Chairmanship news

Below are references and links to news items, speeches, planned events, visits and other information pertaining to the UK Chairmanship.

NOVEMBER 2011

Foreign Secretary William Hague, as new chair of the Comittee of Ministers, delivers his speech on UK Chairmanship priorities 07.11.2011 [Pdf, 65 KB, new window] 

Video Interview of Permanent Representative Eleanor Fuller on UK priorities 07.11.2011

2020 Vision for the European Court of Human Rights, Wilton Park. 17-19.11.2011 (see Wilton Park site: http://www.wiltonpark.org.uk/en/ )

Meeting Report from Wilton Park. 17-19.11.2011 (also available on Wilton Park site) 

The Council of Europe’s first biennial budget – an important part of the Secretary General’s reform of the organisation – was adopted on 23 November 2011 under the UK chairmanship.

Octopus Conference and 10th anniversary of the Budapest Convention 21 – 23.11.2011

Speech by UK Minister for Crime and Security James Brokenshire (Strasbourg, 23.11.2011)  [Pdf, 67 KB, new window] 

UK Minister for Culture Ed Vaizey gives speech on the protection of human rights online, Internet Governance Conference, Vienna. 24.11.2011 [Pdf, 45 KB, new window]
 

DECEMBER 2011

Foreign Office event presented Chairmanship priorities to NGOs and human rights organisations. Lord McNally, Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords, gave a speech and took part in Q&A with a panel of officials from lead Whitehall Departments 02.12.11

Council of Europe Roundtable on Internet governance and added value for CoE member states, Permanent Representative Eleanor Fuller, panellist. 05.12.11

JANUARY 2012

Committee of Ministers adoption of Internet Governance 2012-2015 - Draft Council of Europe Strategy. 18.01.12

Prime Minister David Cameron addressed the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 25 January, delivering a speech on reform of the European Court of Human Rights. He also responded to questions from European parliamentarians [Pdf, 149 KB, new window]. You can watch a video of his speech.

Minister for Europe David Lidington addressed the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on behalf of the Committee of Ministers on Tuesday, 24 January. You can read his speech here [Pdf, 89 KB, new window].

Verbatim records of the PACE Session , 23-27 January 2012, Council of Europe, Strasbourg. 

Crispin Blunt, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice), spoke at EU/CoE Data Protection Day in Brussels on 27 January. You can read his speech here [Pdf, 87 KB, opens in new window] 

FEBRUARY 2012

High Level Meeting to take place at Lancaster House in London on 13 February, concerning the priority of streamlining the Council of Europe’s activities in support of local and regional democracy. It will be chaired by Baroness Hanham, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Communities and Local Government.

MARCH 2012

Under the UK Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the Venice Commission, in co-operation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom and with the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, organised an international conference on “the Rule of Law as a Practical Concept”.

Follow these links to view the conference programme, in English and in French [PDF, 68 KB, new window].

This conference was co-organised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission) of the Council of Europe and the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law.

The conclusions of the conference will be presented to the Committee of Ministers during the UK Chairmanship, along with concrete plans for follow up by the Venice Commission. 02.03.2012

Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe Maud de Boer-Buquicchio spoke [Pdf, 26KB, new window] at the International Women's Day reception on the theme of "Body Confidence". Held by the UK Delegation on 8 March, the evening highlighted the issue of body image in the media. For more information on this topic go to the Home Office's Body confidence campaign web page. 08.03.2012

Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg issued a joint statement from Number 10 on International Women’s Day in strong support of the Council of Europe’s Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. For more information about this convention follow this link. 08.03.2012

The Council of Europe’s Internet governance strategy 2012 - 2015 was adopted by all 47 member States. A high priority of the UK Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, this strategy [Pdf, 121 KB, new window] contains lines of action structured around six areas: the Internet’s openness, the rights of users, data protection, cybercrime, democracy and culture, and children and young people. The strategy will be implemented over a four year period starting in 2012 and continuing through 2015. The Council of Europe will work in close cooperation with partners from all sections of society, including the private sector and civil society. 15.03.2012

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, March Session, Strasbourg, 20-23.03.2012

Government Equalities Office of the United Kingdom in co-operation with the LGBT Unit of the Council of Europe under the auspices of the United Kingdom Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe organised a conference on “Combating discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity across Europe: Sharing knowledge and moving forward.” For more information follow this link. 27.03.2012

APRIL 2012

The Brighton Conference, 18-20 April: The UK government will hold a High Level Conference on the Future of the European Court of Human Rights to draft a declaration for signature on Court reform. Go to the Council of Europe/ Brighton Conference website for detailed information on the event. 18-20.04.2012

Parliamentary Assembly Session, 23-27 April 2012, Minister for Europe David Lidington will speak on behalf of the Committee of Ministers. 23-27.04.2012

Ministerial event planned for 23 May 2012, at the Council of Europe, Strasbourg for the handover of the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers' to Albania.