21/01/2008 | Session
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) today elected its Vice-Presidents. The seat of Vice-President in respect of Cyprus remains vacant.
21/01/2008 | Session
At the opening of its winter session in Strasbourg, PACE elected Lluís Maria de Puig (Spain, SOC) as its new President. "You have just elected a President who believes in Europe, and who believes in the Council of Europe,” he declared in his first speech as President of the Assembly. “I am a convinced European and I regard the future of our institutions with optimism. I want to make a citizens’ Europe the watchword of my term in office. I believe that the Assembly’s task is to help shape a Europe which is being built for Europeans and by them.”
21/01/2008 | Session
On 21 January, Dutch European Affairs Minister Frans Timmermans, underlined the importance of the Parliamentary Assembly in promoting dialogue, respect for human rights and diversity. Mr Timmermans also stressed the necessity to put Roma rights high on the agenda and called upon the Council of Europe to take the lead in this field, in close co-operation with the European Union and the OSCE.
11/01/2008 | Session
The report which Dick Marty will present to the PACE questioning the fairness of UN and EU blacklists and the one to be presented by Lord Russell-Johnston on developments as regards the future status of Kosovo will be the focus of debates to be held by the PACE at its forthcoming winter session (21-25 January 2008). Another highlight of the session will be the debate on the disappearance of newborn babies for illegal adoption in Europe.
05/10/2007 | Session
Since its establishment, the Commissioner for Human Rights has made brisk and steadfast progress and the hopes placed in the Commissioner are now considerable. The Assembly stressed the need to endow the Commissioner with the human and financial resources needed to enable him to live up to these expectations.
05/10/2007 | Session
At the end of a debate on the mid-term assessments of the Council of Europe campaign “Stop domestic violence against women”, PACE called on national parliaments to reinforce their actions, adopt laws against violence against women or control their application, disseminate the information material of the campaign and set up a group of male parliamentarians committed to combating violence against women.
04/10/2007 | Session
Parliamentarians from the 47-nation Council of Europe have urged its member governments to “firmly oppose” the teaching of creationism – which denies the evolution of species through natural selection – as a scientific discipline on an equal footing with the theory of evolution. In a resolution passed by 48 votes to 25 during its plenary session in Strasbourg, PACE declared: “If we are not careful, creationism could become a threat to human rights.”
04/10/2007 | Session
Addressing the Assembly, Agung Laksono, the next president of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, said that interaction between both institutions would help to create peace and security in the world. Mr Laksono rejected isolationism, unilateralism and exclusive approaches towards global issues. "We in Asia see Europe as a balancing power in the world,” he said.
04/10/2007 | Session
While recalling that the press’s right to report and debate freely is a cornerstone of democracy, the Assembly regretted that in some member states – notably Albania, Azerbaijan and Russia, according to civil society – prosecutions for defamation are misused. According to parliamentarians, defamation laws should always be applied with the utmost restraint. States should abolish prison sentences for defamation altogether, and set reasonable limits to damages awards, they said.
04/10/2007 | Session
The Assembly has strongly condemned forced prostitution and trafficking in human beings and has called on all member states, which have not yet done so, to sign and ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Action to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings. Parliamentarians recommended that all member states prohibit child prostitution (under the age of 18), since it can never be considered voluntary.
04/10/2007 | Session
Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly on 4 October, Vuk Jeremic, Serbia’s Foreign Minister and Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, said: ''Never before in the history of South East Europe has there been such an opportunity to cement regional co-operation and overcome past differences.'' He added: ''We place great emphasis on transforming the relationship between Serbs and Albanians from one of historical suspicion and antagonism, to one of twenty-first century’s trust and co-operation. The way forward lies in forging a partnership under a common sovereign roof.''
04/10/2007 | Session
“The Serbian chairmanship of the Council of Europe is a success not only for your country but also for our organisation,” President René van der Linden said in his welcome address to Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, Chairman of the organisation’s Committee of Ministers. He hailed the “landmark decision” that was reached by the Committee of Ministers under Serbian chairmanship to proclaim the European Day against the Death Penalty.