29/11/2011 | President
“Accountability in the management of public funds and transparency are the pillars of good governance and parliaments play a key role in ensuring that these principles are implemented,” today said PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in New-York, addressing a parliamentary hearing organised jointly by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the United Nations, on “Strengthening political accountability for a more peaceful and prosperous world”.
28/11/2011 | Elections
A 34-member delegation of PACE, headed by Tiny Kox (Netherlands, UEL), will visit the Russian Federation from 1 to 5 December to observe the conduct of the parliamentary elections, alongside observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the OSCE and the Nordic Council.
28/11/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Biomass, solar energy, wind energy (including offshore facilities), marine energy, geothermal energy, biofuels, hydropower and nuclear power are all complementary sources which need to be developed in parallel. This was the conclusion of the 150 or so participants at a panel discussion on the choice of the energies of the future, organised by the PACE Sub-Committee on Energy, in Alfortville on 27 November.
28/11/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Famine kills one person in the world every second, in 2010 alone, 925 million were considered “hungry” by FAO. Increased productivity in the countries concerned is indispensable and could be achieved through more efficient production and through a focus on smallholder agriculture as a centerpiece to improve resilience, participants at a hearing organised in Paris by the PACE Environment Committee on food security said today.
26/11/2011 | Elections
The parliamentary elections held in Morocco on 25 November 2011 went off calmly, allowing the voters to choose freely among the different political parties. PACE delegation notes with satisfaction that following the adoption of the new Constitution on 1 July 2011, the Moroccan authorities improved the electoral framework, which facilitates the organisation of free and fair elections provided this text is properly implemented.
26/11/2011 | Standing Committee
PACE Standing Committee, meeting in Edinburgh, today stressed the importance of good governance in underpinning the development of crisis-stricken small national economies. The parliamentarians said steps must be taken to ensure sound macro-economic fundamentals, diversify the national economy, optimise the use of local resources, enhance competitiveness and strengthen the institutional capacity of small states.
25/11/2011 | Standing Committee
PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has welcomed “new ideas” to deal with the backlog of thousands of cases clogging up the European Court of Human Rights. Addressing the Assembly’s Standing Committee in Edinburgh, the President said that reform of the Court, and strengthening of the European Convention on Human Rights – which are priorities of the British chairmanship – were of the “utmost importance”.
25/11/2011 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
PACE Standing committee, meeting in Edinburgh on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, has adopted a declaration that freedom from violence should be the first human right. “Millions of women and girls in the world have this right violated every day as they are specifically targeted in the context of war and conflicts.
25/11/2011 | Standing Committee
While promoting a culture of "living together" based on religious pluralism, the PACE Standing Committee, meeting in Edinburgh today, called on European governments “to grant all religious communities the possibility to obtain a legal status” and to abolish outdated legislation and administrative practices causing discrimination against certain religious groups.
25/11/2011 | Standing Committee
The Parliamentary Assembly is to begin assessing the request for ‘Partner for democracy’ status submitted by the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic. PACE’s Political Affairs Committee will now assess the request – submitted by the Speaker of the Kyrgyz Parliament, Ahmatbek Keldibekov.
25/11/2011 | Standing Committee
States should consider introducing the notion of ‘psychological violence’ into their criminal law, according to PACE Standing Committee. Psychological violence in the context of intimate relationships is widespread, primarily affecting women as victims and the children who witness it, but also men, said the committee, approving a report by Elvira Kovacs (Serbia, EPP/CD).
25/11/2011 | Standing Committee
PACE Standing Committee, meeting in Edinburgh, today suggested a series of measures for curbing shadow economic activities - in particular economic crime - which it considers constitute a threat to democracy, competitiveness and strong economic performance.