05/10/2006 | News
In a close vote, PACE said today that it was in favour of the creation of a European remembrance centre for victims of forced population movements and ethnic cleansing, but a concrete proposal to the Committee of Ministers to set up such a centre failed to receive the two-thirds majority necessary to pass. In a resolution, adopted by a majority of one vote, the Assembly said such a centre – which should not cover the deportation of the Jews, or deal with compensation for lost property – would “remind Europeans of their history of forced migration, favour reconciliation and act as an instrument of conflict prevention”.
04/10/2006 | News
The Assembly celebrated today the half–centenary of the Hungarian uprising against Stalinist rule in 1956. At the opening of an exhibition on this events, in presence of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Kinga Göncz, PACE President said : "During the long years of the Cold War and the division of our continent the Hungarian uprising came to be seen as a 'victory in defeat'. On this solemn day of remembrance, it is the duty of this new and united Europe of ours to uphold the values of freedom, human rights, democracy and the rule of law that inspired the Hungarian and other European peoples at that time. These values must never be taken for granted but must be fought for and defended by every new generation of Europeans. Today the Assembly thank Hungary for its inestimable contribution to the cause of freedom", PACE President said.
04/10/2006 | News
PACE today called on the eight Council of Europe member states which have not yet ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities to do so, and appealed for the withdrawal of reservations or restrictive declarations. The parliamentarians said the convention – which allows states to protect the religion, language, traditions and culture of designated minorities on their territory – helped to maintain social and political stability.
04/10/2006 | News
"Without questioning the vocation of the Council of Europe to act as the main 'guardian' of human rights in the European continent, we should not forget another aim proclaimed in the Statute of the Organisation, which is to further the economic and social progress of member states by "common action in economic, social, cultural, scientific, legal and administrative matters". This was the message of the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Sergey Lavrov, as he addressed the Assembly on October 4 in his capacity as Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers. Mr Lavrov outlined the Russian Federation's five priorities in the organisation's activities as well as several recommendations and proposals in these areas.
04/10/2006 | News
Controlled migration flows may have a positive effect on world growth because of labour mobility towards the dynamic economies where labour is in greatest demand and because of the foreign currency remittances which these immigrants send back to their countries of origin. According to the text adopted by the PACE at the end of a debate on the OECD and the world economy, to keep control of this process of labour market globalisation, the sending and receiving countries must jointly pursue more appropriate immigration policies, including those for the integration of immigrants to society, and adopting measures to combat illegal immigration.
04/10/2006 | News
After having debated on the cultural situation of the Kurds in plenary sitting, the PACE today adopted a resolution calling for ''assistance on the European level and in particular from the Council of Europe, to protect this culture''. The Assembly recommended that Turkey, as a Council of Europe member State, consider the possibility of education in Kurdish – where it is a child’s mother tongue- in addition to the official language, encourage university courses on Kurdish language and literature and support Kurdish cultural associations. Furthermore, the PACE urged the governments of Iran, Iraq and Syria to ''acknowledge that Kurdish language and culture are part of the heritage of their own country, that they are richness worth being preserved and not a threat to be combated''.
03/10/2006 | News
PACE President today expressed "serious concern" over the deteriorating climate between Georgia and Russia. Speaking at the opening press conference of the Assembly's Autumn Session, he said both sides "should show restraint and refrain from politicising the issue, which has to be solved by legal and diplomatic means". René van der Linden criticise apparent attempts to blow the dispute out of proportion and to stage “theatrical” actions which can lead to dangerous assumptions. While regreting the accumulation of unresolved issues and disputes and stressing the need for them to be solved through dialogue in a calm and impartial manner, he recalled the responsibility of both sides for stability in the region, responsibility which is not only individual but also common, residing in their bilateral relations. "I will invite the heads of Georgian and Russian Assembly delegations to meet during the week", he said.
03/10/2006 | News
Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly on 3 October, Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha thanked the Council of Europe for helping to reform the former “totalitarian and kleptocratic” regime in Albania. But in a following speech, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Council of Ministers Chair, Adnan Terzic, voiced concerns that Europe is losing focus on EU candidate countries.
03/10/2006 | News
''Western Balkan countries are repeatedly criticised as far as their democratic development is concerned but the international community should assume its share of responsibility for lack of democratic development in the region'', the resolution adopted today by the PACE underlines. After having debated on the situation in the Balkans, the members of the PACE adopted a resolution that calls on the international community to ''offer better incentives and perspectives to the region''. The Assembly especially called on the EU to ''liberalise its visa regime towards Western Balkan countries and to set a clear road map for EU integration''. Furthermore, the Assembly called on the countries of the Western Balkan region to ''prove credibility in their endeavour to condemn war crimes and in providing tangible proof of their co-operation with the ICTY and to ensure full protection to minorities living or returning to their territory''.
02/10/2006 | News
The Assembly today elected, at the opening of its Autumn 2006 Session, three new Vice-Presidents: Serhiy Holovaty (Ukraine), Andrea Rigoni (Italy) and Oliver Sambevsky ("the Former yugoslav Republic of Macedonia").
02/10/2006 | News
"My only regret is that we had not been stricter in our monitoring of Romania and Bulgaria. This would undoubtedly have helped them better to resolve problems such as judicial reform and the fight against corruption, avoiding the need for the EU to impose conditions on accession" President René van der Linden said today in Strasbourg at the opening of the October 2006 part-session. He added that in order to be accepted by everyone, the Council of Europe standards should "apply equally to all, with no double standards or dividing lines. This is why it is so important that the Assembly periodically turn its attention to the situation throughout Europe, by preparing an annual report on the state of human rights and democracy."
02/10/2006 | News
Major structural deficiencies in the judicial systems of Italy, Russia and Ukraine are causing large numbers of repeated violations of the European Convention on Human Rights, representing a “serious danger to the rule of law” in these three countries, according to PACE. In a resolution the Assembly criticised the excessive length of judicial proceedings in Italy, where many cases take more than the 10 years the Court has ruled is a violation of the Convention. In Russia, the Assembly said the most important problems were excessive length of pre-trial detention in overcrowded facilities, as well as chronic non-enforcement or quashing of judges’ decisions. There were similar problems in Ukraine, made worse by interference with judicial independence.