11/03/2011 | Standing Committee
The Standing Committee has just approved the setting up of an Ad hoc committee of the Bureau on recent detentions, prosecutions and convictions of members of the opposition in Belarus, tasked with gathering and analysing all relevant information concerning the events of 19 December 2010 following the presidential election in Belarus and subsequent developments in respect of members of the opposition.
11/03/2011 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
The EU’s migration and asylum policy will come under the spotlight, in particular the human rights implications, at a PACE hearing in Brussels on Wednesday 16th March, entitled “Beyond Stockholm: implications for migrants and asylum seekers in Council of Europe member states”.
11/03/2011 | Standing Committee
PACE’s Standing Committee has warmly welcomed the draft Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, as the first international binding instrument specifically devoted to this issue and as an important step forward for equality.
10/03/2011 | Political Affairs and Democracy
In a hearing on the situation in Tunisia and the possible Council of Europe contribution, organised by PACE's Political Affairs Committee in Paris on 9 March, participants stressed that the Jasmine Revolution was the Tunisian people’s revolution and that it was for them to build the society and state they wished to have.
09/03/2011 | President
Over the years, the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina has built a successful multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual society, said PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, speaking at the end of a visit to the Autonomous Province on 8 March 2011. “I welcome the efforts of the institutions of Vojvodina aiming at promoting integration and supporting minority communities in the fields of education, culture, the use of minority languages and access to the media,” he added.
09/03/2011 | Political Affairs and Democracy
At a meeting of the PACE Political Affairs Committee in Paris today, the rapporteur on the situation in Belarus Sinikka Hurskainen (Finland, SOC) strongly condemned the continuing repression of civil society, human rights defenders, independent media and political opponents in Belarus.
08/03/2011 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
As a measure to further strengthen torture prevention mechanisms in Europe, the members of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) should be elected by PACE in order to vest them with enhanced democratic legitimacy and authority.
08/03/2011 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
At a hearing on the declaration of Principles on Equality and activities of the Council of Europe, organised by the Legal Affairs Committee in Paris today, participants stressed that the right to equality before the law and the protection of all persons against discrimination are fundamental provisions of international human rights law.
07/03/2011 | President
Addressing today the National Assembly in Belgrade, PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu welcomed Serbia’s contribution to the process of reconciliation in the region. However, “declarations have to be supported by concrete actions aiming, among others, at resolving the issue of missing persons, promoting effective refugee return and, where appropriate, their local integration,” he stressed.
07/03/2011 | President
José Mendes Bota (Portugal, EPP/CD), Chairperson of the PACE Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, calls for more parliamentary mobilisation in the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment. "I cannot think of any other so blatant, widespread and persistent injustice as inequality between women and men," he said on the celebration of the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day.
07/03/2011 | President
"In March 1911, for the first time, more than a million women attended rallies to celebrate the first International Women’s Day and ask for womens' right to receive an education, to work, to vote and to hold public office," said PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, on the anniversary of International Women’s Day 2011.
07/03/2011 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu today stressed the need to complete quickly Serbia’s key outstanding commitments and obligations to the Council of Europe. “The reforms should not slow down,” he said, during a press conference in Belgrade. “The Serbian Government and Parliament should intensify efforts to amend the electoral legislation and abolish the so-called ‘party-administered mandates’, strengthen the independence of the judiciary, step up efforts to fight corruption and continue strengthening minority rights."