01/04/2011 Session
Strasbourg, 01.04.2011 – A debate on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue, on Tuesday 12 April, will be one of the highlights of the spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which will take place in Strasbourg from 11 to 15 April 2011. Several prominent religious figures will take the floor, including Patriarch Daniel of Romania, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, Vatican, Professor Mehmet Görmez, Chairperson of the Presidency of Religious Affairs of Turkey, Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar, Chief Rabbi of Russia, and Prelate Bernhard Felmberg, Plenipotentiary Representative of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany to the Federal Republic of Germany and the EU.
Another highlight of the session will be the address by the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on Wednesday 13 April.
The agenda also includes debates on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Georgia, the lowering of the voting age to 16, rural women in Europe, over-indebtedness of states and education against violence at school. The debate on the death penalty in Council of Europe member and observer states will feature a statement by Federico Mayor Zaragoza, President of the International Commission against the Death Penalty.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Ahmet Davutoğlu, will present the communication from the Committee of Ministers to the Assembly, while Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights of the ‘47’, will present his annual activity report for 2010.
The Assembly will decide at the opening of the session on the holding of a current affairs debate on the mass arrival of migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees on Europe’s southern shores.
Draft agenda
The final agenda is decided by the Assembly on the opening day of the session.
Monday 11 April (opening at 11.30 am)
• Opening of the second part of the 2011 Ordinary Session
• Statement by PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu
• Progress report of the Bureau of the Assembly and the Standing Committee
• Communication from the Committee of Ministers to the Parliamentary Assembly, presented by Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers
• The need to assess progress in the implementation of the Bern Convention
Tuesday 12 April
• [Possibly] Election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of France, Norway and Switzerland
• The religious dimension of intercultural dialogue and statements by:
– His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania
– His Eminence Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, Vatican
– Professor Mehmet Görmez, Chairperson of the Presidency of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Turkey
– Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar, Chief Rabbi of Russia
– Prelate Bernhard Felmberg, Plenipotentiary Representative of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany to the Federal Republic of Germany and the European Union
• The honouring of obligations and commitments by Georgia
• Education against violence at school
Wednesday 13 April 2011
• [Possibly 2nd round] Election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of France, Norway and Switzerland
• Combating poverty
• Address by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey
• Annual activity report 2010 by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and statement by Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
• Expansion of democracy by lowering the voting age to 16
• Over-indebtedness of states: a danger for democracy and human rights
• The impact of the Eastern Partnership of the European Union on governance and economic development in eastern Europe
Thursday 14 April 2011
• [Possibly] Debate under urgent procedure or current affairs debate
• Safeguarding children and young people from obesity and type 2 diabetes
• Communication from Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe
• Rural women in Europe
• Strengthening torture prevention mechanisms in Europe
• The death penalty in Council of Europe member and observer states: a violation of human
• Statement by Federico Mayor Zaragoza, President of the International Commission against the Death Penalty
Friday 15 April 2011
• Water – a source of conflict
• Unaccompanied children in Europe: issues of arrival, stay and return
• Protecting migrant women in the labour market
Practical information
Press conferences: PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will give a press conference on Monday 11 April at 10.30 am. Other press conferences will be announced on the spot. Press conferences can be viewed live at http://tv.coe.int/internet/press.html.
Further details: see the Assembly's website, http://assembly.coe.int. Additional information may also be found on the Council of Europe web portal.
For TV planning units: videos in broadcast quality summing up PACE highlights can be downloaded for free at http://dl.coe.int no later than two hours after the event. Further information from the Council of Europe Audiovisual Service on +33 3 88 41 25 64 (prior to the session) or +33 3 88 41 35 00 (during the session).
For accreditation: Directorate of Communication, [email protected],
tel. +33 3 88 41 25 44
Contact: PACE Communication Division: Tel. +33 3 88 41 31 93; [email protected]