Strasbourg, 19/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - On 24 April, Bosnia-Herzegovina will become the 44th member of the Council of Europe. The accession ceremony will take place on the fringes of the 22/26 April Parliamentary Assembly plenary session, where an emergency debate will be held on the Middle East, probably followed by a resolution. The debate was requested by the President of the Policy Issues Committee, Roman Jakic (LDR, Slovenia) and the EPP and GUE groups. It will take place on Thursday. The Assembly will also discuss the political situation in Moldavia and respect for the rule of law based on a report by French Socialist Josette Durieu that the monitoring committee will adopt on Monday.
Azerbaijan, which is already a member of the Council of Europe, has just ratified the European Human Rights Convention.