28/04/2009 | Session
'Markets alone cannot give answers to the current economic crisis, declared Tarja Halonen, President of Finland, adressing the Parliamentary Assembly on 28 April. Referring to recovery plans, Mrs Halonen reminded listeners that "a human-rights based approach will lead to more equitable and sustainable solutions" and that "the Council of Europe can provide us with useful tools in responding to the challenges of today," she said.
28/04/2009 | Session
The Assembly today reminded European governments of their “obligation and responsibility” to protect human rights defenders and their work “by providing an enabling environment” and, if necessary, “protection mechanisms to ensure the physical integrity” of those who face specific threats. The parliamentarians expressed concern about the situation of human rights defenders who are most exposed to attacks and abuses: those fighting against impunity for serious crimes and against corruption, as well as those working on economic, social and cultural rights, on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, as well as for the rights of migrants, national or ethnic minorities.
27/04/2009 | Session
Declaring a state of emergency should be “a means of last resort only”, clearly limited in time and subject to legislative and judicial oversight, according to PACE. Approving a report by Holger Haibach (Germany, EPP/CD) today, the Assembly said it was “concerned” by recent declarations of states of emergency in several member states, especially Georgia and Armenia. While permitted under the European Convention on Human Rights “in time of war or other public emergency threatening the life of the nation”, such declarations should never exceed what is required by the situation, and should always stay within international law, the parliamentarians said.
27/04/2009 | Session
PACE today decided to award its Human Rights Prize to British Irish Rights Watch, a non-governmental organisation which since 1990 has been monitoring the human rights dimension of the Northern Ireland conflict and, more recently, the peace process. In March a panel including leading figures from the world of human rights chose British Irish Rights Watch from among fourteen individuals and NGOs nominated for the prize and praised its “courageous and outstanding work in monitoring and bringing to light human rights abuses, and its fight against impunity in Northern Ireland”.
27/04/2009 | Session
In his opening speech, PACE President, Lluís Maria de Puig, underlined that Durban II illustrated that “hatred, intolerance and destructive urges persist despite the determination that has been the driving force of all the democratic movements since the Second World War, a determination to eradicate the outrages which occurred as a result of this self-same hatred."
27/04/2009 | Session
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President Lluís Maria de Puig, Yves le Tallec, Departmental Councillor (Conseiller Général) of the Bas-Rhin (France) and Atle Faye, representative of the European Museum Forum will present, on Tuesday 28 April, the 2009 Museum Prize to the Zeeuws Museum of Middelburg (Netherlands), during a ceremony organised at the Palais Rohan. The museum will be presented with a bronze statuette, “La femme aux beaux seins” by Joan Miró, which the museum will keep for a year, as well as a diploma and a cheque for 5,000 euros.
27/04/2009 | President
PACE President, Lluís Maria de Puig, today recalled what he described as “so many good reasons for the Council of Europe to persevere in its mission” at a ceremony held in plenary sitting to mark the 60th anniversary of the organisation. “Our first duty is never to forget the slogan of the pioneers of European integration – never again. Nobody is ever proof against fresh excesses, which is why we must keep alert so as never to allow a recurrence of the ills that the founders of our organisation set out to eradicate,” he stressed.
27/04/2009 | Session
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) today elected Christos Pourgourides (PPE/DC) Vice-President for Cyprus.
27/04/2009 | Session
Adopting the final agenda of its spring plenary session (Strasbourg, 27-30 April 2009), PACE this morning decided to hold an urgent debate on Wednesday 29 April at 3 p.m. on the election process for the Council of Europe Secretary General. The Assembly also noted that the President of the Government of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, was to address the Assembly on Wednesday 29 April 2009 at 5.30 pm. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Co-operation of Spain, Miguel Angel Moratinos, will address the Assembly the following day, Thursday 30 April at 11 a.m. in his capacity as Chair of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers.
23/04/2009 | Session
Humayra Abedin, a doctor who was born in Bangladesh and is working in the United Kingdom, will give a press conference in Room 1 at 11.00 am on Tuesday 28 April, on the fringes of the PACE spring session. Accompanied by her lawyer, Anne-Marie Hutchinson, Dr Abedin will describe being held captive in Bangladesh by her family and forced to marry, and the happy ending to this affair, thanks to the new legislation on forced marriages adopted by the United Kingdom in 2007.
22/04/2009 | President
“The emergence of various forms of intolerance and racism within our communities and in relations between nations is a cause for concern. The Durban Review Conference taking place in Geneva is proof that we need to step up our efforts to combat racism,” said PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig. “On the one hand, the Conference has shown us the determination of the international community to make progress in this field, but at the same time, it provides a platform for intolerant remarks presented as anti-racism. However, denial of the Holocaust is in itself a manifestation of racism and an incitement to hatred.”
21/04/2009 | President
Attending the conference on “The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages: Achievements and Challenges”, held in Bilbao (Spain) on 20 and 21 April, PACE President Lluis Maria de Puig reiterated the Council of Europe’s commitment to promoting multilingualism in Europe. “Language is much more than a communication tool or a cultural microcosm,” he said. “Language is the foundation on which intellectual wealth and personal and collective identity are built. But above all, language is a right, and the right to language is inalienable”, he added. The PACE President expressed his belief that “the Europeans of tomorrow will be able to speak several languages.”