Oct 9 2005 8:00PM PACE will not monitor elections in Chechnya - Davis
MOSCOW. Oct 9 (Interfax) - Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis voiced the Council of Europe's position on a number of problems concerning Russia in an interview with Interfax.
In particular, Davis said the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) will not monitor the parliamentary elections due to be held in the Chechen Republic on November 27, as this is not within its purview.
PACE does not monitor regional elections in Council of Europe member-states, he said.
Davis said he personally attended a PACE Bureau meeting on October 3 whose participants decided to dispatch several people to Chechnya to observe the voting process, although they will not enjoy official international observer status. He said it is a decision of which he approves.
Commenting on PACE activities in general, Davis called for expanding the subjects discussed at its sessions, in particular, by attaching greater significance to the state of democracy and democratic reform in Council of Europe members-states.
The Council of Europe secretary general also suggested that PACE should pay more attention to cooperation in cultural affairs, although this should not be done by reducing the time allocated for debates on human rights and democratic reform. He did, however, admit that this depends on contributions made by Council of Europe member-states, including Russia.
Davis also said he hopes Russia will be among the first countries to ratify two new Council of Europe conventions on combating terrorism, which took effect in 2005.
One of these conventions, namely the Convention on the Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism, deals with problems concerning the financing of terrorism. The other convention, titled the Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism, deals with the search for and recruiting of the perpetrators of terrorist attacks.
Davis praised the contribution Russian experts make to the efforts against international terrorism and described them as substantial, saying he was convinced of this while recently taking part in a meeting of an expert council dealing with the war on terror.
Davis also said he hopes Russia will ratify the 6th protocol of the European Convention on Human Rights, which bans the death penalty and which Russia promised to ratify when it joined the Council of Europe in 1996.
Asked whether the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly might impose sanctions should Russia fail to ratify this document by the end of 2005, Davis said he is not aware of any such plans.
Speaking about Russia's presidency of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers due to begin in May 2006, Davis said that the presiding country would definitely enjoy an influential position, noting that he would refrain from using the word 'influence' in this context. Davis said that he has absolute confidence in Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's exercising of caution not to create the impression that Russia intends to dictate how the Council of Europe should act.
Davis said he believes Lavrov will not use his talent of persuasion to exert pressure on Council of Europe institutions.
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