Dear Colleagues,

Mr. Secretary General,

Ladies and gentlemen,

In assuming the Chairmanship, I had stressed that Turkey  would spare no effort to put the Council of Europe back on the international scene as an innovative, more flexible and visible Organisation. We aimed to display the comparative advantage of the Council of Europe in the fields of standard setting and efficiently monitoring these standards through a variety of mechanisms. It is in this context that we had defined our priorities. The events for our chairmanship were also chosen, keeping in mind the role that the Council of Europe can play in addressing the challenges Europe is facing. We have distributed our stocktaking report. Therefore, I will only touch upon a few important elements.

During our chairmanship, unprecedented developments unfolded in the immediate vicinity of our continent. They brought forward, among others, not only the role of the Council of Europe, but also its responsibility: The Council of Europe is an organisation capable of extending the umbrella of its human rights norms and standards to a larger geography. These developments have also attested to the fact that there is a strong aspiration in our neighbourhood for our common values cherished by 47 member states. We took action in time. We did this because we want democracy, human rights and the rule of law not only for our own people in Europe. We want it also for all those who aspire to these fundamental values and act accordingly.

As these developments reveal, we live in an ever-changing world. So we must be able to adapt to the new realities. Our chairmanship, therefore, actively supported the reform agenda of the Organisation. Turkey will continue to do so. Because Turkey believes that the future of our Organisation will depend on our ability to appeal, to engage and to share our vision for Europe.

Dear Colleagues,

Today, multicultural societies have become an undeniable reality in Europe. These have also created new challenges for us. We need political leaders who can offer solutions on how to promote and protect multicultural societies. We need leadership who can offer confidence in a democratic society.

That is why we jointly initiated with Secretary General Jagland the formation of a “Group of Eminent Persons”. Last night, we were able to hold important discussions with the participation of Mr. Solana, Ms. Bonino and Ms. Kadıoğlu. We have already discussed this issue at length.

Dear Colleagues,

At a crucial juncture in European history, the leadership of our forefathers had led to the creation of the Council of Europe in 1949 and, a year later came the European Convention on Human Rights. Now Europe has reached another crossroads. The accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights will finally complete the common legal system in Europe for the protection and promotion of human rights.

Our Chairmanship has encouraged the process of negotiations continuing at the expert-level on technical problems; while also drawing attention to the need for high level political involvement in eliminating the basic hurdles. Turkey hopes that the upcoming Chairmanships will continue to attach to this issue the importance it deserves, with a view to facilitating the conclusion of the negotiations without further delay.

The Istanbul Declaration refers to principles which should guide EU accession to the Convention. We hope that 47 member states of our Organisation – EU members and non-EU members – will thus give political impetus to the ongoing negotiations.

The reform of the Court was another priority of the Turkish Chairmanship. In line with this and keeping with the previous Chairmanships’ efforts, we hosted the Izmir Conference on 26-27 April. The Conference resulted in the unanimous adoption of a political declaration backed by a “Follow-up Plan” as an instrument, laying down guidelines for pursuing the reform process of the Court. We should remain determined to guarantee the long-term effectiveness of the Court and the convention system. We trust that the decisions we adopted today on the conclusions of Izmir Conference will further the reform process.   

Standard setting, alone means nothing if it is not backed up efficient monitoring. During the Turkish Chairmanship, the indispensible role played by monitoring mechanisms was highlighted by joint events with ECRI, CPT and the Commissioner for Human Rights. Similarly, the standard setting work of the Council of Europe was enriched by a milestone instrument: “The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence” that we opened for signature today. We actively participated in the drafting of the Convention and provided strong support for its adoption. We hope that this Convention will function as a major instrument in this important area in Europe and globally.

Dear Colleagues,

A turbulent period prevails in and around the European continent. Developments showed once again that the Council of Europe was, is, and will be indispensible in promoting and strengthening cohesive societies based on pluralist democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Our priority for the Chairmanship was to contribute to the ongoing efforts for enhancing the political role of the Council of Europe on the international scene and its relevance in the lives of European citizens. We hope this has been achieved.  

Colleagues,

I would like to thank each and all of you, Secretary General Jagland and of course the staff of the Secretariat, as well as the various Council of Europe bodies for the support they have shown throughout our Chairmanship. We should also not forget the interpreters for having provided their invaluable services, not only here at this meeting, but throughout the activities we have organised during our Chairmanship.

Allow me to officially hand over the Chairmanship to my esteemed colleague Kostyantyn Gryshchenko and wish him all the success in the coming six months of the Ukrainian Chairmanship in further strengthening the Council of Europe for the benefit of the inhabitants of Europe. You will have our support in your activities and endeavours.

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