27/01/2012 | Monitoring
Pedro Agramunt (Spain, EPP/CD) and Joseph Debono Grech (Malta, SOC), co-rapporteurs of PACE for the monitoring of obligations and commitments by Azerbaijan, will make a fact-finding visit to that country from 31 January to 2 February. In Baku, the co-rapporteurs are due to meet the President of the Republic Ilham Aliyev, the Speaker of Parliament Ogtay Asadov, the Minister of Justice Fikrat Mammadov and the leaders of political parties represented in Parliament.
27/01/2012 | President
PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon has launched an urgent appeal to the competent Belarusian authorities not to execute the two young men convicted for the bombing of the Minsk metro in April 2011. “The Assembly is opposed, as a matter principle, to the use of capital punishment in any circumstances. But in the cases of Dmitry Konovalev and Vladislav Kovalev, I also have serious doubts whether these two youths ever committed the despicable act of terrorism for which they were convicted,” the President said.
27/01/2012 | Session
Despite declining fertility rates and the ageing of its population, Europe still has the opportunity to compete and remain economically and politically influential, PACE has said. Approving a report by Nursuna Memecan (Turkey, ALDE), the Assembly advised member states - among other things - to encourage innovation and technology, to increase investment in “human capital” and to treat migrants in particular as a major asset.
26/01/2012 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
In their parliamentary contribution to the 6th World Water Forum, to be held in Marseille from 12 to 17 March 2012, PACE parliamentarians have called on public authorities across Europe and beyond to recognise the right of access to clean water and sanitation as a fundamental Human Right and to act with determination to translating this right into reality.
26/01/2012 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
“Governments must apply zero tolerance to so-called ‘honour crimes’, which must be punished by exemplary sentences to show total rejection of this practice”, said Jacqueline Thibault, President of the Foundation ‘Surgir’ (Switzerland), speaking at a hearing organised by the PACE network of contact parliamentarians committed to combating violence against women, opened by José Mendes Bota (Portugal, EPP/CD).
26/01/2012 | Monitoring
PACE's Monitoring Committee has requested an opinion from the Venice Commission, the Council’s group of independent legal experts, on whether another five laws recently adopted in Hungary are in line with the Council’s standards. This is in addition to an opinion on three laws which has already been requested by the Hungarian authorities.
26/01/2012 | Session
“Europe must move with more determination from rhetoric to enforcement of human rights standards” stated the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, when presenting today the last annual report of his mandate. The report identifies fields in which stronger political action is required. One concern is the justice system which is dysfunctional in several member states.
26/01/2012 | Session
PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon participated in Strasbourg in the ceremony to commemorate the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, together with the President of Finland, Tarja Halonen, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, and the member of the Knesset delegation to PACE, Doron Avital. The event marked the liberation of the largest Nazi concentration camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945.
26/01/2012 | Session
The credentials of the Ukrainian delegation to the Assembly, which were challenged on the opening day of the session on the grounds that the delegation submitted did not reflect the balance of political parties in the parliament, were confirmed today. However, the Rules Committee notes "misleading information" on the list of members submitted and invites the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament to "clarify the issue" with updated information.
26/01/2012 | Session
The Assembly today called for renewed impetus to be given to the promotion, protection and effective implementation of women's rights worldwide, and for periodic evaluation of those rights. The report prepared by Lydie Err (Luxembourg, SOC) points out that, all over the world, violence disproportionately affects women: one women in three has, at some point in her life, been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in some other way.
26/01/2012 | Session
"Women want their basic human rights respected": stated Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women, when addressing PACE on Thursday. Former Chilean President, a long-time defender of women's rights, has advocated for increasing gender equality and stronger women's empowerment. "Our greatest challenge is to make sure that hard won gains for women are not lost but protected and advanced during this time of austerity and transition", she said.
26/01/2012 | Session
In a resolution adopted today, PACE called on the member states which have not yet done so to sign the Istanbul Convention and rapidly proceed to ratification. This convention – which provides a comprehensive framework for preventing violence against women, protecting its victims and prosecuting the perpetrators – cannot come into force until it has been signed and ratified by a sufficient number of member states (minimum of ten, including eight member states).