24 September 2009

Mikhail Kasyanov supporting the initiative by a group of European deputies to suspend the credentials of the Russian delegation to PACE

On September 28-30 political leader of PDU Mikhail Kasyanov will be in Strasbourg at the regular session of PACE. He will meet with members of various factions and take part in the joint meeting of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). On the eve of this visit Kasyanov made a statement, supporting the initiative by a group of European deputies to suspend the credentials of the Russian delegation to PACE.

Statement by Mikhail Kasyanov

A number of issues directly related to the current situation in Russia and Russian authorities' policy will be discussed at the forthcoming session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg (September 28 - October 2).

A group of deputies from all the factions of PACE and more than twenty European countries demanded to reconsider on substantive grounds of previously ratified credentials of the Russian Federation because of the persistent failure of Russian authorities to honor obligations and commitments imposed on them by the Assembly Resolutions regarding the settlement of the consequences Russo-Georgian war in August, 2008. In particular, Russian authorities not only refused to revoke their formal recognition of the Abkhazia.s and South Ossetia.s independence, but also pointedly strengthen political and diplomatic ties with these republics, while increasing military presence there. Contrary to the decisions of PACE and despite increased intensity of provocations, observers from the OSCE and the European Union still do not have access to the occupied territories.

I support this initiative of the deputies and urge the Assembly to support reconsideration of the credentials of the Russian delegation - in the interests of Russia and not the Russian government.

This decision is all the more justified because Russia is the only full member of the Council of Europe which has not met its commitments to ratify the 6th Protocol to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (the abolition of the death penalty) taken on themselves when joining the organization. Despite the assertions of the Russian authorities, there exists no moratorium on death penalty as such. Upon expiration of the term of a purely technical solution linking the possibility of the death penalty with the introduction of jury trials in all subjects of the Federation, the death penalty will be automatically restored in full from January 1, 2010.

In addition to that, Russian Parliament, including its delegation to PACE, prevents the full-fledged operations of the European Court of Human Rights, blocking the ratification of the 14th Protocol to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Thus, Russian Parliament deliberately impedes timely access to independent justice for thousands of citizens of the European states. Meanwhile, Russia is the undisputed "leader" in the number of decisions taken by the Court in favor of the plaintiffs. Obviously, this is the only way possible now to fix many wrongful decisions by the Russian judicial system. Not coincidentally, politically motivated court judgments in Russia (of which Yukos case is the most famous) will also be discussed during this session of the Assembly.

The forthcoming session of PACE should become a threshold in relations between Russia and the Council of Europe. Awareness is growing in Europe that "the specifics of Russia's democracy" cannot be tolerated any longer. A clear and principled declaration of inconsistency between the current policy of the Russian authorities and the basic standards and principles of the Council of Europe as an international organization dedicated to protecting human rights and democratic values on the European continent, will be a serious political signal to Russia's leadership and will help expedite the inevitable return of the Russian Federation to the pan-European space of freedom and democracy.

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