29/01/2010 | Session
At the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, 179 countries adopted a Twenty-year Programme of Action, which focused on individuals’ needs and rights rather than on achieving demographic targets. Sixteen years later, the Assembly today noted that “while some progress has been made, achievements on education enrolment, gender equity and equality, infant child and maternal mortality and morbidity and the provision of universal access to sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning and safe abortion services, remain mixed”.
29/01/2010 | Session
At the close of its debate on the functioning of democratic institutions in Albania, PACE yesterday asked its Presidential Committee, accompanied by the Monitoring Committee's co-rapporteurs for Albania, Jaakko Laakso (Finland, UEL) and David Wilshire (United Kingdom, EDG), to visit Albania as soon as possible, “in order to support the process of resolving the current political situation and assist President Topi in his role of mediator and his efforts to restore political dialogue”.
28/01/2010 | Session
"Council of Europe member states should work together to create an organisational chain ready to intervene immediately in any major natural catastrophe,” said Luigi Vitali (Italy, EPP/CD), opening this morning’s current affairs debate on “What can Europe do for Haiti?” following the tragic earthquake there. States should co-ordinate the fair distribution of aid so that “it reaches those who most need it”, he said, avoiding a situation recently witnessed in Haiti where earthquake survivors were fighting each other over the aid available.
28/01/2010 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
The detention of asylum seekers and irregular migrants in Council of Europe member states has increased substantially in recent years. PACE today set down guiding principles on the legality of detention and put forward a number of European rules governing minimum standards for conditions in detention centres which should be guaranteed by member states and adopted by the Committee of Ministers as European rules. Following the proposals by the rapporteur (Ana Catarina Mendonça, Portugal, SOC), the parliamentarians encouraged member States to use alternatives to detention, such as placement in special establishments, release on bail/surety or electronic monitoring.
28/01/2010 | Session
Dick Marty (Switzerland, ALDE), PACE rapporteur on UN and EU anti-terrorist blacklists, has warmly welcomed this week’s ruling by Britain’s Supreme Court that the United Kingdom must not apply UN Security Council anti-terrorist sanctions where they violate basic human rights.
28/01/2010 | Session
The ten general committees of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have elected their Chairpersons, each for a term of office of one year. The Chairs are also members of the Bureau – which prepares the Assembly’s work – and the Joint Committee, which is the organ of co-ordination with the Committee of Ministers, the Council of Europe’s executive body. The full list of Chairpersons is as follows:
27/01/2010 | Session
Countries where justice is seen as the most corrupt institution must deal with the problem urgently, PACE said in a resolution today. Judges, prosecutors and police should be recruited and promoted only on merit, paid a reasonable wage, and develop their own ethical standards, the Assembly said, debating a report by Kimmo Sasi (Finland, EPP/CD). The Council of Europe should also draft a model code of conduct for judicial officials.
27/01/2010 | Session
Under-representation of women in politics is a threat to the legitimacy of democracies. The global situation is severe with less than 20% of parliamentary seats held by women and not even 5% women heads of state. At the end of a debate on the ways to increase women's representation in politics through the electoral system, the Assembly called on member states to employ a series of measures to rectify this situation by reforming electoral systems and by applying positive discrimination, such as introducing quotas for women on political party lists (in countries with a proportional representation system).
27/01/2010 | Session
Increased trust and confidence in an electoral system may greatly contribute to an enhanced interest among citizens in the political process as a whole and, in consequence, to overcoming the feeling of political discontent and disaffection among them, according to PACE. And the Council of Europe, it said, can make a considerable contribution to the achievement of this objective. Following the proposal by the rapporteur (Hendrik Daems, Belgium, ALDE), the parliamentarians proposed that a common understanding be established of the principles which qualify elections as “fair and free” , and that the application of these be ensured in all elections in every Council of Europe state.
27/01/2010 | Session
PACE today adopted a recommendation to the Committee of Ministers containing a series of measures to guarantee greater respect for media freedom and the safety of journalists. The Assembly proposes in particular a review of national legislation to ensure that anti-terrorism measures fully respect media freedom. It also reaffirms that defamation laws should not be used to silence critical comment and satire in the media, and calls on governments to ensure fair and equal access of all political parties and candidates to the media before elections.
27/01/2010 | Session
Both Greece and Turkey should treat all their citizens who are members of religious minorities according to the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights – rather than invoking “reciprocity” under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne as a basis for refusing to implement some rights. Approving a report today on “Freedom of religion and other human rights for non-Muslim minorities in Turkey and for the Muslim minority in Thrace (Eastern Greece)”, PACE acknowledged the question was “emotionally very highly charged”.
27/01/2010 | Session
The Assembly held its debate on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity this morning but, at the rapporteur's suggestion, voted in favour of referring the text back to the committee concerned. Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC), explained that so many amendments (80) had been tabled that the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights had yet not been able to decide on the majority of them. For that reason, he proposed that the Assembly hold an initial debate today and vote on the text at the next plenary session (26-30 April).