07/05/2012 | President
"Beyond the economic crisis, Europe is facing a more serious crisis of values, as shown by the rise in populism and extremism in several European countries," said PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon. "On this Europe Day, I want to reaffirm the importance of the basic values of our Organisation, which have guided us through earlier crises, the values of the European Convention on Human Rights."
24/04/2012 | President
“Ten years ago to the day Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the Council of Europe. In 2002, this sent out a strong message and constituted an opportunity for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina to advance along the road to European integration. With membership of the Council of Europe came new opportunities: several major reforms have been introduced, such as defence reform, the launch of the police reform and the establishment of a unified ombudsman institution,” declared PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon, speaking today.
24/04/2012 | President
Jean-Claude Mignon, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), today expressed his deep concern at the decline in Yulia Tymoshenko’s health and her decision to carry out a hunger strike in response to the violence and abuse she says she is suffering.
17/04/2012 | President
States must first and foremost guarantee the effective protection of human rights at national level, PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon has told ministers and state representatives at the opening of the high-level conference on reform of the European Court of Human Rights in Brighton.
16/04/2012 | President
PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon today welcomed the release of Belarusian opposition leader Andrei Sannikov and his former campaign aide Dzmitry Bandarenka, while urging President Lukashenko “to release and fully rehabilitate all other remaining political prisoners”. “At its January 2012 Session, our Assembly deplored that a number of individuals, including former presidential candidates, civil society activists and prominent human rights defenders, remain in prison on political grounds”, the President said.
11/04/2012 | President
PACE President, Jean-Claude Mignon, today expressed his consternation at the execution of three sentenced persons by the authorities in Gaza. “By this barbaric and ignoble act, the authorities in Gaza have deliberately chosen alienation from the values that the Council of Europe stands for. Recourse to capital punishment anywhere is quite simply unjustifiable.”
10/04/2012 | President
PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon and Pietro Marcenaro (Italy, SOC), Chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, have declared: “There have been more than a hundred deaths yesterday again in Syria. Once more, the regime of Bashir Al-Assad has violated the commitments it undertook and the assurances it gave to end the massacre which, for more than a year, has led to bloodshed and the deaths of more than 11 000 people.”
04/04/2012 | President
"It is totally unacceptable that in the 21st century so-called frozen conflicts can still cause terrible human tragedies," said Jean-Claude Mignon, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), following his meeting today with the family of Vadim Pisar, a citizen of the Republic of Moldova killed on 1 January 2012 when crossing a checkpoint on the boundary with the Transnistrian region.
03/04/2012 | President
In his meetings today in Chisinau with senior Moldovan officials, PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon welcomed the end of the political deadlock in which the country has been immersed for three years and called on all those involved in Moldovan politics to look to the future constructively. “I have conveyed to the President of the Republic, Mr Timofti, my wishes for his success. His election marks a new start in Moldovan political life”, he said.
29/03/2012 | President
PACE President today firmly condemned Japan's execution of Yasuaki Uwabe, Tomoyuki Furusawa and Yasutoshi Matsuda. "We expect Japan, as a country enjoying observer status with the Council of Europe, to share our values and fundamental principles..."
29/03/2012 | President
PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon will make an official visit to the Republic of Moldova from 2 to 5 April 2012. During his visit, he is due to meet the President of the Republic Nicolae Timofti, the Speaker of Parliament Marian Lupu, Prime Minister Vlad Filat, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Iurie Leancă, as well as the Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Eugen Carpov.
27/03/2012 | President
"Through their action and their courage, the winners of the North-South Prize, Boris Tadic and Souhayr Belhassen, have helped to shape today's world, with democratic debates in the southern Mediterranean and with peace in the Balkans which are now involved in the process of European integration," according to PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon, speaking today at the prize-giving ceremony in Lisbon.