25/11/2020 | President
Speaking on the International Day to Eliminate Violence against Women, PACE President Rik Daems has urged the 47 Council of Europe parliaments to translate a key handbook on ending gender-based violence into their official languages. PACE’s handbook for parliamentarians on the Istanbul Convention...
24/11/2020 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
Joint statement by PACE President Rik Daems and Zita Gurmai (Hungary, SOC), PACE General Rapporteur on violence against women, to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November): “Violence against women remains widespread. An average of 137 women across the...
23/11/2020 | President
“I am delighted that the Assembly – in the unanimous vote of the Standing Committee on Friday – has given its full backing to the Athens Declaration of the Committee of Ministers Chairmanship, which sets out how democratic societies deal with health crises such as COVID-19,” said PACE President...
23/11/2020 | Monitoring
The co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for the monitoring of Georgia, Titus Corlatean (Romania, SOC) and Claude Kern (France, ALDE), today called on all political parties to accept the parliamentary seats they won in the recent elections and to enter into the...
20/11/2020 | President
“I deeply regret the unsubstantiated attacks by certain political representatives in Georgia on the personal integrity of the Chairman of the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that observed elections here,” said PACE President Rik Daems. “His statements...
20/11/2020 | Standing Committee
The ‘enlarged’ Standing Committee, meeting today by videoconference, held a current affairs debate on the Athens Declaration by the Committee of Ministers Chairmanship on: “Effectively responding to a public health crisis in full respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law”. Jacques...
20/11/2020 | Standing Committee
The President of the European Court of Human Rights, Robert Spano, has paid tribute to the essential role of parliaments in upholding the Convention and rulings of the Strasbourg Court. Addressing a meeting of PACE’s “enlarged” Standing Committee by videoconference, Mr Spano said: “The role of...
20/11/2020 | Standing Committee
German Minister of State for Europe Michael Roth today presented Germany’s priorities for its Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and took questions from members. These priorities include strengthening the implementation of rights and obligations under the European...
20/11/2020 | Standing Committee
In light of the situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, PACE’s Standing Committee has unanimously approved modifications to the Rules of Procedure to enable the Assembly to hold remote or hybrid plenary sessions in exceptional circumstances. Approving a report by Frank Schwabe (Germany, SOC...
20/11/2020 | Standing Committee
Recalling that the Assembly’s decisions should be based on clear and effective parliamentary rules, the Assembly has amended its Rules to reflect changes in parliamentary practice and to clarify procedures where their application or interpretation has raised difficulties. The modifications...
20/11/2020 | Standing Committee
Council of Europe member States should ensure a gender dimension in their foreign policies, by promoting inclusiveness, equality and non-discrimination, in order to counter the backlash against women’s rights, according to PACE’s Standing Committee. Unanimously approving a report by Petra Stienen...
20/11/2020 | Standing Committee
The PACE Standing Committee, meeting by videoconference, called on member States to enshrine the protection of academic freedom and institutional autonomy in national legislation, and to provide adequate public funding for higher education and research, enabling institutions to maintain their...