The delegation of the Coordination Council (CC) to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe has been granted the right to take part in monitoring missions observing local elections in Council of Europe member states. The agreement was reached during the 50th session of the Congress.
“This is an unprecedented and very important political decision by the Congress, which our country’s delegation has managed to secure for the first time,” the CC said.
The main event of the session was the decision by the Congress Bureau to prepare a special report on the role of local and regional authorities in supporting Belarusian democratic forces and civil society in exile. A separate report on the situation in Belarus is being prepared for the first time in the history of the Council of Europe’s local and regional authorities.
During the session, bilateral meetings were held with the delegations of Belgium and Germany, where the organisation of internships for Belarusians in local government bodies in those countries was discussed. This is expected to help them gain the experience needed to implement reforms in a new Belarus.
The Belarusian delegation also presented information on the human rights situation in Belarus during a meeting of the political group of the European People’s Party, whose members are represented in the Congress.
The delegation in its current composition — Iryna Khalapitsa, Yury Hubarevich and Aliaksandra Doynich — has completed its work in the Congress. The composition of the next delegation will depend on the elections to the CC.
