Yesterday (16th May) the Prime Minister attended and spoke at the 4th Summit of the Council of Europe whcih was held in Reykyavik. Since its foundation the Council of Europe had only had four occasions on which it has gathered together world leaders to discuss its future.

This time the Summit was focused on the Ukraine and on the European Court of Human Rights. In addition, the PM set out the need for international cooperation in establishing a global asylum framework. He discussed reform to the European Convention of Human Rights in tackling this issue (ECHR). These steps will help to build cooperation with international partners in stopping the small boats, helping to put an end to the barbaric enterprise of people trafficking. He called for an end to the humanitarian disaster caused by illegal immigration. 

With regard to Ukraine, the Summit put in place a register of assets destroyed by the Russians in Ukraine as part of the mechanism for accountability and compensation that will be required. The Summit also committed to the ECHR and the valuable work it was doing.