28/05/2010 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu has called for a political culture which values diversity. “Even if democracy means that the views of the majority prevail, there should be a balance which ensures fair treatment of minorities and avoids any abuse of a dominant position,” he said, addressing delegates at the Third Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilisations in Rio. Cultural diversity and dialogue between cultures were a priority for the Council of Europe, the president said.
28/05/2010 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
“Food production is due to double by 2050 but it is difficult to see how there can be any more land on which to grow crops”, said Yann Fichet, Director of Institutional and Industrial Affairs at Monsanto-France, addressing the members of the PACE Committee on the Environment at a hearing on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), in preparation for a report on this question by Jean-François Le Grand (France, EPP/CD).
28/05/2010 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
PACE's Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights is due to approve a report by Dick Marty (Switzerland, ALDE) on "Legal remedies for human rights violations in the North Caucasus region" during a meeting of the committee in Paris on Monday 31 May. The report – which becomes public if approved by the committee – is due to be debated by the Parliamentary Assembly on Tuesday 22 June during its summer plenary session (21-25 June 2010).
28/05/2010 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
The PACE Committee on the Environment today noted that although there has been a significant decrease in the surface area covered by forests in developing countries, in Europe such surface areas are increasing as a “result of a serious scientific approach to reforestation”. With the aim of securing the sustainable use of forests, the Committee this morning adopted a draft resolution calling on European states to use forests in a way “not exceeding their capacity for regeneration” and in line with “good management and conservation of forest biodiversity”.
28/05/2010 | President
Extremists who abuse Islam should not be invoked to justify a negative approach to Islam and Muslims in general, PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu has said, speaking at a roundtable on Islamophobia co-organised by the UN Alliance of Civilisations, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the Council of Europe ahead of the Third Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilisations in Rio. Yet Muslims should also be the first to condemn “political extremism under the cover of Islam” and work to transmit core European values within their communities, he said, by highlighting their compatibility with Islam as a religion.
27/05/2010 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
Many elderly women are poor because they have no pension or their pension is insufficient, PACE’s Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men warned today. Also, traditional pension systems favour the linear career paths of men and are disconnected from the realities of present-day society. Adopting a report by Anna Curdová (Czech Republic, SOC), the committee called for “fair and equitable pensions offering every man and woman a reasonable standard of living”.
26/05/2010 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
A conference on human rights and migration is to take place in Lisbon from 31 May to 1 June 2010, focusing on the interception of migrants at sea, how they are detained and treated in receiving countries, the dangers they can face such as trafficking and racism, as well as what happens when they are expelled or forced to return.
26/05/2010 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
"Our meeting was the trigger needed for the parliament of Azerbaijan to take an important step towards a law against domestic violence that should hopefully be adopted before the summer, and could be then submitted to the Venice Commission for an opinion," said José Mendes Bota, Chairperson of the PACE Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, at the end of the 7th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Equality.
26/05/2010 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
The Equal Opportunities Committee will hold an exchange of views on 'Islam, Islamism and Islamophobia' on Thursday 27 May in Paris, in order to prepare an opinion on this topic. Participants include Sociologist Neslihan Akbulut from Turkey, Jill Marshall who is a senior lecturer at the University of London in the United Kingdom, and André Gerin, a French deputy who has prepared an information report on the wearing of the full veil in France.
25/05/2010 | President
Mevlüt Çavusoglu today met in Ankara with Jean-Claude Mignon, head of the French parliamentary delegation and an Assembly Vice-President. The PACE President said he appreciated the work and the commitment of Mr Mignon on behalf of the Council of Europe and its Assembly. Mr Çavusoglu and Mr Mignon discussed the reform process of the Council of Europe and the role of the Assembly in this regard, as well as the need to launch the Assembly’s own reform process.
25/05/2010 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
PACE Environment Committee will hold a hearing on genetically modified organisms at the Council of Europe Office in Paris, at 2.30pm on 28 May, to prepare a report on the subject by Jean-François Le Grand (France, EPP/CD).
25/05/2010 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu will take part in the Third Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations initative in Rio de Janeiro (27-28 May 2010), alongside Brazilian President Lula da Silva and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, as well as the co-sponsors of the initiative Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the President of the Spanish Government José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.