§ Lord Finsbergasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, they will support the release to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe the Secretary General's factual overview of the compliance with commitments of member states in respect of each country under consideration.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Chalker of Wallasey)If the Committee of Ministers' compliance with commitments procedures are to be credible and effective, discussions must remain confidential to ensure frank and constructive dialogue. This is clear from the implementation procedures adopted in April 1995. Consequently, if we are to give the procedures every chance of success in improving compliance by member states with their commitments—eg, to respect human rights—supporting documentation needs to be handled in the same way. It is for this reason that we do not support the release to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Secretary General's factual overview. We would agree however that the Parliamentary Assembly should be kept informed generally of progress.