09/07/2010 | Monitoring
Kastriot Islami (Albania, SOC) and Michael Jensen (Denmark, ALDE), PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Georgia, will make a fact-finding visit to this country from 12 to 15 July, as part of their ongoing assessment of the honouring of Georgia’s Council of Europe obligations and commitments. Discussions should focus on the reform of the justice sector, human rights protection, decentralisation and local self-government, media pluralism as well as the fight against corruption.
09/07/2010 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
The Rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on the human rights situation in the North Caucasus, Dick Marty (Switzerland/ALDE) has described as "unacceptable and unworthy" the words of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, who publicly described the staff of Russian human rights NGO Memorial as "enemies of the people, enemies of the law, enemies of the state".
03/07/2010 | President
“I am shocked to learn of the explosion in the divided town of Mitrovica which has killed one person and injured 11 others,” said PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu in a statement. “I want to extend my most heartfelt condolences to the family of the victim and a quick recovery to the wounded, and call on all parties to remain calm. Violence is not the answer to the situation in Kosovo.*”
02/07/2010 | Monitoring
PACE monitoring co-rapporteurs György Frunda (Romania, EPP/CD) and Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC) will make a fact-finding visit as part of their ongoing assessment of the state of Russia’s honouring of its Council of Europe obligations and commitments.
02/07/2010 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu has expressed his satisfaction at the current positive climate in relations between PACE and Russia. Speaking in a press conference at the end of a two-day visit to Moscow (1-2 July 2010), the President said: “There remain questions on which our opinions differ, and there are demands which Russia has to fulfill, but if we work as partners, with mutual respect and without double standards, I am sure that progress can be achieved even on these difficult issues.”
02/07/2010 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
The Director General of the World Health Organisation Margaret Chan has told PACE rapporteur Paul Flynn (United Kingdom, SOC) that she “welcomes criticism” when it helps her organisation to improve its performance, and pledged a “transparent and independent” review of how the WHO handled the H1N1 pandemic. “The WHO needs people to fully understand its work,” said Dr Chan, meeting Mr Flynn, who is PACE’s rapporteur on the handling of the pandemic, today in Geneva. They agreed that “when difficult decisions need to be taken in the midst of profound uncertainty, all views should be listened to and taken into account”.
29/06/2010 | Political Affairs and Democracy
In an information note on her fact-finding visit to Brussels from 9 to 10 June 2010, the rapporteur on the impact of the Lisbon Treaty on the Council of Europe (Kerstin Lundgren, Sweden, ALDE) considers that while the technical details posed by the EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights should be tackled at the intergovernmental level, it is the role of parliamentarians “to provide a powerful political signal in favour of a smooth accession process and its rapid completion”. According to Mrs Lundgren, accession modalities “should be kept as simple as possible”.
29/06/2010 | President
"Parliaments must be the driving force behind the elaboration of national action plans for intercultural and inter-religious dialogue. They must contribute to such plans not only through ideas and political impetus, but also through parliamentary control of the executive which has to implement them", PACE President said today addressing in Astana the OSCE Conference on tolerance and non-discrimination. "Besides such specific plans, parliaments should take into account the intercultural and inter-religious dimension in their overall legislative work", Mr Cavusoglu said.
28/06/2010 | President
"We are witnessing a revolution of sorts – in Europe and the world – in which women are rising in large numbers to claim leadership roles in our societies," said PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu, encouraging young female leaders in his opening address to the fifth annual Summer University for Democracy in Strasbourg today. "Much remains to be done, and the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly are in the midst of this struggle which I consider vital for the good management of the world of the future," said the PACE President.
28/06/2010 | President
“Today we pay our respects to all victims of torture. We also pay tribute to all those who work to denounce cases of torture and provide help to alleviate their tragic consequences. The Council of Europe has been fighting torture during the more than 60 years of its existence. All 47 Council of Europe member states stand behind the prohibition of this and other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as required by the European Convention on Human Rights," declared the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers and the PACE President.
28/06/2010 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu will make an official visit to Moscow on 1-2 July. During his visit, he will meet the Speaker of the State Duma Boris Gryzlov, the Chairman of the Federation Council Sergey Mironov and the Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov. Talks are also scheduled with the leaders of factions in the State Duma, young politicians, and with representatives of NGOs.
28/06/2010 | Monitoring
Democratic development in Georgia “continues unabated”, despite some set-backs and despite the war, PACE’s two monitoring co-rapporteurs on the country have said. In an information note on their visit to Tbilisi in March, made public today, Kastriot Islami (Albania, SOC) and Michael Aastrup Jensen (Denmark, ALDE) welcomed a second wave of democratic reforms which took place in the aftermath of the war.