A/RES/57/156 11. Welcomes the assessment made by the Committee of Ministers at its one hundred and eleventh session on each of the three cornerstones it had defined in 2001 for the contribution of the Council of Europe to United Nations-led international action against terrorism, namely intensifying legal cooperation to combat terrorism, safeguarding fundamental values and investing in democracy; 12. Commends the Council of Europe for its contribution to the implementation of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) of 28 September 2001, and takes note in this context of the Council of Europe’s Guidelines on Human Rights and the Fight against Terrorism, adopted by its Committee of Ministers on 11 July 2002 7 and referred to in the addendum to the report of the Secretary-General on measures to eliminate international terrorism; 8 13. Welcomes the accession to the Council of Europe of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 24 April 2002, and expresses its appreciation for the cooperation and assistance the Council extends to this country in order to facilitate its compliance with Council standards of democracy, human rights and the rule of law; 14. Takes note of Opinion No. 239 adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 24 September 2002, in which the Assembly recommended that the Committee of Ministers, on the basis of a series of commitments accepted by the highest Yugoslav authorities, invite the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to become a member of the Council as soon as the constitutional Charter had been adopted by the Parliaments of Serbia and Montenegro; 15. Notes that the Ministers of the forty-four member States, at the one hundred and eleventh session, reiterated their common will to see the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia become a member of the Council of Europe, while at the same time regretting that circumstances at present did not yet permit the adoption of an official invitation to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to join the Council; 16. Welcomes the ongoing participation of the Council of Europe in the implementation of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) of 10 June 1999 and its cooperation with the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, and commends the role of the Council of Europe in the development of democratic institutions, inter alia, in respect of the decentralization process, human rights protection and the rule of law in accordance with the standards of the Council of Europe; 17. Commends the role of the Council of Europe with regard to the electoral process in Kosovo, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in preparation for the municipal elections which were held on 26 October 2002; 18. Welcomes the substantial contribution of the Council of Europe to the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe, in particular in the fields of democratization, local democracy, human rights and the rule of law, as well as cross-border cooperation and the fight against corruption, organized crime and money-laundering; 19. Commends the wide-ranging efforts of the Council of Europe to foster peace and stability in South-Eastern Europe; _______________ 7 8 A/57/313, annex I. A/57/183/Add.1. 3