30/11/2012 | Standing Committee
“Statistics indicate an increase in the number of cases of violence against women and domestic violence,” the members of the PACE Standing Committee warned at a meeting in Andorra today. In a unanimously-adopted declaration, they called on member States to continue allocating adequate funding to shelters and assistance programmes for victims of violence...
30/11/2012 | Standing Committee
"Since taking up my duties in January 2012, I have been striving to refocus our Organisation, and the Parliamentary Assembly in particular, on its core business of upholding human rights. I am delighted that, when taking over the chairmanship, Andorra has also chosen to concentrate on the Council of Europe's original mission, to safeguard and develop human rights and fundamental freedoms," said PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon as he opened today's Standing Committee meeting in Andorra.
30/11/2012 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Pietro Marcenaro (Italy, SOC), PACE rapporteur on the Middle East, has welcomed yesterday’s vote in the UN General Assembly recognising Palestine as a non-member observer state. “The vote was a strong indication of the international community’s support for a two-state solution,” said Mr Marcenaro. “
30/11/2012 | Election observation
The 28 October parliamentary elections in Ukraine were marred by a tilted playing field, which contributed to the dominance of the major economic and financial groups, according to the final report of PACE’s election observers, made public today and debated by the Standing Committee.
30/11/2012 | Election observation
The 14 October early parliamentary elections in Montenegro “took place in a peaceful and pluralistic environment with respect for fundamental rights” and citizens made their choice freely from a large number of political parties, according to the final report of PACE’s observers, made public today and debated by the Standing Committee.
30/11/2012 | Standing Committee
Children ought to be separated from their parents only in very exceptional circumstances, PACE has said, expressing concern at the functioning of family courts in some Council of Europe member States.
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