06/08/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
"It is totally unacceptable to ignore binding interim measures ordered by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). It is disgraceful, for a mature democracy like Italy, to have send Ali Toumi back to Tunisia last Sunday, a case in which there exists an imminent risk of irreparable damage to the applicant”, today said Herta Däubler-Gmelin (Germany, SOC) and Christos Pourgourides (Cyprus, EPP/CD), respectively the Chair of the PACE Legal Affairs Committee and the rapporteur on the implementation of Strasbourg Court judgments.
03/08/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
In connection with his forthcoming report on inhuman treatment of people and illicit trafficking in human organs in Kosovo, Dick Marty (Switzerland, ALDE), rapporteur of the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, today began a fact-finding visit to Serbia (3 to 5 August), immediately followed by a visit to Albania (5 to 6 August). Mr Marty will meet various official representatives in the two countries, including the Justice and Interior ministers and state prosecutors, the national parliamentary delegations and NGOs, particularly ones representing the families of missing persons.
30/07/2009 | Election observation
Yesterday's parliamentary elections in Moldova met many international standards, but the process underscored the need for continued democratic reforms to restore public trust, the international election observation mission concluded in a preliminary statement issued today. "I welcome the active participation of voters in this election, which is a good signal for democracy in Moldova. However, voters must feel confident with the entire election process. The inaccuracy of the voters lists has once again exposed weaknesses and an urgent need for major improvement. The voters of Moldova have expressed their will; it is now time for the country's political forces to demonstrate their ability for constructive political dialogue and power-sharing," said Mevlüt Çavusoglu, head of the PACE delegation.
28/07/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Christoph Strässer (Germany, SOC), PACE rapporteur on the follow-up to the issue of political prisoners in Azerbaijan, is disturbed by the arrest in controversial circumstances of Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade, two activist members of civil society who studied in Germany. "These arrests will draw the international community's attention to the cases of journalists and NGO activists convicted on the basis of dubious allegations of vandalism and slander", said Mr Strässer. "I shall, when preparing my report, pay great attention to the arrest and conviction of opposition activists and representatives of civil society."
24/07/2009 | Election observation
A PACE delegation led by Mevlüt Çavusoglu (Turkey, EDG) will be visiting Moldova from 27 to 30 July 2009 to observe the anticipated parliamentary elections on Wednesday 29, alongside observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the European Parliament and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR). The delegation is to meet notably the President of the Central Electoral Commission and representatives of the political parties standing in the election, civil society and the media, before observing the ballot in a sample of polling stations across the country. Preliminary conclusions will be announced during a press conference on Thursday 30 July (place and time to be confirmed).
23/07/2009 | Monitoring
Pedro Agramunt (Spain, EPP/CD) and Leonid Slutsky (Russian Federation, SOC), co-rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee on Monaco, are to make a fact-finding visit to the Principality on 27 and 28 July, to take stock of the honouring of its obligations and commitments to the Council of Europe and finalise the report to be debated during the autumn PACE session (28 September – 2 October 2009).
22/07/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger (Germany, ALDE), former PACE rapporteur on the Gongadze case and co-rapporteur on Ukraine, today welcomed the arrest of former general and top Ukrainian Interior Ministry official Oleksiy Pukach, who had been in hiding since 2003. He was charged in absentia with having participated in the murder of journalist Giorgiy Gongadze, for which three policemen were sentenced to prison terms last year. "The arrest of Oleksiy Pukach provides the Ukrainian law enforcement authorities with a unique opportunity of shedding light on who ordered the gruesome murder of journalist Giorgiy Gongadze”, Mrs. Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said.
17/07/2009 | President
PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig today ended a two-day official visit to Italy, during which he met the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Gianfranco Fini (photo), the Vice-President of the Senate Vannino Chiti, the Minister for Relations with the Regions Raffaele Fitto, and the members of the Italian delegation to PACE. Mr de Puig also had a meeting at the Vatican with the Secretary for Relations with States, Dominique Mamberti.
16/07/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Following the brutal murder of Natalia Estemirova, a highly respected human rights defender and head of the Human Rights Center “Memorial” in Grozny (Chechnya), PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig, and parliamentary rapporteurs today expressed their shock and dismay, urging the authorities to hold to account not only the direct perpetrators, but also the instigators and organisers of this heinous crime. “This is one murder of a human rights defender too many - the Russian authorities in Moscow, at the highest level, must at last take decisive action to rein in the lawlessness in Chechnya and the whole North Caucasus region and protect those who stand up for the rights of their fellow citizens, as a matter of national responsibility”, they said.
13/07/2009 | President
PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig today ended an official visit to Italy on 16 and 17 July, during which he met the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Gianfranco Fini (photo), the Vice-President of the Senate Vannino Chiti, the Minister for Relations with the Regions Raffaele Fitto, and the members of the Italian delegation to PACE. Mr de Puig also had a meeting at the Vatican with the Secretary for Relations with States, Dominique Mamberti.
13/07/2009 | Monitoring
The co-rapporteurs for Georgia of the PACE Monitoring Committee, Mátyás Eörsi (Hungary, ALDE) and Kastriot Islami (Albania, SOC), have welcomed the statement by the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, David Bakradze, that the draft amendments to the laws on rallies, police and administrative offences will be submitted to the Venice Commission to ensure their compliance with Council of Europe standards of democracy and human rights.
09/07/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Christos Pourgourides (Cyprus, EPP/CD), PACE rapporteur on the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, has ended a two-day visit to Kiev (8-9 July 2009) with a call for greater domestic parliamentary supervision to ensure Ukraine implements judgments of the Court. The Rapporteur obtained assurances that Parliament will now take a more pro-active approach in supervising the Strasbourg Court's judgments, and that long overdue structural changes in the legal and justice system are now being finalised.