FOR THE ATTENTION OF THE MEMBERS OF THE BUREAU OF THE ASSEMBLY

 

Secretariat of the Assembly

Synopsis No. 2000/ 126 rev.

13 September 2000

 

The Bureau of the Assembly, meeting in Paris on 7 September 2000 with Lord Russell-Johnston in the Chair,

-            adopted the draft agenda and drew up the draft order of business for the 4th part of the 2000 Ordinary Session of the Assembly (25-29 September 2000);

-            decided that the Presidential Committee would represent the Assembly at the meeting of the mixed working party of the Joint Committee on 25 January 2000;

-      confirmed that the “monitoring of obligations and commitments by the Parliamentary Assembly and the Committee of Ministers” would be the main item of the Joint Committee meeting (Thursday, 28 September 2000) and that the relations with the United Nations as well as any other item resulting from the 4th part-session would be discussed under “other business”;

-        appointed Mrs Ragnarsdóttir (Iceland, EDG) as rapporteur for the next Progress Report of the Bureau;

-        held an exchange of views on the follow-up to Recommendations 1444 and 1456 (2000) and to Resolution 1221 (2000) on the conflict in the Chechen Republic and approved the measures taken by the Secretary General of the Assembly for the preparation of the visit of the ad hoc Committee to Russia (18-22 September 2000) as well as the composition of the delegations going to Moscow and Znamenskoye;

-        agreed that the Parliamentary Assembly be present in Belarus, in the framework of the parliamentarian Troïka (PACE, EP, OSCE PA), on the occasion of the parliamentary elections (15 October 2000) and appointed Mr Behrendt (Germany, SOC), in his capacity as rapporteur of the Political Affairs Committee, to represent it;

-        drew up the lists of candidates for the European Committee for the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in respect of  Italy and Latvia to be forwarded to the Committee of Ministers;

-        decided that the Working Group on parliamentary co-operation among South-Caucasian countries be transformed to an ad hoc Committee of the Bureau and to enlarge its composition accordingly;

-        took note of the conclusions of the Working Group of the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities on the modification of official reports of Assembly debates;

-        decided to hold the Standing Committee in Turkey from 21 to 23 May 2001;

-        took note of the report on the elections in Mexico (2 July 2000);

-        considered the programme of the next elections and decided to observe the elections in Kosovo  (28 October 2000), in Azerbaijan (5 November 2000), in Bosnia and Herzegovina (11 November 2000), in Romania (26 November 2000) and in Moldova (3 December 2000) ;

-       approved, subject to ratification by the Assembly, the following references and transmissions:

              . Motion for a resolution on humanitarian situation of returnees to Kosovo (Doc. 8789) :  to the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography;

              . Motion for a recommendation on the establishment of a permanent international centre for peace at Revereto (Italy) (Doc. 8790): to the Political Affairs Committee, for information;

              . Motion for a resolution on the creation of a mediator for children abducted within the family (Doc. 8791) : to the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee, for information, to be taken into account in the drafting of the report on the “Abduction of children by one of the parents” (Doc. 8573, ref. 2458, 4.11.99);

              . Motion for a resolution on the different measures to foster peace in the Middle East (Doc. 8792): to the Political Affairs Committee, for information, to be taken into account in the drafting of the report on the “Situation in the Middle East” (Doc. 7363, ref. 2027, 25.9.95);

. Motion for a recommendation on religion and socio-cultural changes in central and eastern Europe: search for a cultural identity (Doc. 8793): to the Committee on Culture and Education, for report to the Standing Committee;

. Motion for a resolution on the promotion of confidence-building measures and good neighbourhood relations in the Vojvodina (Yugoslavia) as part of the concept of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe (Doc. 8794) :  to the Political Affairs Committee, for information, to be taken into account in the drafting of the report on “Parliamentary contribution to the implementation of the stability Pact in South-East Europe” (Order 564 (2000));

. Motion for a resolution on the situation of deserters from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Doc. 8795) : to the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography;

. Motion for a recommendation on the cultural situation in the Transcaucasian region (Doc. 8796) : to the Committee on Culture and Education, for report to the Standing Committee;

. Motion for a resolution on clandestine migrants (Doc. 8797) : to the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography, for information, to be taken into account in the drafting of the report on “Clandestine migration from the South of the Mediterranean into Europe” (Order 563 (2000));

. Motion for a recommendation on the challenge of Europe’s declining and ageing population (Doc. 8798) : to the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee;

. Motion for a resolution on the problems of registration of non-governmental organisations dealing with human rights in the Russian Federation (Doc. 8799) : to the Committee on the Honouring of obligations and commitments by member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee), for information;

. Motion for a recommendation on improving the lot of abandoned children (Doc. 8800) : to the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee, for information, to be taken into account in the drafting of the report on the “Follow-up to a European strategy for children” (Order 514 (1996));

. Motion for a resolution on maternity in Europe: improving social and health conditions (Doc. 8801) : to the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee, for report to the Standing Committee;

. Motion for a resolution on conceptions of a European Federation (Doc. 8802) : to the Political Affairs Committee;

. Motion for a resolution on Freedom of the media in Russia (Doc. 8803) : for information to the Committee on the Honouring of obligations and commitments by member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee) and to the Committee on Culture and Education to be taken into account in the drafting of the report on “Freedom of expression in Europe” (Doc. 8557, ref. 2447, 4.11.99);

. 10th general report on the CPT’s activities (Doc. 8814) to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, for information;

-            approved the following meetings outside Strasbourg and Paris :

.    Committee on Culture and Education in Palma de Majorca (Spain) on 22-24 October 2000 ;

.     Social, Health and Family Affaris Committee in Florence (Italy) on 3 November 2000 ;

.     Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights in Rome (Italy) on 2-4 November 2000;

-                   appointed Mrs Ragnarsdóttir (Iceland, EDG) to represent the Assembly at the 52th Plenary Session of the Nordic Council in Reykjavik on 6-8 November 2000 ;

-                   agreed to hold its next meetings as follows:

            .            Strasbourg, Monday 25 September 2000 at 8.30 am

            .            Strasbourg, Friday 29 September 2000 at 8.30 am

            .            Strasbourg, Wednesday 8 November 2000 at 2.30 pm

            .            Paris, Thursday 14 December 2000 at 2.30 pm

            .            Paris, Monday 8 January 2001 at 9.30 am

 

Horst Schade / Agnès Nollinger