Stewart Dickson was elected Deputy leader of the UKs 30 strong membership of the Congress of the Council of Europe, made up from the Scottish Parliament, Welsh, Northern Ireland, and London Assemblies, together with local and regional authorities across the UK and Northern Ireland.
Stewart Dickson MLA said: “I am honoured by the opportunity to represent the United Kingdom at this time. Often confused with the EU, the Congress of the Council of Europe is a body in its own right, with a key focus on democracy, rule of law and human rights.
“I am delighted to have been afforded this opportunity within the Council of Europe to continue strengthening our European connections. Going forward, it’s clear Northern Ireland has a valuable role to play in the Council of Europe and I look forward to continuing my work to date, especially that of election observation and ensuring the Charter of Local Self Government standards are met in member states.”
The Congress is made up of two Chambers: The Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions. It has 324 full, all appointed for four years, representing over 200,000 local and regional authorities in the Council of Europe’s 47 member states. The Congress’s work is organised with three committees: Monitoring Committee, Governance Committee and Current Affairs Committee.
Stewart Dickson is a member of the Chamber of the Regions and Vice President of the Monitoring Committee.