To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the Council of Europe’s decision allowing Russia to return to the human rights watchdog.
Answered on
1 July 2019
The decision to adopt rules changes that saw the return of the Russian delegation to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly was a matter for the Assembly, which is independent from the intergovernmental Committee of Ministers. Russia's membership of the Council of Europe provides access, valued by Russian citizens and human rights NGOs, to the European Court of Human Rights and is one of the few ways available to the international community to hold Russia to account for its human rights violations. The British government did not, however, support Russia's unconditional return to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. We consistently called on Russia to fulfil all its obligations as a Member State, including payment of all debts to the Council of Europe, and to adhere to Council of Europe standards on human rights, democracy and rule of law. We will continue our efforts in the Council of Europe to ensure Russia is answerable for its actions. We will also continue to make clear that we do not and will never recognise Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea.