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Standing Committee marks 40 years of Spain's membership in the Council of Europe

10/03/2017 | Standing Committee

"40 years ago, Spain chose to embrace democracy after several decades of dictatorship and at the same time embraced with genuine commitment the values and principles of the Council of Europe", the President said in Madrid.

Member states should ensure that detainees have access to a lawyer

10/03/2017 | Standing Committee

The PACE Standing Committee, meeting in Madrid, has underlined the importance of detainees’ access to lawyers as a guarantee of the rights of the defence and the right to a fair trial.

Political and financial commitments to increase political participation of persons with disabilities

10/03/2017 | Standing Committee

Guaranteeing observance of the political rights of people with disabilities is a democratic issue, “raising questions with regard to the inclusiveness and efficiency of democratic systems,” said the Standing Committee.

Allegations of corruption in the Assembly

10/03/2017 | Bureau

PACE's Bureau, meeting in Madrid, took note of the memorandum on allegations of corruption within the Assembly and decided to invite the leaders of the five political groups to prepare a revised proposal for the end of April.

Standing Committee warmly welcomes King Felipe's strong commitment to European values

10/03/2017 | Standing Committee

King Felipe VI of Spain, receiving the representatives of the PACE for a private audience marking 40 years of Spain’s membership in the Organisation, confirmed that he will address the Assembly on the occasion of its next sessions.

Exchange of views with Russian parliament representatives on co-operation with PACE

10/03/2017 | Standing Committee

Since my election as President, I have invested time and efforts to maintain dialogue with the Russian Parliament because we are an Assembly of 47, not 46, said Pedro Agramunt after an exchange of views in Madrid.

Hungary: rapporteurs express deep concern at new law to automatically detain asylum seekers

08/03/2017 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation

Tineke Strik, rapporteur for follow-up on human rights of refugees and migrants and Doris Fiala, rapporteur on ending immigration detention of children, have expressed deep concern about the new Hungarian law.

The Monitoring Committee calls for the monitoring procedure in respect of Turkey to be re-opened

08/03/2017 | Monitoring

The committee has called for the monitoring procedure in respect of Turkey to be re-opened in order to strengthen its co-operation with the Turkish authorities and all forces in the country and thus ensure respect for fundamental freedoms.

PACE monitors call for ‘renewed impetus’ towards reform in Azerbaijan

08/03/2017 | Monitoring

It is essential to give “renewed impetus” to the reform processes in Azerbaijan and to pursue dialogue with the authorities, PACE’s monitoring co-rapporteurs have said following a recent visit to the country (12-14 January 2017).

Legal Committee recommends steps to end abuse of INTERPOL’s Red Notices

07/03/2017 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights

“Red Notices” are part of an International Notice System, set up by INTERPOL and their alleged abuse by some member states in the pursuit of political objectives represent a serious challenge for the system, said rapporteur Bernd Fabritius.

‘No effort should be spared to achieve gender equality and empower women by 2030’

07/03/2017 | Equality and Non-Discrimination

Globalisation, digitalisation and increased mobility are giving the world of work a new face worldwide. Gender inequality, however, remains intact, said Elena Centemero, on the occasion of the International Women's Day.

Committee praises anti-torture committee’s ‘outstanding’ work, outlines next steps

07/03/2017 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights

The Legal Affairs Committee has congratulated the CPT on its “outstanding work” in the last 25 years, which has led to significant improvements in places of detention in member states, but believes more can be done to improve its efficiency.