16/12/2005 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today warmly welcomed US President Bush's acceptance of the McCain amendment, which will help prevent the possibility of CIA or military personnel engaging in torture or serious ill-treatment. "The McCain amendment will help ensure that in our joint fight against terrorism, both Europe and the USA respect the same legal standards," he said.
15/12/2005 | President
The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, René van der Linden, has strongly condemned the remarks of the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who yesterday described the Holocaust as a myth. “I find this comment profoundly shocking. It is a monstrous untruth, and clearly amounts to hate-speech in my view," he said. "This kind of inflammatory rhetoric is completely unacceptable, and will only jeopardise the prospects for peace in the Middle East at this critical time. Instead, recognition of and respect for both Israel and the Palestinians are essential."
15/12/2005 | President
PACE President, René van der Linden, has called on the US Congress to ensure that US laws and practice conform to international legal standards. In an open letter to the Congress, sent as the “McCain amendment” to the defence bills is being discussed on Capitol Hill, he wrote: “The US position on this issue is crucial to showing that the same rules apply to all.”
09/12/2005 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today expressed his satisfaction that Ante Gotovina, a Croatian war crimes suspect who has for many years been amongst those most wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, was today arrested in Spain.
29/11/2005 | President
Rene van der Linden, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, today expressed his concern at reports that a peaceful demonstration by opposition supporters in Baku, Azerbaijan had been violently dispersed by the police. "I condemn any unjustified use of force against a peaceful political rally," said the President.
24/11/2005 | President
"Georgia’s Rose Revolution was and remains an inspiration to democratic forces throughout Eastern Europe, and I congratulate you on your initiative to hold this Forum so as to maintain the momentum," Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President René van der Linden said in a letter to President Mikheil Saakashvili together with a written message for participants at the International Forum on Democratic Transition in Tbilisi, which he regretted being unable to attend.
24/11/2005 | President
Corruption could “seriously jeopardize” Romania’s bid to join the European Union by 2007, the President of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly has told Romanian Members of Parliament. In an address to Romania’s Parliament today, René van der Linden told MPs they should themselves set an example through their personal behaviour, by declaring their sources of income and any potential conflicts of interest.
21/11/2005 | President
PACE President René van der Linden will make an official visit to Romania on 23 and 24 November at the beginning of the Romanian chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the 46-member Organisation. He will meet with Traian Basescu, President of the Republic, Nicolae Vacaroiu, President of the Senate, Adrian Nastase, President of the Chamber of Deputies, Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, Prime Minister, and Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu, Minister for Foreign Affairs. The discussions will further focus on Romania’s contribution to the democratic process in the region, the fight against corruption, the situation in Transnistria and trafficking in human beings.
18/11/2005 | President
In his talks with Romanian Foreign Minister Mihai-Răzvan Ungureanu, PACE President René van der Linden stressed that in order to maintain a coherent and credible set of human rights standards for the whole of Europe, the EU Human Rights Agency’s scope should be limited to the territory of the EU and should not monitor human rights in Council of Europe member States that are not members of the EU. He said he would urge those members of the Committee of Ministers from EU Member States to uphold the decisions taken at the Warsaw Summit, which stress the unique role of the Council of Europe in human rights protection in Europe. In this context, Mr van der Linden pointed out that in deliberations with the Dutch Government about the European proposal to extend the mandate of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) to become a Human Rights Agency, the Dutch Senate has not been convinced of the necessity of this proposal and therefore sent a very clear message to the government to prevent the establishment of the Human Rights Agency.
17/11/2005 | President
Speaking at today’s session of the Council of Europe’s executive body, the Committee of Ministers, the President of the 46-nation Organisation’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) called on all member governments, along with the European Commission, to co-operate fully with the recently designated Assembly rapporteur in charge of examining alleged secret CIA detention centres. “This issue goes to the very heart of the Council of Europe’s human rights mandate,” he said. With regard to the recent widespread outbreaks of violence in France, the President underlined that “the fact that these outbreaks have been echoed in neighbouring countries underlines the European nature of the problem. Many of our countries have culturally and socially alienated communities," he said.
16/11/2005 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today saluted the success of the European flag – shared by both the Council of Europe and the European Union – at a ceremony to mark its fiftieth anniversary. “It was always our intention that the flag become the symbol not only of the Council of Europe, but of any European organisation that shared our values. So when the European Community also adopted the flag, we felt renewed pride rather than any sense of loss,” the President said, pointing out that the flag had originally been a decision of the Assembly. “The flag is a symbol of an open community, united by respect for our fundamental values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.”
14/11/2005 | President
Strasbourg, 14.11.2005 – Referring to the recent events in France, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President René van der Linden warned of the considerable danger of creating a link between religion and social problems caused by exclusion, unemployment and lack of education. “These events also show that setting up an ’Observatory of urban violence’ is more than ever necessary” said Mr van der Linden, adding that he would propose the idea to the Committee of (Foreign) Ministers meeting in Strasbourg next week. This has already been proposed by the Assembly in order to make best use of national practices.