23/01/2006 | Session
PACE President René van der Linden, in his opening speech to the winter part-session of the Parliamentary Assembly, today demanded full cooperation with Mr Marty’s enquiry into alleged secret detentions. “Fighting terrorism is of the highest priority. It is a common fight, in our common interest. But all of our partners must respect the international rule of law,” he said. “I encourage all members of this Assembly to take further action at home to discover the truth of this affair.” Whilst the fact of a determined and high-profile European investigation would itself act as a deterrent to such practices occurring in future, Mr van der Linden stressed the need for concrete measures.
04/10/2005 | Session
Freedom of religion is the key to protecting human rights, including women’s rights, according to the UN's Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Asma Jahangir, who addressed PACE today as part of a debate on women and religion in Europe. "The link between the state and religion is often at the origin of problems relating to women’s rights," said Ms Jahangir. Welcoming her, President Rene van der Linden said Ms. Jahangir had been a critic of blasphemy laws in her home country, Pakistan, and a staunch defender of human rights, including women's rights.
04/10/2005 | Session
European governments should guarantee the separation between church and state to ensure that women are not subjected to “religiously-inspired policies and laws”, for example in the area of family, divorce and abortion law, PACE said today. Approving a report on women and religion in Europe by 84 votes to 16, the parliamentarians declared: “Women’s rights are often curtailed or violated in the name of religion”. Freedom of religion and respect for culture and tradition should never be accepted as a pretext for such violations, they said.
04/10/2005 | Session
Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly today, Spanish foreign minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos put forward proposals for an alliance of civilisations, supported by the Spanish government and the United Nations. The aim is to fight terrorism by emphasizing the importance of dialogue and co-operation between different cultures, in the cause of peace and global security, he said. Mr Moratinos invited the Council of Europe to play a major role in promoting intercultural and interfaith dialogue.
04/10/2005 | Session
Moldova has advanced significantly on the path of democratic reform during its ten-year membership of the Council of Europe, but a number of important commitments have not yet been met in a satisfactory manner, according to PACE. In a resolution adopted following a plenary debate in Strasbourg today, the parliamentarians said the pace of reform has been slowed because, in parallel with working on its democratic institutions, Moldova has had to build its national identity and deal with a separatist regime and foreign troops on the Transnistrian part of its territory.
04/10/2005 | Session
The history of the main religions, and the option of having none, should be taught with "complete impartiality" to European schoolchildren, according to PACE. Debating a report on education and religion, the Assembly said pupils should have the opportunity to learn about different religions in school – since a good general knowledge of religions can lead to a sense of tolerance – but should be taught that everyone has the same right to believe their religion is 'the true faith'.
03/10/2005 | Session
PACE will hold an urgent debate on "Europe and bird flu - preventive health measures" on Thursday 6 October. This afternoon the parliamentarians adopted the final order of business for the Autumn session (3 to 7 October 2005), including a day of debates on inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue. "Education and religion" will be the subject of a debate on 4 October attended by the Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. The UN's Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion Asma Jahangir will take part in a debate on "Women and religion in Europe". On the same day, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos is expected to discuss the Alliance of Civilisations project launched by the UN.
03/10/2005 | Session
Maria Postoico (UEL), a member of the Assembly since 2000, has just been elected as new Vice-President with respect to Moldova. The 20 Vice-Presidents chair plenary debates when the Assembly President is not available. They may also be called on to fulfil some of the President's other responsibilities.
03/10/2005 | Session
PACE today called on European governments to co-operate in managing migratory flows between countries of origin and host countries in order to have a positive impact in both directions socially, economically and even politically. The parliamentarians noted that many migrants send money to relatives, while others pick up professional skills or ideas about democracy and human rights, which could help to boost development in their countries of origin. According to PACE, co-development policies would improve migratory flows in the interest of countries of origin, host countries and migrants themselves. Following the recommendations of the rapporteur (Rudy Salles, France, ADLE), PACE listed a series of 17 measures to promote co-development.
03/10/2005 | Session
PACE today welcomed the working draft of a binding UN instrument to fight enforced disappearances – situations where people are abducted by the state, or groups acting with its acquiescence, followed by concealment of their fate. If the draft is further negotiated, the parliamentarians called for partial retroactive application, no amnesty for perpetrators and no possibility for them to be tried in military courts. Rapporteur Christos Pourgourides (Cyprus, EPP/CD) – author of an earlier PACE report on enforced disappearances in Belarus – said Council of Europe member states should in any case make declarations maximising the "protective effect" of the treaty.
23/06/2005 | Session
Following an urgent debate on the follow-up to the Third Council of Europe Summit, PACE today underlined that “the ultimate success of the Summit depends on the follow-up given to the decisions taken in Warsaw” and, as a consequence, “the implementation of these decisions is now a matter of priority”. Following proposals by rapporteur Luc Van den Brande (Belgium, EPP/DC), the Assembly asked to be fully involved in the implementation process and notably in the “group of wise persons” that will consider the question of ensuring the effectiveness of the European Court of Human Rights, in the Forum for the Future of Democracy - tasked with advancing democracy - and in the 2007 pan-European campaign to combat violence against women.
22/06/2005 | Session
The Parliamentary Assembly this morning debated Russia’s honouring of its obligations and commitments to the Council of Europe. The voting on some 35 amendments will be broadcast live over the web from 3 p.m., French time, with a final vote expected at around 4.15 p.m. Earlier, at 1 p.m., the co-rapporteurs Rudolf Bindig (Germany, SOC) and David Atkinson (United Kingdom, EDG) will give a press conference in Room 1 of the Palais de l’Europe, also broadcast live.