The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopts new standards.

 Strasbourg, Sept.6.– The Committee of Ministers has adopted new recommendations to member states on good democratic governance and deliberative democracy.

The first sets out the fundamentals of good democratic governance, covering the protection and promotion of democracy; respect for human rights and the rule of law; public ethics and integrity; good administration, and delivery of high-quality public services. It expands on 12 key principles to guide the actions of decision-makers and public institutions at all levels, and to clarify the standards expected (see also explanatory memorandum).

Paris, Sept.4 (DP.net).– A delegation from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities made up of rapporteurs Bryony Rudkin and Matija Kovač will carry out the second part of the monitoring visit to assess the implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in the country since the previous monitoring report adopted by the Congress in 2016. The first part of this monitoring visit took place from 7 to 9 March 2023.

The United Nations on Tuesday called
for more global action to end nuclear testing,
warning against the danger of “collective suicide”.

United Nations NY, Sept.1.– In his message marking the International Day against Nuclear Tests, Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for key countries to ratify the international treaty that bans experiments for both peaceful and military purposes.

‘Recipe for annihilation’

“This year, we face an alarming rise in global mistrust and division,” he said. “At a time in which nearly 13,000 nuclear weapons are stockpiled around the world — and countries are working to improve their accuracy, reach and destructive power — this is a recipe for annihilation.”

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) therefore represents “a fundamental step in our quest for a world free of nuclear weapons,” he added.

The treaty opened for signature in September 1996 but has yet to enter into force because it must be signed and ratified by 44 specific nuclear technology holder countries, eight of which have yet to ratify it: China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Pakistan and the United States.
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China's new "2023 standard map" is a violation of sovereignty as it includes Vietnam's Spratly and Paracel islands within its infamous 'nine-dash line,' the foreign affairs ministry has announced.

The fact that China’s Ministry of Natural Resources has issued what’s called the '2023 standard map,' with the inclusion ofPham Thu Hang. Spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vietnam’s Paracel and Spratly islands as well as the nine-dash line, has violated Vietnam’s sovereignty over the islands, as well as its sovereignty, sovereignty rights and jurisdiction rights over Vietnam’s sea regions as determined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)," spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang said in a press release issued Thursday.

China’s sovereignty and sea claims based on the nine-dash line, as shown on the "standard map," therefore holds no value and violates international law, especially the UNCLOS, she added.

Vietnam continues to strongly affirm its consistent stance regarding sovereignty over the Spratly and Paracel islands as well as resolutely opposing all of China’s claims on the South China Sea based on the nine-dash line, she said.

The nine-dash line drawn up by China, which is a 10-dash line in the new map, unlawfully claims most of the South China Sea. The line has been internationally condemned and rejected. The "standard map" that China’s natural resources ministry issued also…