27/06/2013 | Session
“Some states filter Internet content, others violate laws and use private data, which they justify with arguments of a security nature, such as the fight against terrorism. They stifle freedom of expression by trying to control everything and restricting or preventing what they cannot control”, said Gvozden Srećko Flego (Croatia, SOC) introducing the current affairs debate on state interference with privacy on the Internet.
27/06/2013 | Session
PACE proposed today that co-operation with the authorities of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” be stepped up and expanded, in particular through the opening of a Council of Europe office in Skopje to encourage the country to pursue its democratisation efforts.
25/06/2013 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, following a general discussion today in Strasbourg, decided to declassify the draft report “Refusing impunity for the killers of Sergei Magnitsky” by Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC) and issued an invitation for any interested parties – including the Russian authorities – to comment on it with a view to approving the report at its meeting on 4 September 2013.
25/06/2013 | Session
At the end of a debate on the situation in the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, PACE today expressed its support for a solution involving two “democratic and pluralist” states.
25/06/2013 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Mailis Reps (Estonia, ALDE), rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on the strengthening the protection and role of human rights defenders, has expressed serious concern at Russia’s “Foreign Agents” legislation. “I am worried about the hostile climate in which human rights defenders have been working in Russia since the adoption of the Law on “Foreign Agents”.
25/06/2013 | Session
While raising in a resolution adopted today “serious and sustained concerns” about the extent to which Hungary is still complying with the obligations it took on when it joined the Council of Europe, the Assembly decided however not to open a monitoring procedure in respect of the country but resolved “to closely follow the situation” and “to take stock of the progress achieved” in the implementation of the adopted text.
25/06/2013 | Session
The Assembly today elected Egidijus Kūris as judge to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Lithuania. Mr Kūris, having obtained an absolute majority of the votes cast, is elected judge for a term of office of nine years as from 1 November 2013. Judges are elected by PACE from a list of three candidates nominated by each State which has ratified the European Convention on Human Rights.
25/06/2013 | Session
The Assembly today elected Róbert Ragnar Spanó judge of the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Iceland. Mr Spanó, having obtained an absolute majority of votes cast, is elected a judge for a term of office of nine years as from 1 November 2013. Judges are elected by PACE from a list of three candidates nominated by each State which has ratified the European Convention on Human Rights.
25/06/2013 | Session
Two years after granting partner for democracy status to the Moroccan Parliament,* and considering that the prime aim of the partnership was progress in taking forward reforms, PACE today, in its first assessment, underlined the “important step taken by Morocco on the path to democratic reform”...
24/06/2013 | Session
Referring, at the opening of the PACE part-session in Strasbourg, to the importance of the debate on the request for the opening of a monitoring procedure for Hungary, President Jean-Claude Mignon said that the Assembly was obliged “to react to this situation in the most appropriate manner, conducting a constructive dialogue with the authorities so that they bring their legislation and practice into line with our standards.”
24/06/2013 | Session
The credentials of the new Icelandic delegation to the PACE have been challenged on the opening day of the Assembly’s summer plenary session in Strasbourg on the grounds that it does not contain at least one Representative who is a member of “the under-represented sex”, as required by the Rules.
24/06/2013 | Elections
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.