Russia’s accountability and the strengthening of democracy to be on the agenda of the Council of Europe meeting

The Council of Europe's annual session of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs will be held on 14–15 May in Chișinău, Moldova. Finland will be represented at the meeting by Secretary of State Pasi Rajala.

The annual session of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs will focus on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and Russia’s accountability. Within the framework of the Council of Europe, a special tribunal will be established for handling the crime of aggression against Ukraine. At the Chișinău session, the intention is to establish an enlarged partial agreement on the management and funding of the special tribunal, with which the support of the states to the special tribunal can be implemented. Finland has been actively involved in the core group preparing this and has announced its intention to join the agreement. 

"The Council of Europe is creating the judicial framework to hold Russia accountable for its war of aggression against Ukraine. This is a good example of the wide-ranging work that the organisation is doing to uphold the international system of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. This work is particularly valuable right now," says Secretary of State Pasi Rajala.

There will be a particular focus on manipulation of information and foreign interference, which are also targeted at European societies and election processes. The meeting will outline ways to strengthen democratic institutions, ensure the integrity of elections and increase societies’ ability to respond to hybrid threats.

At the meeting, the intention is to also approve the political declaration on migration and the application of the European Convention on Human Rights and the additional protocol to the Warsaw Convention on the fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism. In addition, the meeting will adopt the Council of Europe’s first external action strategy, which aims to promote the organisation’s values outside the member states. The Presidency of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers will be handed over from Moldova to Monaco at the meeting.

The Council of Europe is Europe’s oldest intergovernmental organisation, and it has 46 member states. Finland joined the organisation in 1989. The organisation plays a key role in upholding democracy, the rule of law and the international human rights system and in setting human rights standards.