Two Azerbaijan-related reports to be discussed at PACE Winter Session

Two Azerbaijan-related reports are on the agenda of the Winter Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe due to take place in Strasbourg from January 24-30. Reports on "Escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and the other occupied territories of Azerbaijan" and on "Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water" will be debated by PACE parliamentarians. Europe's migration and refugee crisis, international terrorism and the functioning of democratic institutions in Poland will take centre-stage at the session. The migration crisis will be addressed with reports on "The Mediterranean Sea: a front door to irregular migration" and on "Organised crime and migrants". With regard to international terrorism, reports on "Foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq" and "Combating international terrorism while protecting Council of Europe standards and values"* will be the focus of discussions. The Assembly will also elect its President for a one-year term, renewable once. Parliamentarians will also be called upon to decide whether to grant the request for partner for democracy status with the Parliamentary Assembly submitted by the Parliament of Jordan. Among the personalities who will be addressing the Assembly are the President of Bulgaria Rossen Plevneliev and the Captains Regent of San Marino Lorella Stefanelli and Nicola Renzi. Daniel Mitov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, will address the Assembly in his capacity as Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers, and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland will make his annual statement.