16/04/2009 | Monitoring
Josette Durrieu (France, SOC) and Egidijus Vareikis (Lithuania, EPP/CD), co-rapporteurs on Moldova for the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), have sent letters to the Presidents of the Republic and the Parliament of Moldova requesting full information about the sequence of events that followed the elections on Sunday 5 April 2009.
15/04/2009 | Monitoring
“We welcome the work undertaken in the fields of legal and electoral reform in Ukraine, but it is now time that the different concept papers and draft laws are harmonised, adopted and implemented,” said PACE two co-rapporteurs on Ukraine, Renate Wohlwend (Liechtenstein, EPP/CD) and Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger (Germany, ALDE), speaking at the end of their visit to Kiev from 5 to 8 April 2009. The co-rapporteurs welcomed that the opinion of the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s group of independent legal experts, is regularly sought during the preparation of these laws, but stressed that its recommendations should then be reflected in the draft laws that are debated and ultimately adopted by Parliament.
14/04/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
A recent hearing in Berlin on “discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity”, organised by PACE’s Legal Affairs Committee, brought together legal experts, NGOs and academics to brief parliamentarians on why – in the words of rapporteur Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC) – “some countries are more progressive on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, and some have greater problems”.
14/04/2009 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
“The situation of Iranians in Camp Ashraf in Iraq has become more than alarming. These persons must, as a matter of urgency, receive full guarantees of international protection,” said Corien Jonker (Netherlands, EPP/CD), Chair of PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population. “The situation in Camp Ashraf is going from bad to worse,” said Mrs Jonker. “The Iraqi government has made it clear that it wants to close the camp and expects the people living there to return to Iran or leave to a third country."
13/04/2009 | Monitoring
“It is better to consult on sensitive issues in advance,” said Andres Herkel (Estonia, EPP/CD) and Evguenia Jivkova (Bulgaria, SOC), PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Azerbaijan, commenting on the 18 March Constitutional referendum at the end of a three-day fact-finding visit to the country (8-10 April). “We wish that the draft amendments on the Constitution had been sent to the Venice Commission well ahead of the referendum. Seeking Council of Europe expertise in advance would have allowed the adoption of legislation in line with European standards,” the co-rapporteurs pointed out.
09/04/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
“Witnesses have played, and continue to play, a key role in ending impunity for war crimes, in particular in the Balkans,” said Jean-Charles Gardetto (Monaco, EPP/CD) today, speaking at the end of a visit to The Hague. “They are absolutely indispensable if the Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is to fulfill its mandate. In turn, the Tribunal has a long-term, moral and even legal commitment towards them. If the United Nations, and international justice as a whole, are to remain credible, there must be a residual mechanism for effectively protecting witnesses, one which will continue even after the Tribunal ceases to operate.” Mr Gardetto is currently preparing a PACE report on this topic.
09/04/2009 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
"It is time for Europe to become an area devoted to the protection and promotion of the fundamental rights of women," declared José Mendes Bota, PACE Rapporteur on "Combating violence against women: towards a Council of Europe convention", on the occasion of the first meeting of the Ad hoc Committee on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. This committee is preparing one or several binding legal texts in this field.
08/04/2009 | Monitoring
Josette Durrieu (France, SOC) and Egidijus Vareikis (Lithuania, EPP/CD), co-rapporteurs on Moldova for PACE Monitoring Committee, who were present in Moldova to observe the elections of Sunday 5 April 2009, today called for “an end to violence and provocation” in the capital city, Chisinau. “We are concerned about the deterioration of the situation in a European country which nevertheless benefits from our attention and our support. Moldova needs to achieve political stability in the context of a democracy which will be able to assert itself only through elections, and not through violence”, they declared.
07/04/2009 | President
"We have learned with concern about the violent events which have taken place in Chisinau following the 5 April parliamentary elections in Moldova. The storming of public buildings is unacceptable and we urge a halt to any further violence on all sides. We underline at the same time the importance of securing people’s right to peaceful assembly. We call on all political leaders in the country to enter into a dialogue with a view to preventing any further violence...
07/04/2009 | President
PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig today sent a letter to the President of Italy’s Chamber of Deputies, Gianfranco Fini, and to the President of the Senate of the Republic, Renato Giuseppe Schifani, conveying the following message: "On behalf of all the members of the Parliamentary Assembly, I offer you my condolences following the tragic loss of human life caused by yesterday’s earthquake and its continuing aftershocks in the Abruzzi region."
07/04/2009 | Monitoring
In the haste to meet strenuous EU accession deadlines, some of Bulgaria’s reforms – particularly the reform of the judiciary – have undergone “cosmetic changes” which have pushed them in an undesired direction, according to a new report from PACE Monitoring Committee in the framework of “post-monitoring dialogue” with the country. In an information note posted today on the Assembly’s website, the Committee’s Chair Serhiy Holovaty (Ukraine, ALDE) named in particular the consitutional amendments and the amendments to the Judicial System Act of February 2007.
07/04/2009 | Monitoring
The effective separation of powers in Turkey, and the democratic functioning of its institutions, are “crucial for the modernisation of the Turkish state”, according to an information note from PACE's Monitoring Committee, in the framework of “post-monitoring dialogue” with the country, posted today on the Assembly’s website. Committee Chair Serhiy Holovaty (Ukraine, ALDE) said the political crisis which shook Turkey in 2007 and 2008 had highlighted the “weakness” of the country’s constitutional and legal framework, and again called for constitutional reform.