HL Deb 05 February 1996 vol 569 cc6-7WA
Lord Lester of Herne Hill

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will take steps to ensure that the Russian Federation is admitted as a member of the Council of Europe only when it is objectively established that the legal order of the federation conforms fully with Council of Europe standards in each of the areas examined and evaluated in the report of the group of legal experts to the Parliamentary Assembly of 28th September 1994.

Lord Chesham:

No. But we accept that it is a fine judgment to make. On balance, we think that the arguments for Russian membership new outweigh the disadvantages. We will therefore respect the Parliamentary Assembly's recommendation, by 164 votes to 35, to admit the Russian Federation as the 39th member of the Council of Europe.

Lord Lester of Herne Hill

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they accept the findings of the report by legal experts to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe of 28th September 1994 (Rudolf Bernhardt, Stefan Trechsel, Albert Weitzel and Felix Ermacora: doe AS/Bur/Russia 1994 (7)) on the conformity of the legal order of the Russian Federation with Council of Europe standards.

Lord Chesham:

We saw no reason to dispute the findings of this report when it was made. Since then further Council of Europe fact-finding missions have visited Russia and investigated the legal and human rights situation. Their reports indicate that, while there are still shortcomings in the Russian Federation's conformity with Council of Europe standards, progress has been made towards respect for the rule of law; the Russian Government has also made specific undertakings to that end and we shall encourage it to adhere to them.