20/07/2011 | President
Following the arrest today of Goran Hadzic, the President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu made the following statement: “The arrest of Goran Hadzic is excellent news, and I congratulate the Serbian authorities on this important step – which our Assembly has long been calling for. Together with the arrest of Ratko Mladic less than two months ago, this sends a strong signal that Serbia is at last fulfilling its commitment to bring to justice those who committed awful crimes in the dark years of the war.
18/07/2011 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said that the “winds of change” sweeping the Arab world offer “huge opportunities” for the creation of a neighbourhood to Europe which is more peaceful, stable, democratic and prosperous. Addressing a round table at the Odessa National Academy of Law, Mr Çavuşoğlu listed the steps the Council of Europe – and particularly the Assembly – was taking to share its deep knowledge of democratic transformation, yet without “giving lessons or imposing models”.
15/07/2011 | President
The autonomous territorial unit of Gagauzia in Moldova is a good model for the peaceful coexistence of different national communities in one country – and could be “an inspiration” for other European countries, PACE President Mevlüt Cavuşoğlu has said at the end of a visit to the region. Speaking today following a meeting with the Bashkan of Gagauzia Mikhail Formuzal and other officials in Komrat, Mr Cavuşoğlu said the administrative arrangements for the region – where around 4.5 per cent of Moldova’s population lives – could be used as a model for the reintegration of Transnistria.
11/07/2011 | President
In a letter of condolence addressed today to the Speaker of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Boris Gryzlov, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu today wrote: “I was shocked and saddened by the news of more than 100 people, many of them children, perishing in a boat accident on the Volga river...
30/06/2011 | President
The Organisation for Islamic Co-operation (OIC)and the Council of Europe have much in common, and must work together more closely to head off conflict and counter intolerance, PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has told foreign ministers from the 57-member Organisation for Islamic Co-operation. Addressing a meeting in Astana, as Kazakhstan takes over Chairmanship of the OIC, Mr Çavuşoğlu said working together was “an imperative of our time”.
29/06/2011 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has proposed that Kazakhstan apply for “Partner for Democracy” status with the Assembly, one of several measures to step up relations with the Council of Europe. Mr Çavuşoğlu, who is attending the meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation for Islamic Co-operation (OIC) in Astana, made the proposal during a bilateral meeting on the margin of the conference with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
28/06/2011 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has welcomed the “encouraging democratic changes” there have been in Kyrgyzstan in the last year – and offered closer contacts to encourage further change. Speaking at the end of a two-day visit to the country (27-28 June 2011), during which he met the President, Speaker of Parliament, Prime Minister and other high officials, Mr Çavuşoğlu invited a delegation from the Kyrgyz Parliament to attend PACE’s October session.
17/06/2011 | President
On the eve of World Refugee Day (20 June), Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, PACE President delivered the following message: "This World Refugee Day, we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, which defines who is a refugee, what rights they have, and how states must treat them..."
27/05/2011 | President
Addressing the 2nd Alumni Meeting of the European Forum Cyprus, PACE President today called for a lasting and comprehensive solution for a peaceful and united Cyprus, which would guarantee the legitimate rights of both Greek and Turkish Cypriots, in full compliance with the values and principles of the Council of Europe. “In order to build confidence and trust between both Cypriot communities, I have called on political leaders on both sides of the island to multiply bi-communal activities.
26/05/2011 | President
The information according to which the Serbian authorities have arrested the former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic is great news for the future of Serbia, for law and justice and the fight against impunity,” PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said today. He paid tribute to the Serbian authorities for the arrest, stressing that he had repeatedly expressed his confidence in the authorities’ efforts to do everything possible to apprehend the remaining indictees of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
26/05/2011 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu today welcomed the imminent release of Azerbaijan opposition journalist Eynulla Fatullayev and others, following their pardon by the country’s President Ilham Aliyev. “With Mr Fatullayev’s release, the authorities of Azerbaijan put an end to the injustice done to this journalist, who has already spent far too much time in prison..."
16/05/2011 | President
Following the recent sentencing of former presidential candidate Andrey Sannikau to five years of imprisonment, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, today strongly condemned the ongoing politically motivated trials by the Belarusian courts of the former presidential candidate as well as several other representatives of opposition parties, independent journalists and human rights defenders.