16/09/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Adopting an opinion on the report on prenatal sex selection which is to be debated by the PACE on 4 October, the Social Affairs Committee pointed out that while, in theory, prenatal sex selection could also be used to prevent the birth of boys, it in fact serves essentially to prevent female births. As in the case of domestic violence, it is therefore necessary to address the main cause of prenatal sex selection, the inequality between women and men.
16/09/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
"As stereotypes and prejudices against all that is different persist, as well as a desire to control these differences, or at least to control their propagation and reproduction, forced sterilisation and castration continue to this day in our member states," warned Liliane Maury Pasquier (Switzerland, SOC), Chair of the Social Affairs Committee, on the occasion of a hearing on this subject. The practice is reported to be directed mainly against Roma women, convicted sex offenders and transgender persons.
13/09/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
A victim of forced sterilisation is due to testify before a parliamentary hearing on putting an end to coercive sterilisations and castrations on Friday 16 September from 2 to 4 p.m. in Paris. The hearing, organised by PACE Committee on Social, Health and Family Affairs, will focus in particular on coercive sterilisations of Romani women, convicted sex offenders and transgender persons. Czech, Swedish and British experts are due to take part.
15/06/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
“Sexual violence against children is a complex, sensitive, widespread phenomenon which can only be addressed if all social and political forces join their efforts,” said Gagik Baghdasaryan (Armenia, ALDE) in Yerevan today, representing PACE at a regional seminar on the rights of the most vulnerable children jointly organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and UNICEF.
07/06/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Up to 150 lawmakers and water experts will be meeting in Strasbourg on 10 June 2011 to shape a message on behalf of the world’s parliamentarians to next year’s World Water Forum in Marseille – a global gathering which aims to expand the right of access to water and sanitation, and ensure more sustainable management of water resources.
01/06/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
"I welcome yesterday's announcement by the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) that mobile phone use should be classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans," today declared Jean Huss (Luxembourg, SOC), author of the report on the potential dangers of electromagnetic fields and their effect on the environment, which resulted in a Resolution adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) last Friday.
24/05/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
“National parliaments should play a key role when it comes to strengthening protection of children and prevention of all forms of violence against them,” Ivan Popescu (Ukraine, SOC), Vice-President of the PACE, said today at the opening of a conference in Kyiv on combating violence against children. He added that it was up to the parliaments to go ahead with reinforcing national legislation and introducing the highest standards of protection.
20/05/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
“In times of crisis, it is essential to give a boost to the regional economy and to develop the often underexploited local economic potential”, according to participants in Lamezia Terme at today’s hearing on input for local development, organised by the PACE Committee on Economic Affairs and Development.
19/05/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
PACE Vice-President Ivan Popescu (Ukraine, SOC) will give a speech on 24 May in Kyiv at the opening of the Conference on combating violence against children to be held in the context of the Ukrainian Chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers. The aim of the conference is to gather information on good practices in implementing integrated national strategies to safeguard children’s rights.
18/05/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
PACE Committee on Economic Affairs and Development will hold a hearing on 20 May in Lamezia Terme (Italy) on “Input for local development: an innovative approach for crisis-stricken regions” in connection with the preparation of a report on the subject by Giuseppe Galati (Italy, EPP/CD).
17/05/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Governments must create incentives for “greener” industry, help companies to meet environmental standards and give them scientific and technological support to become more ecologically-friendly, has said Alan Meale (United Kingdom, SOC), Chair of PACE’s Sub-committee on Local and Regional Democracy, hosting a panel on “the role of government in strengthening green industry” at the Nevsky International Ecological Congress in Saint Petersburg today.
16/05/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Do we have the right to decide whether to start, continue or end medical treatment, and what might be the uses, benefits and limitations of living wills, with a view to better protection of health and human rights at all stages of life? These questions will be the central themes of a hearing in Paris on 19 May organised by the Social Affairs Committee of PACE, at which parliamentarians and experts from France, Switzerland, Spain and Ukraine will review the situation in Council of Europe member states.