23/03/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
With a view to the preparation of a report on the health hazards of heavy metals by Jean Huss (Luxembourg, SOC), the Social Affairs Committee held an exchange of views on the dangers of using mercury in dental treatments. Mr Huss pointed out that a growing number of illnesses, in particular chronic diseases, are thought to be caused by heavy metals and other chemical substances that are omnipresent in our living environment.
23/03/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Participants at a hearing in Paris today organised by the Social Affairs Committee looked at the steps Europe could take to help children in the aftermath of natural disasters and crisis situations, with the focus on Haiti. "Children are the most vulnerable at every level in crisis situations", said Françoise Hostalier (France, EPP/CD), the rapporteur on the subject.
22/03/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
"The issue of water encompasses complex realities affecting all the world's regions and populations, especially the most vulnerable, as water is very much the focus of sharp tensions, threatening regional stability and security worldwide". So said Bernard Marquet, member of the PACE Environment Committee and author of the report "Water – a source of conflict", speaking at the Conference on conventions on international water, organised in Monaco by the Monegasque National Council and the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly.
22/03/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
One quarter of European schoolchildren are overweight or obese, the levels of excess weight and obesity being greater in southern Europe than in northern European counterparts, Michael Hancock (United Kingdom, ALDE) underlines in his report on safeguarding children and young people from obesity and type 2 diabetes. The islands of Malta, Sicily, Gibraltar and Crete are particularly concerned, as well as the countries of Spain, Portugal and Italy, with levels exceeding 30 per cent among children aged 7 to 11.
22/03/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
“Poverty generates, and leads to, lack of access to human rights, and can only be eliminated if poverty reduction strategies are based on human rights. Leaving people in poverty destroys the social fabric, preventing countries’ growth and prosperity for future generations,” Luca Volontè (Italy, EPP/CD) stresses in his report on combating poverty which is due to be discussed by PACE on Wednesday 13 April during its spring session in Strasbourg.
22/03/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
In the past, producers and consumers of child abuse images constituted a very small and marginal group. However, the ability to interconnect people and share images and videos through the Internet has resulted in an explosion in the number of worldwide paedophiles, participants said at a hearing on "combating child pornography as part of the campaign to stop sexual violence against children" organised by the Social Affairs Committee in Paris today.
18/03/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
PACE Committee on Social, Health and Family Affairs is organising a hearing in Paris on Tuesday 22 March on “Combating child pornography as part of the campaign to stop sexual violence against children”. In the framework of a report by Agustín Conde Bajén (Spain, EPP/CD), the hearing will look in particular at combating child pornography.
18/03/2011 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Tiny Kox (Netherlands, UEL), who is preparing a report on the request submitted by the Palestinian National Council for “Partner for democracy” status with PACE, is to make a fact-finding visit to the Palestinian Territories from 21 to 25 March 2011. “Partner for democracy” status allows parliamentary delegations mainly from countries on the southern shore of the Mediterranean, the Middle East and central Asia to take part in the Assembly's activities.
18/03/2011 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu is due to make an official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 23-25 March 2011. He is due to continue discussions with key political stakeholders on the country’s implementation of its Council of Europe commitments and obligations, as well as the preparation of the constitutional reform necessary to implement the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case Sejdic and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina.
18/03/2011 | Monitoring
Lise Christoffersen (Norway, SOC) and Piotr Wach (Poland, EPP/CD), PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Moldova will make a fact-finding visit to the country from 21-24 March 2011. Among other things, they will focus on the current political situation, including the state of play as regards the election of the President of the Republic, the latest developments in the field of justice and the media, and preparations for local elections.
18/03/2011 | Culture, Science, Education and Media
There are many dark sides to the fate of personal data on the Internet, with questions arising about the right to respect for privacy and the right to data protection. This was the conclusion of participants in a hearing, held in Paris today by PACE's Culture Committee, on the subject of privacy and the management of private information on the Internet and other on-line media.
18/03/2011 | Culture, Science, Education and Media
"We are today confronted with manifestations of intolerance, rejection and violence which are a threat to social cohesion. There is an urgent need for a new ‘living together’ paradigm. Each of us must not just accept the existence of differing sensitivities, religious or other, but must also respect them. Pretending not to care is inappropriate; feeling threatened is a mistake", according to Anne Brasseur (Luxembourg, ALDE), presenting her report on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue to the Culture Committee in Paris.