16/09/2010 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
At its meeting in Paris, PACE's Committee on Environment will be holding on 17 September a hearing in two parts on the potential danger of electromagnetic fields for the environment and the need for independent and credible environmental assessments, in the framework of a preparation of two reports by Jean Huss (Luxembourg, SOC) and Florin Preda (Romania, EPP/CD)...
06/09/2010 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
In adopting a report on child abuse in institutions, PACE's Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee today called for “more far-reaching measures in the future when it comes to according full justice to victims of past offences”. The Committee believes that “more committed action will be required” when it comes to reinforcing legislation on child abuse and applying it to various institutional contexts.
03/09/2010 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Meeting in Paris on 6 September, PACE Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee is to approve three reports: one by Marlene Rupprecht (Germany, SOC) on the protection of children and teenagers from abuse in institutions, a second by Laurent Béteille (France, EPP/CD) on the prevention of on-line gambling addiction, and a third by Denis Jacquat (France, EPP/CD) on capitalising on older people’s working potential.
12/08/2010 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Paul Flynn (United Kingdom, SOC), former PACE rapporteur on the handling of the H1N1 pandemic, has welcomed yesterday’s publication by WHO of the list of members of its Emergency Committee on the pandemic, as well as their declarations of interest. “A year ago, these 15 experts told us the world was facing a grave health emergency. On this occasion, regrettably, they got it wrong: their advice led WHO, the EU and national governments to vastly overrate the seriousness of the H1N1 epidemic.”
02/07/2010 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
The Director General of the World Health Organisation Margaret Chan has told PACE rapporteur Paul Flynn (United Kingdom, SOC) that she “welcomes criticism” when it helps her organisation to improve its performance, and pledged a “transparent and independent” review of how the WHO handled the H1N1 pandemic. “The WHO needs people to fully understand its work,” said Dr Chan, meeting Mr Flynn, who is PACE’s rapporteur on the handling of the pandemic, today in Geneva. They agreed that “when difficult decisions need to be taken in the midst of profound uncertainty, all views should be listened to and taken into account”.
24/06/2010 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
While deploring the tragic consequences of the accident that befell the Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the Louisiana coast, PACE’s Committee on the Environment today adopted a statement which recalls that Europe is not safe from a disaster of the same type. The text advocates stringent official formulation and supervision of standards of caution and safety to be observed for offshore oil drilling, application of the polluter pays principle where the realisation of the hazard causes pollution, and enforcement of civil, possibly criminal, sanctions in the event of proven infringement of aforementioned rules.
22/06/2010 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
PACE’s Committee on Social Affairs today held a hearing on "Child abuse in institutions: ensuring full protection of the victims", in the framework of the preparation of a report on the subject by Marlene Rupprecht (Germany, SOC). Participants included Massimo Introvigne, sociologist (Vatican City); Marian Shanley, Member of the Commision to Inquire into Child Abuse (Ireland); Christine Bergmann, Special Representative on Cases of Child Abuse (Germany); Helgard Van Hüllen, Member of the Executive Board of Victim Support Europe and Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Council of Europe's Deputy Secretary General.
21/06/2010 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Considering the fact that the practice of conscientious objection arises in the field of health care when healthcare providers refuse to provide certain health services based on religious, moral or philosophical objections, PACE's Health Committee called on European governments to develop regulations that define conscientious objection in that field. The draft resolution, prepared by Christine McCafferty (United Kingdom, SOC), emphasizes the need “to balance the right of conscientious objection of an individual not to perform a certain medical procedure” with the responsibility of the profession and “the right of each patient to access lawful medical care in a timely manner”.
04/06/2010 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
The handling of the H1N1 pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), EU agencies and national governments led to a “waste of large sums of public money, and unjustified scares and fears about the health risks faced by the European public”, according to a report by PACE's Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee made public today in Paris. The report, prepared by Paul Flynn (United Kingdom, SOC) and approved today by the committee ahead of a plenary debate at the end of this month, says there was “overwhelming evidence that the seriousness of the pandemic was vastly overrated by WHO”, resulting in a distortion of public health priorities. Presenting his report, Mr Flynn told the committee: “this was a pandemic that never really was”...
02/06/2010 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
The Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee of PACE is due to adopt the report by Paul Flynn (United Kingdom, SOC) on “The handling of the H1N1 pandemic: more transparency needed” at its meeting in Paris on 4 June.On this occasion, the committee members will be holding an exchange of views...
28/05/2010 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
“Food production is due to double by 2050 but it is difficult to see how there can be any more land on which to grow crops”, said Yann Fichet, Director of Institutional and Industrial Affairs at Monsanto-France, addressing the members of the PACE Committee on the Environment at a hearing on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), in preparation for a report on this question by Jean-François Le Grand (France, EPP/CD).
28/05/2010 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
The PACE Committee on the Environment today noted that although there has been a significant decrease in the surface area covered by forests in developing countries, in Europe such surface areas are increasing as a “result of a serious scientific approach to reforestation”. With the aim of securing the sustainable use of forests, the Committee this morning adopted a draft resolution calling on European states to use forests in a way “not exceeding their capacity for regeneration” and in line with “good management and conservation of forest biodiversity”.