The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe...

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) with its Resolution 1179 adopted on January 27, 1999, considered that the Ukrainian authorities, including the Verkhovna Rada, are responsible to a great extent for the failure to respect the commitments Ukraine entered into when becoming a member of the Council of Europe. In particular, Ukraine committed itself to ratify within three years from the time of accession (November 9, 1995) Protocol No. 6 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms concerning the abolition of the death penalty; the deadline has passed and the protocol has not been ratified. This was the reason why the Assembly decided that, should substantial progress in honoring these commitments not be made by the opening of its June 1999 part-session, it shall: proceed to the annulment of the credentials of the Ukrainian parliamentary delegation and recommend that the Committee of Ministers proceed to suspend Ukraine from its right of representation.