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 | 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
“Never since 1993 has the political situation in Russia been as open as it is today,” said Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC), opening today’s current affairs debate on Russia between two elections. “Never since Mr Putin came to power 12 years ago has the power of the system been as strongly challenged as it is today. Never since 1993 have so many people in Russian civil society been so active.” This openness was a “structural opportunity” for Russia, said Mr Gross, who is also a co-rapporteur for the monitoring of Russia. Things could improve but they could also deteriorate, he warned.
26/01/2012 | Session
PACE has called for charges against former government members in Ukraine, including former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, to be dropped. It asked the President of Ukraine to consider releasing them and to allow them to compete in the upcoming parliamentary elections. In a resolution approved today, based on a report by Mailis Reps (Estonia, ALDE) and Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin (Sweden, EPP/CD), the Assembly also expressed its concern about the deteriorating health of Ms Timoshenko, and called on the authorities to allow her treatment by independent doctors.
25/01/2012 | Session
The Assembly today expressed its deep concern at the deteriorating situation of human rights and civil and political liberties in Belarus and condemned the increasingly repressive approach to any attempt to express dissent. “The authorities in Minsk are deliberately turning their back on Europe and the values it upholds”, the Assembly said.
25/01/2012 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Strasbourg, 25.01.2012 - Representatives of the the Parliamentary Assembly of the 47-nation Council of Europe (PACE) and the European Parliament have urged national governments – notably the UK and France – not to stand in the way of the EU signing up to the European Convention on Human Rights...
25/01/2012 | Session
"I firmly believe that the process of integration into European institutions is the best prevention mechanism against renewed instability and violence," declared Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze, supporting the Council of Europe's reform during an address to PACE on Wednesday.
25/01/2012 | Session
PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon and the new Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muiznieks, today underlined their willingness to co-operate fully in their respective roles because "we can do better together". As Mr Mignon had already stated in his inaugural speech, he intends to involve the Commissioner in some of his visits, depending on the subject.