Armenia to be discussed on June 24
Co-rapporteurs John Prescott and Georges Colombier will present the functioning of democratic institutions in Armenia during the PACE summer sitting.
Discussions on Armenia are scheduled for June 24, yet there is still no document in circulation. It will most probably be ready after the session of the Monitoring Committee, which is scheduled for early June.
On June 23, a day before the discussion on Armenia, the PACE Delegates will elect the new secretary of the Council of Europe.
PACE Delegates have put into circulation a document, which proposes a clear definition for properly identifying "political prisoners". Authors of the document mention that at the present time, there are real concerns that there are no clear criteria for defining political prisoners.
They consider appointing a rapporteur to present a report that contains a clear criterion and a benchmark for who should be regarded as a genuine political prisoner.
"The process of appointing a rapporteur is in the interest of all member states of the Council of Europe. We also request that this be done and a report adopted by the Assembly before any report on political prisoners is prepared in respect of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova or any other country," as stated by the authors.
The document has been signed by 25 PACE Delegates, including head of the Russian delegation. There are no Armenian delegates among the signatories.
