30/11/2012 | Standing Committee
In a resolution adopted today by the PACE Standing Committee meeting in Andorra, the Assembly called on member states to reinforce their policies on intercountry adoption in order to pursue this practice under secure conditions while respecting the best interests of the child.
30/11/2012 | Election observation
Despite a very tense and polarised campaign, the parliamentary elections in Georgia on 1 October 2012 were generally conducted “in a democratic manner and in line with European standards and Council of Europe commitments,” according to the PACE observers’ final report debated by the Standing Committee in Andorra today.
29/11/2012 | Monitoring
PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Azerbaijan, Pedro Agramunt (Spain, EPP/CD) and Joseph Debono Grech (Malta, SOC), visited Baku from 26 to 28 November 2012 in order to assess the progress made by the country towards fulfilling its obligations and commitments to the Council of Europe.
28/11/2012 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
“Great efforts are made to provide better support to families and protect children, but these efforts need to be pursued and stepped up,” today stressed Valeriu Ghiletchi (Republic of Moldova, EPP/CD), First Vice-Chairperson of the PACE Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development, reporting on the situation in his country.
28/11/2012 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
A PACE delegation, headed by Liliane Maury Pasquier (Switzerland, SOC), Chairperson of the PACE Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development, met with Margaret Chan, Director General of the WHO and her colleagues in Geneva yesterday. They agreed to intensify co-operation on issues of common interest, in particular on equal access to health care and universal health coverage.
28/11/2012 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
Four years on from the war between Georgia and Russia, a pace committee has warned against politics poisoning possibilities for progress on humanitarian issues arising from the war. In a draft resolution based on a report by Tina Acketoft (Sweden, ALDE), approved yesterday in Geneva, PACE’s Migration Committee said the humanitarian consequences of the conflict remained a major concern
23/11/2012 | President
“Millions of women throughout the world live in fear and are denied the first human right, the right to live free from violence,” today recalled José Mendes Bota, (Portugal, EPP/CD), PACE General Rapporteur on violence against women, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November 2012.
23/11/2012 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Jean-Charles Gardetto (Monaco, EPP/CD), PACE rapporteur on political transition in Egypt, today expressed concern at the decree passed yesterday by President Mohammed Mursi of Egypt. “With this decree, Mr Mursi is effectively granting himself sweeping powers.The very positive role that he played in securing a cease-fire in Gaza cannot serve as an excuse for undermining democracy, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.”
23/11/2012 | Monitoring
Pedro Agramunt (Spain, EPP/CD), PACE co-rapporteur on the monitoring of Azerbaijan, will be visiting the country on 26-28 November 2012 to assess the honouring of its obligations and commitments to the Council of Europe. In Baku, he will hold talks with the President of the Republic, the Speaker of Parliament, the Foreign, Interior and Justice Ministers, and the leaders of the political parties represented in Parliament.
22/11/2012 | Standing Committee
Ensuring that the best interests of the child are upheld in the context of intercountry adoption will be one of the central themes of the meeting of the PACE Standing Committee to be held in Andorra la Vella on Friday 30 November 2012, on the occasion of the transfer of the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers to Andorra.
22/11/2012 | President
"If we are to be effective and above all credible, we must react firmly in all cases where our member states fail to honour their commitments and obligations," said PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon today at the end of an official visit to Berlin, while calling on all member states to assume their responsibilities and show scrupulous respect for democratic and human rights standards.
21/11/2012 | President
"During a visit to the former Stasi prison in Berlin, I was very moved by the testimony of former detainees,” said PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon today, speaking on the second day of an official visit to Berlin. “Their accounts of deprivation and suffering touched me deeply. This visit was a reminder for me of our duty to remember all those who suffered under totalitarian regimes, as well as our obligation to ensure that such atrocities never recur...”