President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Mevlut Cavusoglu has noted the importance of local authorities' role in the protection of human rights.
"The protection of human rights is currently a key task, and local and regional authorities should play their role it," he said in Kyiv on Thursday at the 17th session of the European Conference of Ministers responsible for local and regional government.
The PACE president said that this conference was very important amidst the global financial and economic crisis, which has led to economic decline and increasing unemployment in the world.
"In this context, national governments should support local and regional authorities, [and] provide them with the necessary mechanisms and tools to combat the effects of the crisis," Cavusoglu said.
He also added that PACE members would take into account the conclusions of this conference in their legislative work.
In addition, Cavusoglu expressed the hope that this discussion will lead to new initiatives in this direction.
"Let me stress that PACE also supports cross-border cooperation. This allows local and regional authorities directly influence the European integration process," Cavusoglu said
