03/06/2005 | Monitoring
In the last three years Russia made little progress regarding its outstanding commitments as a Council of Europe member state, concludes a report on the honouring of obligations and commitments by the Russian Federation, adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly’s Monitoring Committee (PACE) and made public today. A draft resolution, which was prepared by David Atkinson (United Kingdom, EDG) and Rudolf Bindig (Germany, SOC), and will be debated at the PACE summer session in Strasbourg (20-24 June) lists some positive achievements, such as the adoption of a new criminal procedure code, reduction of the number of prisoners in detention centres and the conclusion of border agreements with several neighbour states. On the other hand, the commitments on which the progress is stalling include the formal abolition of the death penalty, the withdrawal of Russian troops from Moldova and the obligation to bring to justice those found responsible for human rights violations in Chechnya.
23/03/2005 | Monitoring
PACE's co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Ukraine today welcomed “a new positive spirit” in Ukraine’s willingness to tackle its commitments to the Council of Europe, but said they were glad the new leadership “seems to have understood the necessity to pass from revolutionary ‘euphoria’ and rhetoric to concrete acts that will help make democratic processes irreversible”. Hanne Severinsen (Denmark, LDR) and Renate Wohlwend (Liechtenstein, EPP/CD) were speaking at a press conference following a fact-finding visit to Kyiv from 20 to 23 March 2005.
01/03/2005 | Monitoring
Co-rapporteurs Jerzy Smorawinski (Poland, EPP/CD) and Soeren Soendergaard (Denmark, UEL) return to Albania from 28 February to 3 March to assess progress following the Assembly’s last assessment, with a focus on parliamentary elections in the summer.
04/02/2005 | Monitoring
Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC) and Andres Herkel (Estonia, EPP/CD), co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Azerbaijan, will make a fact-finding visit to the country from 10-13 February. As well as meeting President Aliyev, they are due to talk to representatives of the media, human rights NGOs, the opposition, election officials and senior judges. They will also meet oil company executives and the representatives of oil workers.
15/12/2004 | Monitoring
PACE's Monitoring Committee, meeting today in Paris, adopted the following statement: “The Committee regrets the failure of the Ukrainian authorities to respect its calls made in June and September 2004 to conduct the election process with absolute impartiality and respect for Council of Europe standards. Although the first round clearly showed that Mr Yushchenko and Mr Yanukovych were the two winning candidates, both rounds were marred with systematic fraud, massive manipulations, and abuse of power by state officials ...
29/10/2004 | Monitoring
David Atkinson (United Kingdom, EDG) and Rudolf Bindig (Germany, SOC), co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Russia, hold a final series of meetings in Moscow from 1 to 6 November, before drawing up their progress report, due for plenary debate in mid-2005.
14/10/2004 | Monitoring
David Atkinson (United Kingdom, EDG) and Rudolf Bindig (Germany, SOC), who are preparing a report on Russia’s honouring of its obligations and commitments, today ended a six-day visit to Yekaterinburg in the Sverdlovsk Oblast and Kazan in Tatarstan. In both cities they met the heads of government, local parliamentarians, judges, prosecutors and lawyers as well as representatives of political parties, national minorities, religious organisations and the media. Their report is due for debate by the Assembly in mid-2005.
16/09/2004 | Monitoring
The Monitoring Committee of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), meeting in Paris on 15 September 2004, adopted the following statement: "The October 31 presidential elections are an opportunity for Ukraine to ensure full respect for the principles of pluralist democracy, human rights and the rule of law. A credible democratic election could give the country a chance to anchor itself more firmly in the family of European democracies."
15/09/2004 | Monitoring
Four years after the fall of Slobodan Milosevic, Serbia and Montenegro is a country that has changed enormously, but not yet enough, Milos Budin (Italy, SOC) and Jonas Cekuolis (Lithuania, LDR) conclude in their report on the functioning of democratic institutions in Serbia and Montenegro, due for debate in the Assembly’s October session. A draft resolution, submitted by the two Assembly rapporteurs and adopted by the Monitoring Committee in Paris today, therefore concludes that the Assembly should continue to monitor the honouring of commitments and obligations by Serbia and Montenegro.
27/08/2004 | Monitoring
Hanne Severinsen (Denmark, LDR) and Renate Wohlwend (Liechtenstein, EPP/CD), co-rapporteurs for the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly monitoring of Ukraine, will make their next fact-finding visit to the country from 29 August to 1st September. The co-rapporteurs will focus on the preparations for the forthcoming Presidential election on 31 October 2004, in particular on the functioning of local self-government and state authorities within the election process and the independence of the media.
12/08/2004 | Monitoring
“Society in Azerbaijan is increasingly polarised, resulting in a political impasse; social divisions are widening, with a very small minority growing disproportionately rich while the vast majority struggle to get by.” This is how Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC) assessed the situation in the country after a fact-finding visit from 4 to 9 August.
29/07/2004 | Monitoring
The Chairperson of the Assembly’s Monitoring Committee, Josette Durrieu, has condemned in the strongest terms recent attempts by the “authorities” in the Moldovan region of Transnistria to close schools and an orphanage. In a letter to the President of the Moldovan Parliament Eugenia Ostapciuc, Mrs Durrieu said she hoped this question could be resolved as soon as possible through dialogue and asked to be kept informed of latest developments.