24/11/2011 | Bureau
PACE Bureau meeting today in Edinburgh, expressed its consternation at the harsh sentence handed down today on Belarusian human rights defender Ales Bialatski by the Pervomaiski District Court of Minsk.
24/11/2011 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“We consider that the trial and detention of Mr Bialiatski, held since 4 August 2011, amounts to judicial harassment of a human rights defender for carrying out legitimate human rights activities, protected under all international human rights instruments” stressed Mr Andres Herkel (Estonia, EPP) and Ms Marieluise Beck (Germany, ALDE), PACE rapporteurs on Belarus, reacting to the sentence.
24/11/2011 | Bureau
PACE Bureau, meeting in Edinburgh today, is deeply concerned about and strongly condemns the continuing systematic use of violence by the Syrian authorities against their own people, resulting in thousands of deaths, including children. The Bureau urges the Syrian authorities immediately to stop the bloodshed and put an end to all human rights violations and abuses. The authorities in Damascus must instead create the conditions for the peaceful expression of the democratic aspirations of their people.
24/11/2011 | Bureau
PACE Bureau, meeting in Edinburgh , expressed its deep concern at the recent violent crackdown on the legitimate expression of the democratic aspirations of the Egyptian people by the transitional military authorities.
23/11/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
A round table on the table on the choice of future energy sources will gather experts and parliamentarians from PACE 47 member states on 27 November in Alfortville. In the present context of an energy turnaround, the experts will present the various foreseeable energy sources and their development prospects: nuclear, solar, thermal, photovoltaic, wind, geothermal, marine and biomass energy.
23/11/2011 | President
During his two-day working visit to the United Kingdom ending today, PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, welcomed the priorities of the UK presidency which hand in hand coincide with the priorities of the Assembly, in particular the emphasis put on the Reform of the Court. He recalled that as stated in PACE Resolution 1726, this process should take into account, the need to strengthen the implementation of Convention rights at the national level;
23/11/2011 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
PACE rapporteur Renate Wohlwend (Liechtenstein, EPP/CD) today warmly welcomed Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber’s decision to stop executions during the rest of his term of office and his intention to advocate a ballot to outlaw the death penalty. “It takes courageous men and women like John Kitzhaber to abolish the death penalty,” Mrs Wohlwend stressed.
21/11/2011 | President
A 15-member PACE delegation, led by Tomáš Jirsa (Czech Republic, EDG), will visit Morocco from 22 to 26 November 2011 to observe the parliamentary elections on 25 November. The delegation will meet, inter alia, representatives of the parliamentary groups, the Secretary of State at the Ministry of the Interior in charge of election administration, the President of the National Human Rights Council and representatives of civil society, the media and political parties not represented in parliament.
21/11/2011 | President
At the end of his working visit to Monaco, in the margins of the Conference on the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child 2012-2015, PACE President today met with the Minister of State Michel Roger and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Badia. Mr Cavusoglu praised “the commitment of the Monegasque authorities” to the Council of Europe standards and values.
20/11/2011 | President
“The overall goal of the new Child’s rights programme debated today will be to implement international standards on the rights of the child through comprehensive national strategies. I can assure that the Assembly will take an active part in this process and the issue of children’s rights will remain high on our agenda in the years to come..."
18/11/2011 | President
“We should use fully our democratic oversight powers in order to ensure that Governments take into account the inter-cultural dimension in the design of their policies and legislation. Ever-closer ties should be developed with all of the actors in the society, particularly with ethnic and religious communities, including minority groups”, PACE President said today in Istanbul addressing the Annual conference of the international association of political consultants.
18/11/2011 | President
“The countries of South-East Europe and of the Black Sea region should play an active role in sharing their own experiences of democratic transformations with our neighbors, thus building the bridge between Europe and the wider Euro-Asian and Euro-Mediterranean region. By sharing their own good practices, as well as by learning from our neighbors’ experiences, they could make a concrete contribution to making our region even more politically stable and prosperous”, PACE President said today in Istanbul addressing the Black Sea energy and economic Forum.