27/11/2007 Equality and Non-Discrimination
Strasbourg, 27.11.2007 – At the half-way stage in the «Council of Europe Campaign to combat violence against women, including domestic violence», Jean-Guy Branger (France, EPP/CD), member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), is organising a seminar for parliamentarians from Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom to intensify interparliamentary co-operation in this area.
Parliamentarians at the seminar will hear about the French Government’s new measures to combat violence against women, and will attempt to identify gaps in the law and steps which their parliaments should take to improve national legislation. They will hold an exchange of views with representatives of Amnesty International France. Hilary Fisher, Chair of the Council of Europe Task Force on this question, will speak in the discussion.
The participants will examine the measures adopted by the PACE on 5 October on the basis of the report prepared by José Mendes Bota (Portugal, EPP/CD). These measures constitute minimum legislative standards for action to combat violence against women, and include criminalisation of domestic violence, guaranteed access to justice, the provision of safe shelters (ideally 1 for every 7000 inhabitants) and adequate funding for enforcement of the law.
The seminar will be held on Wednesday 28 November at the Council of Europe Office (55, avenue Kléber, Paris) from 9.30 am. to 5 pm. and will be open to the press.
PACE Secretariat contacts : Sylvie Affholder, tel: +33 6 23 86 88 47
Juliette Araujo, tel : +33 6 12 80 41 00