In his communication to the Committee of Ministers on 30 April 2024, Congress Secretary General Mathieu Mori presented the Congress action to implement the decisions of the Reykjavik Summit, notably in supporting Ukraine, fighting against democratic backsliding, upholding human rights and the rule of law at local and regional level, promoting democratic values beyond Council of Europe member States, and engaging with young people.
The Secretary General underlined the unwavering political support of the Congress to Ukraine and its engagement in the High-Level Dialogue on good democratic governance with Ukrainian authorities focusing on local government legislation and decentralisation issues, as well as its contribution to the work of the Register of Damage and to Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction.
Secretary General Mori also took stock of the Congress monitoring, post-monitoring and election observation activities, aimed at strengthening local self-government and promoting multi-level governance and democratic participation, as well as co-operation programmes to assist member States in those areas, with 15 co-operation projects currently being implemented in 18 countries. He further referred to the start of the dialogue with local authorities on the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and on strengthening their role in upholding the rule of law, as well as to the Congress co-operation with the Belarus democratic forces and civil society in developing local democracy legislation, providing training and launching a programme of support to children of political prisoners.
The Secretary General concluded by outlining the continued work to enhance youth participation and democratic engagement, through the pursuit of the Congress' "Rejuvenating Politics" initiative and its Youth Delegates, which will mark 10 years in 2024, and the launch of a new revision of the European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life.
