Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijan has unveiled its key priorities as the Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and elaborated works done so far in the committee under its chairmanship since May.

Azerbaijan's chairmanship of the Committee started officially on May 14 and will end in November when the country is expected to hand it over to Belgium.

Addressing a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on June 23, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said, the policies of Azerbaijan as the chairman of this European body was mainly focused on human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

"The priorities are based on the most pressing issues on the agenda of the Council of Europe as well as the contribution that Azerbaijan could make in the light of its specific experiences and strengths," Mammadyarov said.

He said combating corruption is among the main priorities of Azerbaijan, noting that the country intends to contribute to the efforts of the Organization organizing a high-level conference in Baku in late June. The Group of States against Corruption- GRECO- and the International Anti-Corruption Academy will also take part in organizing the conference.

"The conference will provide a unique opportunity to exchange views on national experiences and best practices on the implementation of anti-corruption laws and preventive measures," Mammadyarov said.

He added that the manipulation of sports competitions, including football matches, constitutes an emerging challenge and reveals a striking aspect of corruption phenomenon.

"In this respect, I am very pleased that last month the Assembly gave its green light and provided comments on the current draft Convention on the manipulation of sport competitions through Opinion 287 (2014) adopted in the Baku meeting of the Standing Committee acting on behalf of the Assembly," Mammadyarov underscored.

"The ball is now on the side of the Committee of Ministers, which is examining these texts in the light of the above-mentioned opinion," he said.

Mammadyarov also stressed that Azerbaijan will do its utmost to secure the adoption of the Convention as soon as possible.

"For us, who will host the first European Games in 2015, the adoption of the Convention under our chairmanship would constitute a source of great satisfaction, privilege and honor," Mammadyarov said. "Furthermore, my government will support this priority line by allocating financial support to the Council of Europe Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport - EPAS."

Noting that Azerbaijan is a country with a centuries-long tradition of peaceful coexistence between different ethnic and religious communities, Mammadyarov further said the country has made the promotion of intercultural and interreligious dialogue one of its foreign policy priorities.

Highlighting numerous international initiatives and events such as the World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue and Baku Humanitarian Forum, Mammadyarov said Azerbaijan plans to host the high-level event - the UN Alliance of Civilizations VII Global Forum- in 2016.

Mammadyarov said, working towards the consolidation of culturally diverse societies, Azerbaijan is looking forward to hosting the 2014 Council of Europe annual exchange on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue, which will take place in Baku on September 1-2.

This meeting will provide an opportunity for a debate involving leading religious and non-religious figures. It will focus on tolerance of religion and non-religious convictions in culturally diverse societies, their contribution to combating all forms of discrimination, intolerance and violence, as well as the contribution of cultural heritage of a religious nature to intercultural dialogue.

Mammadyarov noted that the Azerbaijan will host several other cultural events, including a Platform Exchange on Culture and Digitization at the beginning of July, the 2014 Cultural Routes Advisory Forum and an event related to the Heritage Days, both due to be held in Baku during October, as well as the Youth Forum of the No Hate Speech Movement, to be held in Gabala in October.

"As part of its priority on social cohesion, Azerbaijan will organize a conference to review the Council of Europe Social Cohesion Strategy and Action Plan in Baku next September," Mammadyarov said.

Mammadyarov further noted that Azerbaijan will focus its attention on the need to nurturing a generation of educated and responsible youth.

He underscored that at the national level, the main policy pursued by the Azerbaijani government is strongly youth-oriented with special focus on their education.

"The share of public spending for education in GDP increases constantly and this will certainly translated into the quality of education. At the same time, the number of Azerbaijani state-funded students studying in leading foreign, mainly European universities will reach 5,000 by 2015," Mammadyarov said.

He went on to add that next October, Baku will host two important events - the 4th regional ministerial meeting on the implementation of the European Higher Education Area and the UN Global Forum on Youth Policy.

Mammadyarov further added that Azerbaijan will organize a high-level ministerial conference on the neighborhood policy of the Council of Europe in Baku next September, which provides a valuable forum for exploring the avenues for a long-term engagement of the Council of Europe in the countries covered by the neighborhood policy, taking fully into account the on-going debate within the Committee of Ministers on how to strengthen political dialogue with these countries.

Azerbaijan also seeks to strengthen co-operation with the European Union, as well as the other international organizations such as the OSCE and the UN.

Mammadyarov stressed that the two items were particularly high on the agenda of the 124^th Session of the Committee of Ministers in May and will remain a priority for the months ahead.

These issues are the situation in Ukraine and the Secretary General's report on the state of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe which was the first such report ever examined at the Ministerial level.

Mammadyarov said regarding the situation in Ukraine, all participants in Vienna called for a de-escalation of tension and a peaceful resolution of the crisis through dialogue and direct negotiations.

Azerbaijani foreign minister said the Committee of Ministers will continue to provide all the assistance requested by the Ukrainian authorities with a view to consolidating democratic progress of the country.

Mammadyarov also touched upon the conflict in Georgia, the most recent execution in Belarus, Kosovo's request for membership in the Venice Commission and etc.