04/10/2012 | Session
PACE has today condemned “the continuing, systematic and gross human rights violations, amounting to crimes against humanity, committed in Syria,” and called on Europe to show greater solidarity with Syrians who are victims of the conflict and the neighbouring states sheltering them. In a resolution based on a report by Giacomo Santini (Italy, EPP/CD), the Assembly said the humanitarian situation was “becoming more and more critical” for the estimated 1.2 million Syrians...
04/10/2012 | Session
In a statement adopted today in Strasbourg, the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) announced its unanimous decision to support the proposal by Andres Herkel (Estonia, EPP/CD), rapporteur on the situation in Belarus, to nominate Ales Bialiatski – the human rights defender sentenced on 24 November 2011 to four and a half years’ imprisonment – for the 2013 PACE Human Rights Prize.
04/10/2012 | Session
The Council of Europe’s knowledge and experience provide the key to promote democratic societies that respect and uphold diversity, Albanian President Bujar Nishani told the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly today. Marking Albania’s first ever chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, Mr Nishani called for support for membership of Kosovo in the Council of Europe as a way to ensure that European standards take root.
04/10/2012 | Session
In a resolution adopted today on the basis of a report by Oliver Heald (United Kingdom, EDG), PACE decided to introduce a code of conduct for its members and establish a system of rules relating, in particular, to political favouritism, offers of gifts or hospitality to members, situations of conflict of interest, or the use of members’ mandates to promote or safeguard personal interests.
04/10/2012 | Session
PACE has called on Europe’s governments to ensure the viability and quality of public-run schools, while upholding the right to establish and run private schools as part of the national education system, provided they meet certain standards. In a resolution based on a report by Carmen Quintanilla (Spain, EPP/CD), the Assembly said Council of Europe member States should respect parents’ right – spelled out in a Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights – to have their children taught “in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions”, insofar as these are compatible with the Council of Europe’s fundamental values.
04/10/2012 | Session
“Somehow, we in this Assembly must try to persuade the international community to get serious about the problem between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” said Christopher Chope (United Kingdom, EDG) today in Strasbourg, opening a current affairs debate on the Safarov case.
03/10/2012 | Session
Impunity for violent attacks against migrants in Council of Europe states represents a danger for democracy, according to participants at a hearing with representatives of Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) organised in Strasbourg by PACE’s Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons Committee. According to the Amnesty representative, the escalation of violence against migrants in Greece, including racially-motivated attacks, requires an urgent response that has so far not been taken.
03/10/2012 | Session
PACE has spelled out a series of specific steps for greater participation, more transparency and stronger supervision of elections across the Council of Europe area. Approving a report by Jean-Charles Gardetto (Monaco, EPP/CD), the Assembly – drawing on its experience of observing more than 140 elections to date – said election laws in Europe were a good basis, but ruling parties were failing to implement them fully. Despite “considerable improvements” in recent years, the holding of “free and fair” elections remained a major challenge, it said.
03/10/2012 | Session
“Georgia has taken an important step in consolidating the conduct of democratic elections. I particularly wish to welcome the constructive approach taken by President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has announced that he wishes to facilitate the process for forming a new government. I call for dialogue between the political forces in Georgia to ensure the success of their co-existence in the interests of the Georgian people and stability in the region,” said Jean-Claude Mignon.
03/10/2012 | Session
In today's debate on the activities of the OECD, with the participation of Secretary General Angel Gurría, the enlarged Assembly voiced its support for the priorities set by the OECD so as to respond to the challenges linked to a hesitant recovery: "go structural, go social, go green and go institutional". On the basis of a report by Jean-Marie Bockel (France, EPP/CD), it called inter alia for policies that support job creation and help the most vulnerable, in particular youth, with targeted programmes and investment in skills and education.
03/10/2012 | Session
"Social cohesion is the glue that holds society together, and it is at risk worldwide," said OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria, while addressing PACE on Wednesday. "The length and depth of the crisis is now being felt in the streets of our countries where social stress is high," added the former Mexican Finance minister, analysing the fifth year of the global economic crisis, with 48 million people unemployed in the OECD area.
03/10/2012 | Session
Only 23% of the members of national parliaments of Council of Europe member states are women, whereas they represent some 51% of the population. However, this average figure hides a huge gap between a handful of countries in which women’s representation in parliament exceeds 40 percent (Andorra, Finland, Netherlands and Sweden) and many more countries in which it is under 20 percent (Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey), or in some cases even under 10 percent (Georgia, Hungary, Malta, Russian Federation and Ukraine).