05/12/2008 | Session
Debates on the humanitarian consequences of the war between Georgia and Russia, and the implementation of PACE Resolution 1633 on the consequences of the war, are among the highlights of PACE’s Winter Session (26-30 January 2009). A current affairs debate on "The protection of citizens’ rights during the present financial crisis" is also scheduled.
05/12/2008 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
Council of Europe countries should do much more to help girls, mostly from immigrant communities, who are forced by their families to return to their countries of origin to be “forcibly married, circumcised or enslaved”, according to a PACE draft report approved today. Antigoni Papadopoulos (Cyprus, ALDE), who prepared the report for PACE’s Committee on Equal Opportunities, pointed out that women from Hindu, Sikh and Muslim communities were particularly at risk, where “maintaining family honour or ancestral customs” sometimes took precedence over human rights.
05/12/2008 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
"More and more scientific studies are proving the links between certain pollutants and certain illnesses, such as allergies, respiratory problems, fertility problems or central nervous system disorders," said Jean Huss (Luxembourg, SOC), rapporteur of PACE's Environment Committee, at the opening of a conference on the effects of a polluted environment on health, including pollution in our own homes.
05/12/2008 | Culture, Science, Education and Media
PACE's Sub-Committee on Cultural Heritage is holding a conference on "rescue archaeology" - the study and preservation of significant elements of archaeological heritage under threat from development work – in Paris on 8 December. Archaeologists, developers, public authority managers, NGOs and representatives of European and international institutions will debate the topic, and concrete examples will be considered in the form of case studies. In particular, the conference will help to identify the roles of the different interested parties as well as principles of good practice.
03/12/2008 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
Should boys and girls in Europe be taught separately? Should teachers treat them differently? Do teachers unconsciously discriminate against girls? Leading educationists from Austria and the United Kingdom will draw on the latest academic research to debate these questions at a parliamentary hearing on “The rights of today’s girls, the rights of tomorrow’s women” in Paris on Friday 5 December.
02/12/2008 | President
“Our two assemblies have a major part to play in the normalisation process between Georgia and Russia,” PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig said today in his speech at the Congress’s plenary session, referring to the recent conflict between the two countries. “We share a common concern to strengthen democracy in Europe. Firstly, we must prevent any violence and ensure that the populations affected by the conflict are able to live in peace and dignity. The Congress through its work at local and regional level, can make a significant contribution to moving things forward. We must on no account break off relations with the populations of Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” the President said.
02/12/2008 | Monitoring
The need for speedier political reforms, including a full revision of the 1982 Constitution, more democratic state institutions and improved social dialogue were among the issues raised by the Chair of PACE’s Monitoring Committee Serhiy Holovaty (Ukraine, ALDE) during a three-day “post-monitoring dialogue” visit to Turkey (24-26 November).
01/12/2008 | Standing Committee
At the end of a PACE Standing Committee debate in Madrid on the follow-up to Resolution 1633 (2008) on the consequences of the war between Georgia and Russia, PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig called for extreme vigilance. “We must make every effort to prevent a return of violence or even a further outbreak of war between two Council of Europe member states. That is the basic aim of our organisation, which was founded in the aftermath of the Second World War,” he said.
28/11/2008 | Standing Committee
PACE´s Standing Committee Committee today called on European governments to put forward minimum standards of reception to be guaranteed by all countries of destination of “boat people” and to share the responsibility of receiving them. In a report prepared by Morten Østergaard (Denmark, ALDE), adopted today in Madrid, the Assembly recalled that in 2007 alone, over 51,000 persons arrived on the coasts of Italy, Spain, Greece and Malta.
28/11/2008 | Standing Committee
At its meeting in Madrid, the PACE Standing Committee adopted a resolution highlighting the importance of involving men in achieving gender equality. In this resolution, the committee expresses the view that public policies must incorporate a gender perspective and counter stereotypes, but also include action that encourages the involvement of men. Steingrímur J. Sigfússon (Iceland, UEL), rapporteur on the subject, stresses that involving men is a prerequisite for achieving gender equality and changing mentalities.
28/11/2008 | Standing Committee
In a resolution adopted today in Madrid, PACE Standing Committee calls on individual craft trades, trade federations and national training groups to identify themselves, to establish European networks and to develop public support. In keeping with the findings of its rapporteur on this subject, Baroness Gloria Hooper (United Kingdom, EDG), the Committee likewise calls for concerted action between government, private and voluntary sectors in developing the skills and expertise necessary for heritage conservation.
28/11/2008 | Standing Committee
Iceland’s parliamentary delegation to PACE has opened a current affairs debate in Madrid by suggesting that "a Council of Europe member state, the United Kingdom, was instrumental in bringing down the economy of another member state – Iceland." At today’s debate, held during a meeting of PACE’s Standing Committee, Steingrímur Sigfússon (Iceland, UEL) said the UK government had unilaterally resorted to "apparently discriminatory and disproportionate" measures against Icelandic banks, with grave consequences for the country’s economy.