08/07/2009 | Monitoring
The co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for the monitoring of Ukraine, Renate Wohlwend (Liechtenstein, EPP/CD) and Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger (Germany, ALDE), have called on the Ukrainian parliament to pass a law on the presidential election which takes fully account of Council of Europe recommendations. Draft law No. 4741 on the presidential election is currently under discussion in the Verkhovna Rada, which is due to decide on it tomorrow, Thursday 9 July 2009.
07/07/2009 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“The use of force against demonstrators by China’s communist regime must be strongly condemned by the international community,” said Göran Lindblad (Sweden, EPP/CD), Chair of the PACE Political Affairs Committee, referring to the unrest in the Chinese province of Xixjiang which over the last two days has resulted in at least 156 deaths and over 800 injuries. “The parliamentarians from the Council of Europe, the pan-European Organisation standing for human rights, democracy and the rule of law, have a special responsibility to react when the communist regime in China represses its own population.”
07/07/2009 | Monitoring
In the context of the monitoring procedure relating to Montenegro's honouring of its obligations and commitments, Jean-Charles Gardetto (Monaco, EPP/CD) and Serhiy Holovaty (Ukraine, ALDE), co-rapporteurs of the PACE Monitoring Committee, are starting today a fact-finding visit to Podgorica, during which they are due to meet the President of the Republic, Prime Minister, Speaker of Parliament, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of the Interior and Minister of Justice.
07/07/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Christos Pourgourides (Cyprus, EPP/CD), who is currently preparing a report on the implementation of judgements of the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, is to visit Ukraine from 8 to 9 July 2009, where he is due to meet inter alia the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Minister of Justice, the acting Minister of Finance, the President of the Supreme Court and Prosecutor General.
06/07/2009 | President
“The founding mission of the Council of Europe, namely to build peace and create a common area governed by the rule of law, democracy and human rights, is far from complete,” declared PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig, speaking today at the opening of the 4th Summer University for Democracy. “The Council of Europe must project its human rights values beyond Europe’s borders, and a new phase has begun with the creation of a new ‘partner for democracy’ status with PACE, in order to strengthen co-operation with the countries of the southern Mediterranean, Central Asia and the Middle East,” added Mr de Puig.
06/07/2009 | Election observation
Yesterday’s parliamentary elections in Bulgaria were generally in accordance with international standards, but further efforts are necessary to ensure the integrity of the election process and increase public confidence, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) concluded in a joint statement released today.
02/07/2009 | President
PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig has expressed deep concern about the death sentence passed on a young man in Belarus on 29 June. "The death penalty is a flagrant violation of human rights. It does not serve, but denies justice. No crime could justify it. This is why the Assembly asked its Bureau on 23 June not to lift the suspension of the Belarus Parliament's special guest status until such time as a moratorium on executions has been introduced by the appropriate Belarus authorities," he said.
30/06/2009 | Election observation
A PACE delegation led by Tadeusz Iwínski (Poland, SOC), will be visiting Bulgaria from 3 to 6 July to observe the parliamentary elections. Talks are scheduled with the Speaker of the Parliament, the President of the Central Electoral Commission and with representatives of the political parties standing in the election. The delegation is also to meet with the Bulgarian delegation to PACE, and with representatives of the diplomatic community, civil society and the media, before observing the ballot on 5 July in a sample of polling stations across the country.
29/06/2009 | Election observation
In a statement issued today, the International Election Observation Mission concluded that Albania’s election process demonstrated improvements, but also noted that violations persist. “These elections demonstrated that the Albanian people has the full potential for building a democratic society like that of other European countries. Now there is a huge responsibility of the authorities and main political stakeholders to work hard in order to establish confidence among the citizens for a democratic electoral process,” said Corien Jonker, Head of PACE delegation.
26/06/2009 | Session
In an opinion prepared by Miljenko Doric (Croatia, ALDE) and unanimously adopted at today’s plenary sitting, PACE came out in favour of two draft protocols, one on the right of citizens to participate in the affairs of a local authority and the other on Euroregional co-operation groupings (ECGs). The Assembly welcomed these initiatives, which it had in fact encouraged in its Recommendation 1829 in 2008 on transfrontier co-operation.
26/06/2009 | Session
Following a debate on so-called "honour crimes", the Assembly has called on member states to draw up and put into effect national action plans to combat violence against women, including violence committed in the name of so-called "honour". PACE has also asked national parliaments to pass legislation, if they have not yet done so, to make such offences, providing for a penalty commensurate with the gravity of the acts committed both for their perpetrators and for any accomplices.
26/06/2009 | Session
History teaching can be a tool for promoting peace and reconciliation in conflict and post-conflict areas and tolerance and understanding. At the close of the debate on the subject, the parliamentarians stressed that a multiple-perspective approach, rather than a single interpretation of events, would encourage pupils to respect diversity and cultural differences. The text adopted, which is based on a report by Cecilia Keaveney (Ireland, ALDE), suggests focusing history teaching more "on socio-economic, cultural, artistic and heritage elements and less on politics", while assuring those concerned of the resources necessary for research, training and innovation.