Tirana, 09.11.2012 – Education in human rights, democracy and the rule of law, the Council of Europe essential values, is the top priority of the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Principality of Andorra, which starts today.

The Andorran minister for Foreign Affairs, Gilbert Saboya Sunyé, is presenting his country´s priorities to the Council of Europe member states at a Committee of Ministers meeting in Tirana, just after the ceremony in which Albania is transferring the six month chairmanship to Andorra.

The Andorran Chairmanship will carry out a number of activities relating to education for democratic citizenship and human rights, with a particular focus on youth. One of the key actions will be the launch of a campaign using online social networks to promote knowledge of the European Convention on Human Rights in co-operation with youth organisations and schools.

Three conferences related to education will be held during the chairmanship on:
· the impact of the European Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights (Strasbourg, 29-30 November 2012),
· competences for a culture of democracy and intercultural dialogue (Andorra La Vella, 7-8 February 2013), and
· the 24th Conference of Ministers responsible for Education (Helsinki, 26-27 April 2013) under the theme "Governance and quality education", organised by Finland.

The Andorran chairmanship will follow up the decisions of the Interlaken, Izmir and Brighton conferences in order to ensure the long-term effectiveness of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as European Union accession to the Convention.

During its chairmanship, Andorra will work to promote local and regional democracy, the effective implementation of Council of Europe standards for the efficiency of justice and awareness on the importance of education in sports.