News

Lithuania supports the Council of Europe reform that is carried out by the Secretary General of the organization and is intended to modernize and increase its efficiency through the consolidation of democracy, human rights and the rule of law standards in all European member states, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis said at the Session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 11 May.

“The Council of Europe should remain a leading pan-European institution in a rapidly changing international environment that brings member states together binding them with legal rules and standards, and helping to overcome challenges in the areas of democracy, the rule of law and human rights,” Minister A.Ažubalis said.

As the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), at the meeting A.Ažubalis welcomed the activities of the Council of Europe that contribute to the settlement of frozen conflicts, including the role of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe in consulting the Government of Moldova and the recommendations of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights following the conflict in Georgia in August 2008.

The Minister noted that the Council of Europe and the OSCE closely coordinated their activities in contributing to the efforts to settle frozen conflicts and in providing assistance for democratic change in North Africa.

On 10-11 May at the 121st Session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, representatives from other 46 countries and heads of Council of Europe bodies discussed relevant issues of the ongoing reform of the entire organization in general and of the European Court of Human Rights separately, the report on the challenge of multicultural societies in European countries by the Group of Eminent Persons and the initiative of the Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland to strengthen cooperation between the Council of Europe and neighbouring countries.

The Council of Europe was established in 1949. This is the oldest regional organization dedicated to the promotion of the rule of law, democratic development and protection of human rights.