24/06/2013 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
"Whistleblowers" who disclose state wrongdoing in the public interest should be protected from retaliation, provided they acted in good faith and followed procedures, a PACE committee said in a draft resolution made public today.
24/06/2013 | Election observation
Albania’s parliamentary elections on 23 June were competitive, with active citizen participation throughout the campaign and genuine respect for fundamental freedoms. However, the atmosphere of mistrust between the two main political forces tainted the electoral environment and challenged the administration of the entire electoral process, international observers said in a statement today.
24/06/2013 | Session
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian presented a communication from the Committee of Ministers to the Parliamentary Assembly and answered questions from delegates. Mr Nalbandian detailed priority areas for the Organisation’s work during the Armenian Chairmanship, emphasizing the particular importance of efforts to tackle hatred, racism...
24/06/2013 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
In order to tackle stalking effectively, the report by Gisela Wurm, which was adopted by the Committee on Equality and Non-discrimination, recommends that stalking should be considered a criminal offence.
21/06/2013 | Election observation
The heads of the parliamentary delegations of the Council of Europe and the OSCE, together with the Special Co-ordinator and leader of the short-term OSCE election observer mission, observing the 23 June parliamentary elections in Albania have jointly called on all political leaders to use the remaining days to engage in a constructive process to ensure that the elections can proceed unhindered.
20/06/2013 | President
“Algeria, at the crossroads of Africa and Europe, is a mainstay of stability in the Euro-Mediterranean region and a major partner of PACE”, Jean-Claude Mignon, PACE President, emphasised following a three-day visit to the country (17-19 June 2013).
19/06/2013 | Election observation
A 20-member PACE delegation, headed by Luca Volontè (Italy, EPP/CD), will travel to Albania from 21 to 24 June to observe the parliamentary elections alongside observers from the OSCE’s Parliamentary Assembly and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR).
19/06/2013 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
“The drastic situation of the Syrian refugees is worsening and has reached an unprecedented level of suffering. A million and a half Syrians have fled their country; it is an humanitarian disaster", Jean-Claude Mignon said.
17/06/2013 | Session
A decision on a request for the opening of a monitoring procedure in respect of Hungary and a debate on tackling discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity – to be addressed by the Women’s Rights Minister of France Najat Vallaud-Belkacem – are among the highlights of the PACE summer plenary session in Strasbourg on 24-28 June 2013.
14/06/2013 | President
PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon will make an official visit to Algeria from 17 to 19 June 2013, during which he is due to meet the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the Council of the Nation and the Speaker of the People's National Assembly.
13/06/2013 | Culture, Science, Education and Media
“I was extremely surprised by the closure late on Tuesday of Greece’s three public radio and TV services, ERT,” said Deborah Bergamini (Italy, EPP/CD), Chair of the PACE Sub-Committee on Media.
13/06/2013 | Monitoring
PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Azerbaijan, Pedro Agramunt (Spain, EPP/CD) and Joseph Debono Grech (Malta, SOC), have stressed the need for the creation of conditions which would allow for a fair electoral campaign during the forthcoming presidential election, in compliance with democratic standards.