Editing Council of Europe (section)

==== Suspension and exclusion of Russia ====

{{Main|Russia in the Council of Europe}}
[[Russia]] became a member of the Council of Europe in 1996. In 2014, after Russia [[Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation|annexed Crimea from Ukraine]] and [[Russian separatist forces in Donbas|supported separatists in eastern Ukraine]], the Council stripped Russia of its voting rights in the PACE.<ref name=Erlanger>Steven Erlanger, [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/world/europe/council-of-europe-russia-crimea.html Council of Europe Restores Russia's Voting Rights], ''New York Times'' (25 June 2019).</ref> In response, Russia began to boycott the Assembly in 2016, and beginning from 2017 ceased paying its annual membership dues of 32.6 million euros (US$37.1 million) to the Council<ref name=Erlanger/><ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-cancels-council-of-europe-payment-members-persecuted-a7816951.html Russia cancels payment to Council of Europe after claiming its delegates are being persecuted over Crimea], ''The Independent''. 30 June 2017</ref> placing the institution under financial strain.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/russia-withholds-payments-to-the-council-of-europe/a-42792673|title=Russia withholds payments to the Council of Europe|website=Deutsche Welle|language=en|access-date=19 September 2018}}</ref>

Russia stated that its suspension by the council was unfair, and demanded the restoration of its voting rights.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/3cccaf92-d12c-11e7-b781-794ce08b24dc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/3cccaf92-d12c-11e7-b781-794ce08b24dc |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Russia tests Council of Europe in push to regain vote|last=Buckley|first=Neil|date=26 November 2017|website=Financial Times}}</ref> Russia had threatened to withdraw from the Council unless its voting rights were restored in time for the election of a new secretary general.<ref name=Erlanger/> European Council secretary-general [[Thorbjørn Jagland]] organized a special committee to find a compromise with Russia in early 2018, a move that was criticised by some as giving in to alleged Russian pressure by Council members and academic observers, especially if voting sanctions were lifted.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://eu.boell.org/en/2018/02/21/classic-dilemma-russias-threat-withdraw-council-europe|title=A Classic Dilemma: Russia's Threat to Withdraw from the Council of Europe|work=Heinrich Böll Stiftung European Union|access-date=19 September 2018|language=en}}</ref> In June 2019, an approximately two-thirds majority of the Council voted (on a 118–62 vote, with 10 abstentions) to restore Russia's voting rights in the council.<ref name=Erlanger/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/council-of-europe-restores-russias-voting-rights/|title=Council of Europe restores Russia's voting rights|last=Weise|first=Zia|date=17 May 2019|website=POLITICO|access-date=18 May 2019}}</ref> Opponents of lifting the suspension included Ukraine and other [[post-Soviet countries]], such as the [[Baltic state]]s, who argued that readmission amounted to normalizing Russia's malign activity.<ref name=Erlanger/> Supporters of restoring Russia's council rights included France and Germany,<ref name=Suspends2022>Steven Erlanger, [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/03/world/europe/council-of-europe-russia-suspension.html The Council of Europe suspends Russia for its attack on Ukraine.], ''New York Times'' (3 March 2022).</ref> which argued that a Russian withdrawal from the council would be harmful because it would deprive Russian citizens of their ability to initiate cases in the [[European Court of Human Rights]].<ref name=Erlanger/>

On 3 March 2022, after [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russia launched a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine]], the council suspended Russia for violations of the council's statute and the [[European Convention on Human Rights]] (ECHR). The suspension blocked Russia from participation in the council's ministerial council, the PACE, and the [[Council of the Baltic Sea States]], but still left Russia obligated to follow the ECHR.<ref name=Suspends2022/><ref name=Mehta>Pooja Mehta, [https://www.jurist.org/news/2022/03/russia-withdraws-from-council-of-europe/ Russia withdraws from Council of Europe], ''JURIST'' (12 March 2022).</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/council-of-europe-suspends-russia-s-rights-of-representation|title=Council of Europe suspends Russia's rights of representation|date=25 February 2022|website=COE|access-date=25 February 2022}}</ref> On 15 March 2022, hours before the vote to expel the country, Russia initiated a voluntary withdrawal procedure from the council. The Russian delegation planned to deliver its formal withdrawal on 31 December 2022, and announced its intent to [[Denunciation (international law)|denounce]] the ECHR. However, on the same day, the council's Committee of Ministers decided Russia's membership in the council would be terminated immediately, and determined that Russia had been excluded from the Council instead under its exclusion mechanism rather than the withdrawal mechanism.<ref name="CoE_Expulsion_RU">{{cite press release |url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/the-russian-federation-is-excluded-from-the-council-of-europe |title=The Russian Federation is excluded from the Council of Europe |publisher=Council of Europe|date=16 March 2022}}</ref> After being excluded from the Council of Europe, Russia's former president and prime minister [[Dmitry Medvedev]] endorsed restoring the [[Capital punishment in Russia|death penalty in Russia]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 March 2022 |title=Russia Quits Europe's Rule of Law Body, Sparking Questions Over Death Penalty |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/03/10/russia-quits-europes-rule-of-law-body-sparking-questions-over-death-penalty-a76854 |access-date=14 March 2022 |newspaper=[[The Moscow Times]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dmitry Medvedev vows to reintroduce death penalty |last=Nilsen |first=Thomas |url=https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/security/2022/02/dmitry-medvedev-calls-russia-reintroduce-death-penalty |access-date=14 March 2022 |website=The Independent Barents Observer |date=26 February 2022 |language=en}}</ref>