15/06/2011 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Mailis Reps (Estonia, ALDE), the rapporteur of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) on the situation of human rights defenders, has expressed satisfaction following the acquittal of prominent human rights lawyer Oleg Orlov, the head of the Human Rights Centre “Memorial” in the Russian Federation. “I warmly welcome the acquittal of Oleg Orlov. It is a step in the direction of ensuring respect for the rule of law and a sign that Russian courts are willing and able to interpret the right to freedom of expression in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights."
13/06/2011 | Election observation
"The 12 June 2011 elections to the Turkish Grand National Assembly demonstrated that recent changes enacted by the Turkish government have improved the electoral system, yet there were some worrying developments, especially regarding freedom of expression, including media freedom," according to PACE and OSCE PA observers in Turkey. The electoral process was generally characterized by pluralism and a vibrant civil society. Voting and counting observed on Election Day showed a mostly calm and professionally-managed process.
10/06/2011 | Session
Addresses by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan will be among highlights of the summer plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg on 20-24 June 2011. Support for fledgling Arab democracies will be the main theme on Tuesday, when the parliamentarians will decide on the Moroccan Parliament’s request for “Partner for Democracy” status with the Assembly...
09/06/2011 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
Doris Stump (Switzerland, SOC), rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on pre-natal sex selection, is to visit first Georgia, then Armenia, from 14 to 17 June, in order to assess the situation and its demographic and social effects, with a view to preparing a report on this subject. According to the rapporteur, imbalances have been reported, in these two countries in particular, in the sex ratio, i.e. the ratio of the number of boys to the number of girls being born, which is unusually high.
09/06/2011 | Monitoring
“While we congratulate Montenegro for undertaking many essential reforms and understand that the country is eager to open the negotiations to join the EU, we consider that serious issues still need to be addressed by the authorities if Montenegro is to honour its commitments and obligations to the Council of Europe,” declared Jean-Charles Gardetto (Monaco, EPP/CD) and Serhiy Holovaty (Ukraine, ALDE), co-rapporteurs for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), following a fact-finding visit to Podgorica from 31 May to 2 June 2011.
08/06/2011 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
"Psychological violence underpins violence within the couple, and must be regarded as the psychological equivalent of murder. Unless she has been psychologically prepared to submit, no woman would accept physical violence. It is an irreversible result of such psychological preparation and pressure, such verbal violence, creating a situation of domination, that a human being is first morally destroyed, then subjected to physical violence," according to lawyer Yael Mellul, speaking at a hearing on psychological violence held by the PACE Equal Opportunities Committee.
08/06/2011 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
“Pornography is an industry seeking profits and needing to expand by launching new products. Violent and extreme pornography is clearly dangerous. It threatens not only women’s dignity and their status in society, as ‘traditional’ pornography does, but also their actual physical integrity", Michal Stuligrosz (Poland, EPP/CD), PACE rapporteur on violent pornography, said at a hearing organised in Paris today by the PACE Equal Opportunities Committee.
07/06/2011 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
PACE Equal Opportunities Committee is to hold two hearings in Paris on Wednesday 8 June, one on violent pornography, the other on psychological violence. "While there is no consensus about the damage caused by pornography in general to women's dignity and status in society, the danger stemming from extreme and violent pornographic content is clear, and a response is needed," according to Michal Stuligrosz (Poland, EPP/CD), who is writing a report on this subject.
07/06/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Up to 150 lawmakers and water experts will be meeting in Strasbourg on 10 June 2011 to shape a message on behalf of the world’s parliamentarians to next year’s World Water Forum in Marseille – a global gathering which aims to expand the right of access to water and sanitation, and ensure more sustainable management of water resources.
06/06/2011 | Election observation
Yesterday’s early parliamentary elections were competitive, transparent and well-administered throughout the country, but certain aspects such as the blurring of the line between state and party require further attention, the international observers concluded in Skopje today.
06/06/2011 | Election observation
A PACE 26-member delegation, led by Kerstin Lundgren (Sweden, ALDE), will travel to Turkey from 10 to 13 June to observe the parliamentary elections. The delegation will meet representatives of political parties, the Chair of the Supreme Board of Elections as well as representatives of NGOs and the media, before observing the vote on 12 June in a sample of polling stations. A PACE pre-electoral delegation visited Ankara on 17 and 18 May.
01/06/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
"I welcome yesterday's announcement by the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) that mobile phone use should be classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans," today declared Jean Huss (Luxembourg, SOC), author of the report on the potential dangers of electromagnetic fields and their effect on the environment, which resulted in a Resolution adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) last Friday.