In a resolution adopted without a vote, the representatives of the 46 foreign ministers to the Council of Europe (Committee of Ministers) announced on Wednesday 2 March that Russia will no longer have the right to be represented in the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. This mirrors the situation in the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly since the decision to suspend Russia was taken on 25 February (see EUROPE 12899/9).
“Unless the Committee of Ministers decides otherwise in a particular case”, Russia also loses the right to be represented in the various Council of Europe committees, for example the Committee for the Prevention of Torture.
However, the suspension “will not affect its position as a Contracting Party to those conventions and agreements concluded in the framework of the Council of Europe”, the Russian judge will continue to sit on the European Court of Human Rights, and the Russian Federation will still be able to participate – without the right to vote – in meetings of the Committee of Ministers responsible for supervising judgments, although only for those cases in which it is involved.
The Commissioner for Human Rights as well as representatives of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) will continue to be able to visit the country for work visits.
Furthermore, Russia remains obliged to pay its financial contributions to the Council of Europe budget and to the budgets of the partial agreements of which it is a member.
The Committee of Ministers will once again meet on Friday to decide on possible new measures. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)