Ukraine officially refused to participate in PACE because of Russia

The new delegation of Ukraine to PACE officially refused to participate in the autumn session.

Photo: Depositphotos189917326

According to a statement quoted on Facebook by the head of the delegation, Liza Yasko, Kiev will not submit documents to participate in the autumn session, which should be held from September 30 to October 4, writes RIA News.

“This will be Ukraine’s way of responding to the return of the Russian Federation to the PACE session hall without fulfilling the requirements of the assembly resolutions approved in response to Russian aggression against Ukraine,” the statement says.

The document notes that Ukrainian delegates will consult with partners in the assembly to find common approaches to return “PACE to its reputation as an important example of democracy, the rule of law and the protection of human rights and freedoms in Europe.”

PACE commented on Ukraine’s refusal to participate in the organization’s session and stated that Kiev was obliged to send a delegation.

On the subject: “They betrayed principles for the sake of money”: Russia resumed in PACE, Ukraine leaves in protest

As stated RIA News the head of one of the PACE political groups, Tini Cox, all member states must participate in the work of the statutory bodies of the Council of Europe, this is provided for in the resolution “On the role and mission of PACE, future tasks”, adopted by a three-quarters majority in April last year.

“Therefore, the Russian Federation had to send a new delegation to PACE, the same applies to Ukraine. The Council of Europe is not a cafe where you pick whatever you like,” Cox said.

Kyiv also called on colleagues from the Council of Europe to hold extensive consultations on the consequences of Russia’s unconditional return to PACE and to develop effective mechanisms for liability of “states that violate the constitutional documents of the Council of Europe and international law.”

Commenting on this part of the statement, Cox said that a joint response mechanism is being developed that can be used in case of a gross violation by a member state of its obligations under the charter and the European Convention on Human Rights.

“At the upcoming part of the session, this new mechanism will be discussed with the leaders of all national delegations. If Ukraine is absent, it misses the chance to participate in this discussion. Therefore, it would be wise not to remain on the sidelines for the next part of the session,” Cox concluded.

The source of RIA Novosti in PACE confirmed that countries are obliged to take part in the work of all bodies of the Council of Europe, but acknowledged that there is no procedure that would force it to do so.

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Return of Russia to PACE

In 2014, after the annexation of Crimea, the delegation from Moscow was stripped of a number of rights in PACE. In response, Russia suspended participation in meetings, and in 2017 announced the freezing of contributions to the budget of the assembly.

In late June, PACE restored the rights of the Russian delegation. The Ukrainian delegation introduced hundreds of amendments to the draft resolution on the return of authority to Russia in the assembly. Kiev diplomats also asked to postpone consideration of the issue to a later date, but their initiative was not supported.

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