CPT: 10TH GENERAL REPORT 11 ORGANISATIONAL ISSUES The Convention and its Protocols CPT membership 14. Ratification of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is now considered a sine qua non for membership of the Council of Europe. Consequently, prior to becoming a Member of the Council of Europe in 1999, the Republic of Georgia made a commitment to ratify the Convention within 12 months of its accession to the Organisation. That commitment was met on 20 June 2000, when Georgia ratified both the Convention and its two Protocols. As a result, the CPT’s field of operations once again encompasses all member States of the Organisation. 17. Seven new CPT members were elected by the Committee of Ministers in the course of 1999: Mr Fatmir Braka (in respect of Albania), Mr Yuri Kudryavtsev (Russian Federation), Mr Nikola Matovski (“the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”), Mr Petros Michaelides (Cyprus), Mr Marc Nève (Belgium), Mrs Veronica Pimenoff (Finland) and Ms Maria Teresa Pizarro Beleza (Portugal). Further, since the beginning of 2000, four more new members have been elected: Mr Antoni Aleix Camp (in respect of Andorra), Mr Mario Felice (Malta), Mr Eugenijus Gefenas (Lithuania) and Mr Pétur Hauksson (Iceland). 15. Following ratification of Protocols N° 1 and 2 by Italy on 8 March 1999 and Andorra on 13 July 2000, only two more ratifications (by Croatia and Ukraine) are required for the entry into force of these instruments. At the time of publication of this report, the CPT has 36 members.2 The seats in respect of Greece, Hungary, Italy and Latvia are currently vacant, and a seat in respect of Georgia will have to be filled as from 1 October 2000. Protocol N° 1 is of particular interest, as it will make it possible for non-member States of the Council of Europe to be invited by the Committee of Ministers to accede to the Convention. As the entry into force of the Protocol approaches, it would be useful to reflect upon the use which might be made of this instrument. 16. Applicant States for membership of the Council of Europe might be invited to accede to the Convention; this would be both a sign of the Organisation’s wish to forge closer links with those countries and a reminder of the obligations which membership of the Council of Europe entails. Further, when the time is considered ripe from a political standpoint, an invitation to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to accede to the Convention would be visible proof of the Council of Europe’s determination to play a prominent role in this region. Moreover, it should not be overlooked that certain non-European States which have close links to Europe may also be interested in acceding to the Convention. Of course, making use of the possibility offered by Protocol N° 1 will have resource implications. However, non-member States invited to accede to the Convention could be requested to make a financial contribution to the CPT's activities. 18. Following recent elections to the CPT, the number of members with a medical background is no longer on a par with that of lawyers in the Committee. The CPT trusts that it will be possible gradually to rectify this situation in the course of future elections; in particular, it would be highly desirable to have more forensic doctors in the Committee. As regards other professional fields, there is now an adequate number of CPT members with specialised practical experience in penitentiary systems; however, the Committee would welcome more members with relevant experience of police work. It must also be added that the proportion of women among the CPT’s membership is currently rather low (9 out of 36). 2 See Appendix 2 A for the full list of CPT members. Abridged curricula vitae of the members can be obtained from the CPT’s Secretariat and are posted on its website (http://www.cpt.coe.int).