented the MOC representatives and supporters from entering the Monastery. MOC Promotion Committee said more liturgies in Serb Orthodox churches and monasteries would be organised in the near future. Serb Orthodox Church said they would use all legitimate means to protect their property. Political reactions to this event varied from those that condemned it and assessed it as jeopardising peace and security in Montenegro to those saying this proved a bad attitude of State to the Montenegrin nationals. President Vujanovic said the duty of the State is to protect the right to property and those who legitimately own the property.

In April Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreement and interim Agreement on Trade were initialled by Montenegrin and EU representatives. The presentation document was also adopted by the Government and on 25 April handed in to the NATO.

To be followed next month: Public debate on the draft Constitution, Parliament session, dispute between Montenegrin and Serb Orthodox Church, privatisation issues.

2. Council of Europe Action

Following the decision of the Montenegrin Ministry of Finance to accept the CoE proposal to establish the Working Group assigned to review and suggest possible amendments on the Law on Local Self-government Finance with regard to the equalization system, the second meeting of the Working Group was held on 27 April 2007. Prior to this meeting the Council of Europe delivered the report “Sketch of a formula for allocating equalization funding in Montenegro” with recommendation and suggestions on method and criteria to be used for allocating the equalization grants in Montenegro. CEAD 16601

In accordance with the conclusions of the second Steering Committee meeting held on 18 December 2006 the Strategic Implementation Plan on establishing of the Probation Service was finalized and delivered to the Ministry of Justice, Prosecutorial service and other respective project partners. This plan, which contains precise steps forward for implementation of the project, review of legislation, draft amendments for certain laws as well as detailed draft budget for the future Montenegrin Probation Service, shall be further discussed during the next Steering Committee meeting that will take place on 3 May 2007. CEAD 16959

On 19-20 April, a Joint seminar on the Access to Civil Rights for Displaced Roma, Ashkaelia and Egyptians in Montenegro was co-organised by the CoE and the UNHCR. The purpose of the seminar was to discuss the treatment and the status of displaced Roma, Ashkaelia and Egyptians in Montenegro relating to their access to civil rights and in particular future steps that will be taken by the state authorities in this regard. Special focus was also given to the commitments undertaken by Montenegro within the procedure of the accession to the Council of Europe. CEAD 17854

On 25 April, Venice Commission representatives met Montenegrin authorities: President, Prime Minister, Speaker, Supreme Court President, Constitutional Court, in order to exchange views on the draft of the new Constitution of Montenegro.

On 26 April, a Round table on the draft Constitution of Montenegro was jointly organised by CoE and the Parliament of Montenegro. Speaker Krivokapic made an opening adress. Venice Commission representatives shared their concerns, views and suggestions with representatives of the Constitutional Committee, NGOs politicians and academicians. The event was widely reflected in the press. It was agreed that the VC would send its written opinion to the Parliament by mid May, while it is also possible that another Round table will be organised by mid June.

A study visit to the Council of Europe and the ECtHR was organised for four officials from the Montenegrin Ombudsman Institution from 17 to 20 April. The aim of the visit was to allow the Ombudsman representatives to familiarise with the Council of Europe’s main HR treaties and mechanisms as well as various areas of work of other CoE Departments and bodies. CEAD 17338

Centre for Development of NGOs and Open Society Foundation in cooperation with the Council of Europe organised a Round table “Broadcasting and public activity of the Council of the Radio and Television” on Monday, 30 April. The aim of this Round Table was to offer new recommendations regarding the Broadcasting Law. The Round table was very well attended and covered by the media.

On 25 April SRSG became member of the Academic Council of School for Democratic Leadership in Montenegro at its constituting meeting. AC consists of representatives of partner organizations, lecturers and school alumni. AC will also give advice about the school program and act as promoter of the School in local and international context. The School will integrate the network of Schools of Political Studies of the Council of Europe.

Pristina

1. Political and legislative developments

On 26-28 April UN Security Council (SC) representatives visited Kosovo, as the second stage of their fact-finding mission. The mission was briefed by the SRSG and COMKFOR on the day of its arrival. The diplomats met members of the Team of Unity, Leaders of Albanian and Serb Political Groups, of other communities’ representatives, with the EU Planning Team, visited Gracanica, Mitrovica, Svinjare and the KEK Power Plant. The group met Kosovo Albanian, Kosovo Serb and Roma representatives in Rahovec/Oharovac and visited Krusha e Vogel/Mala Krusa and visited Kosovo Serb returns’ village, Brestovik.

2. Council of Europe action

On 11 April the Deputy Head of Office participated at the weekly meeting on decentralization. At the meeting the Ministry of Local Governance and Administration (MLGA) representative said that MLGA had prepared an initial draft of the Law on Local Self-Governance, which should be partially revised to comply with Annex 3 in Ahtisaari’s package. A concept paper was developed on Local Finance, which could still be revised. The Law on Local Elections was being drafted by another working group, where the Deputy Prime Minister was representing PISG. The most important duty for MLGA was the elaboration of the Action Plan, which had already been drafted. During April, two further meetings of the WG took place when developments were discussed briefly.

Upon the request of UNMIK and the Assembly of Kosovo, on 15 April, the CoE (Venice Commission and DGII) submitted expertise on the Draft law on the People’s Advocate for Kosovo.

On 10 April the Deputy Head of Office met the representatives of UNICEF to discuss co-operation on launching the CoE campaign Building a Europe for and with Children.

The Deputy Head of Office was present at the weekly WG meetings on the draft Constitution.

On 26 April, the Legal Officer attended the WG meeting on the Rule of Law-Standard II. During this meeting it was reported that the Kosovo Anti-Corruption Agency is developing a close cooperation with the local and international institutions in pursuing the “zero tolerance” policy against corruption. To this end, the Agency is closely cooperating with the Ministry of Public Services in drafting the law on conflict of interests which would supplement the anti-corruption law. In cooperation with the OSCE, the Agency is preparing a media campaign against corruption which will be ready in May. There were 50 cases of alleged corruption reported to the Agency in 2007, out of which two were sent to the competent Public Prosecution for further criminal proceedings, while other cases are still under investigation. Another relevant report, was the one on the witness protection. The OSCE and the U.S. office delivered a report that would help the UNMIK to complete the Regulation on the witness protection. Both organizations supported the Kosovo Judicial Council during 2006 in implementing the witness protection project, which provided the courts throughout Kosovo with the opportunity to take testimonies through video-conferences. First cases of these testimonies with protected witnesses took place in Pristina (3 cases) and Prizren (2 cases).

On 17 April, the Legal Officer attended the meeting of the Committee on Legislation of the Kosovo Assembly where at the center of the discussion was the report of the Minister of Justice on the latest developments in the field of justice. The Minister pointed out the fact that the Kosovo institutions continue to suffer from the consequences of non-implementation of laws. The problem of insufficient number of judges and prosecutors is still present, due to the complicated procedures of election of judges. The Minister emphasized that before selecting judges and prosecutors, there should be an increase in their salaries and according to the estimations of the Ministry, 2.5-3 million Euros per year are needed for this salary raise. The Minister, also raised the problem of the lack of judicial police which is foreseen by the Criminal Code and Code on Criminal Procedure. The draft law on regular court and the draft law on prosecution is still pending. The draft laws on court taxes, and notary are still pending, and hopefully they will be processed to the Assembly soon.

In the framework of the SIDA project for the support of the Ombudsperson Institution in Kosovo, the legal English course for 28 employees has continued. On 24-26 April a training was organised for interpreters from the OIK.

The outstanding reconstruction works at St George (Prizren) and St Nicholas (Pristina) were concluded during this month. This means the end of the works programmed and tendered during 2006. The European Agency for the Reconstruction started the reconstruction works in two RIC sites in Prizren.

An exhibition of the reconstruction works was presented in Strasbourg.

3. General Security Situation

On 12 April, someone opened fire on the KPS escort of Anton Berisha, Head of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). A police officer who was inside the car, was wounded and he was immediately transported at the Hospital in Pristina. Respective units from Prizren region went to the crime scene to investigate this case, and around 17h15 patrolling units of the police station in Drenas arrested three Kosovo-Albanian male suspects in Gjurgjica village, for the alleged attack.

On 30 April, daily Express reported that Mr Berisha fled Kosovo with close members of his family and headed towards an unknown EU country. The decision to leave the country came as a result of a phone call that Mr Berisha received from an anonymous police officer, who allegedly claimed that the 12 years old daughter of Anton Berisha had been kidnapped. Later on, this information turned out to be false, but it was sufficient for Mr Berisha to take the decision to leave Kosovo for an unspecified period of time.

During the visit of the UN SC between 26-28 April, security remained calm and normal.

Tirana

1. Political and legislative developments

During April, the process of adjudication of complaints and appeals following the 18 February 2007 local government elections was completed. In total, the Central Elections Commission (CEC) adjudicated on 251 appeals and upheld 12 per cent of them. The Electoral College (EC) received 106 appeals and accepted 32 per cent of them. The CEC and the EC ordered re-runs in 20 local government units, which will take place on 6 May.

On 24 April, Foreign Minister Besnik Mustafaj announced his resignation. The Prime Minister appointed Lulezim Basha (currently Minister of Public Works, Transport and Telecommunications) Minister of Foreign Affairs, and appointed Sokol Olldashi (former Minister of Interior and former candidate for Mayor in the 18 February elections) new Minister of Public Works, Transport and Telecommunications. On 30 April, the President of the Republic decreed the two new Ministers. The decree was confirmed by the vote of the Assembly (the Opposition voted against both nominations).

During March and April, officers of the General Directorate of Taxation performed several financial controls in the Top Media group. Media representatives and the Opposition reacted, denouncing selective tax inspections and threats against the freedom and the independence of the media.

A new draft law on digital broadcasting initiated by a group of MPs from the Majority was unexpectedly tabled in the Assembly agenda for the 19 April, via an accelerated procedure. This draft law came out while an action plan on media-related legislation had been agreed upon by the Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of Europe, which included reviewing the broadcasting law in order to bring it in line with European standards. The Opposition reacted to this new draft saying that the Parliamentary Committee on Media and Education had not been involved in the drafting. The Parliamentary Committee on Media and Education had then several meetings on this issue and finally decided to create a working group on the digital broadcasting draft law composed of two MPs of the Opposition and two of the Majority. The working group held its first meeting on 25 April.

2. Council of Europe action

In the framework of the Joint Programme EC/CoE on Support to the Training of Court Administrators in Albania and in accordance with the Action Plan, two training seminars for court administrators (chancellors and court secretaries) on access to justice and fair trial (Articles 6 and 13 of the ECHR) took place respectively in the School of Magistrates and the Ministry of Justice on 12-13 and 16-17 April.

From 24 to 27 April, a fourth study visit took place in Schwetzingen (Germany) to the Training Centre for Rechtspfleger[1]. The Albanian delegation (staff of the School of Magistrates, of the Ministry of Justice, court presidents and chancellors) had a practical overview of the functioning of the German administration of justice and the profession of Rechtpfleger, of initial and continuous training of Rechtspfleger and judicial administrative staff and of the training of trainers. The fourth day of the study visit took place at the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Secretariat (DG3) and IOCE organised in Tirana from 5-7 April the Regional Festival on Roma “Art against stereotypes”. The festival was part of the CoE/EC campaign Dosta!: go beyond prejudices, discover the Roma” .

On 25 April, Secretariat (DG4) gave a presentation on the CoE priorities on youth participation at the launching conference of the Albanian National Strategy and action Plan on Youth organised by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports of Albania.

On 6 April, Special Adviser participated in a meeting organised by the School of Magistrates, during which the President of the Republic of Albania presented an orientation document on issues of strategic reforms in the judiciary.

During April, Secretariat (DGPA) and IOCE completed the selection procedure of the participants in the Albanian School of Political Studies.

3. Other action / coordination and cooperation with partner organisations

On 3-4 April, Secretariat (DG1) gave a presentation in a two-day regional conference on combating corruption organised in Tirana by the OSCE and the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe.

On 5 April, Special Adviser participated in a roundtable on legal aid organised by the Centre of Integrated Legal Services and Practices in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, the National Bar Association, Prosecution Office of Tirana District and NGOs with the support of the UNICEF, SIDA and EC. A study-analysis on “the free legal aid system and services – analysis and recommendations” was presented and discussed.

4. Activities of the Information Office

From 2 to 8 April, IOCE organised activities within the framework of a Week on Roma, in cooperation with Albanian Institutions and NGOs.

During April, IOCE delivered 1500 copies of legal and HR publications to the Pristina CoE office, and 50 copies of the ECHR to the participants in a training for court administrators organised in Tirana by Secretariat (DG1).

On 3 April, IOCE distributed the monthly e-newsletter to various institutions, NGOs, media etc.

Statistics:

|IOCE visitors (48 users at the library + 95 visitors at the office): |Photocopies: 2000 |

|143 | |

|Requests for general information on CoE activities: 128 |Assistance to secretariat missions: 2 |

|Requests for information on ECHR: 86 |Mails received: 30 |

|Telephone calls: 487 |Press releases issued: 5 |

|Website hits: 52126 |News translated for the website: 12 |

|Disseminated publications: 1700 | |

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[1] Superior official of justice, especially for competencies concerning administration.

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