06/11/2007 | Election observation
A pre-electoral delegation of 10 PACE members, consisting of two representatives of each of the five political groups of the Assembly and led by Luc Van den Brande (Belgium, EPP/DC), will visit the Russian Federation from 7 to 9 November 2007 ahead of the parliamentary elections on 2 December 2007. The delegation will meet in Moscow with representatives of the political groups running in these elections, the Presidents of the Constitutional Court and the Central Election Commission, as well as representatives of civil society and the media. The members of the delegation will present the conclusions of their visit at a press conference on Friday 9 November at 11.00 a.m. in the Interfax News Agency premises (Pervaya Tverskaya-Yamskaya str. 2).
01/11/2007 | President
Commenting on President Putin’s recent proposal for a Russian-funded institute to monitor human rights in EU member states, PACE President René van der Linden said: “If Russia wants to make sure that EU member states abide by the same human rights standards as it is judged against, there is already a well-established and highly respected body with decades of experience of monitoring human rights, democracy and the rule of law throughout Europe – including in the EU member states. This is, of course, the Council of Europe.”
01/11/2007 | President
“I was angered to learn of today's bus bombing in Togliatti, with such a grave loss of innocent life and devastation,” PACE President René van der Linden said. “I extend my condolences to the victims and their families. Innocents should never be the targets of random violence, whatever the cause. This was a despicable act, and I hope that its perpetrators will be swiftly brought to justice.”
31/10/2007 | Monitoring
The Monitoring Committee of PACE, which seeks to enforce the honouring of obligations and commitments by the Council's member states, will be holding a hearing on "frozen conflicts" in cooperation with the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), at the Bundestag in Berlin on 5 and 6 November 2007, focusing on the situations in Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria.
31/10/2007 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Jonas Cekuolis (Lithuania, ALDE) today hailed ever-more intensive co-operation “on the basis of common values” between the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) and the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS IPA). Delivering a speech on behalf of PACE President René van der Linden at the 29th plenary session of the CIS IPA in St Petersburg, he pointed out that the two parliamentary bodies had organised a series of joint conferences since 2002 and announced that the next one, on migration, will take place in April 2008.
30/10/2007 | President
PACE President René van der Linden has called on the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, who currently chairs the 40-member Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA), to do everything in his power to prevent the execution of Abdullah Al-Mansouri, a human rights activist and European national who has been sentenced to death in Iran. In a letter to Gholomali Haddad Adel, the President pointed out that while PACE had supported the creation of an Asian Parliamentary Assembly last year, this was on the basis of a “shared commitment” to respect human rights and that the Al-Mansouri case risks “undermining the standing” of the APA.
26/10/2007 | President
“Through its Statute and the obligations and commitments of its members, the Council of Europe has created a family of united European states. We bring together all the continent’s peoples, cultures and religions. This, combined with the democratic dimension of the Parliamentary Assembly, makes us an inclusive forum,” said PACE President René van der Linden, speaking at the colloquy organised by the Université Robert Schuman in Strasbourg on the theme “The future of the Council of Europe vis-à-vis other international organisations”.
25/10/2007 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Josette Durrieu (France, SOC), PACE Rapporteur on strengthening co-operation with the Maghreb countries, made an official visit to Algeria (19-22 October) and Tunisia (22-24 October) to explore the possibilities of political, judicial, administrative and cultural co-operation with the countries of the region.
25/10/2007 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
Mevlüt Çavusoglu (Turkey, EDG), Chair of PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population, today urged European Ministers of Justice meeting in Lanzarote to clarify the rights applicable to regular and irregular migrants in Europe. “Migrants are not second class human beings with second class rights”, stated Mr Çavusoglu. “They are entitled to access to justice and protection of their basic human rights”.
24/10/2007 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today welcomed the 10th ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on action against trafficking in human beings (CETS n° 197), by Cyprus, which will trigger its entry into force on 1 February 2008. “I urge all the Council of Europe member states, whether they are countries of origin, transit or destination, to sign and/or ratify the Convention if they have not yet done so” Mr van der Linden said.
23/10/2007 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
The Euro-Asian/Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Forum on Migration, organised by PACE's Sub-Committee on Migration in cooperation with the Turkish Parliament, today ended in Antalya (Turkey) after a two days meeting. The Forum, attended by parliamentarians from European, Asian and Mediterranean countries, as well as representatives of international organizations and experts, approved a statement that PACE’s Committee will present at the 8th Conference of European Ministers of the Council of Europe member states responsible for migration to be held in Kyiv (September 2008). The participants strongly condemned the terrorist attack in South-East Turkey on 21 October 2007 and communicated its deepest sympathy to the relatives of those who were killed.
20/10/2007 | President
"President Lukashenka's anti-semitic remarks may verge on the absurd, but they are no less unacceptable for it", said the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), René van der Linden, today. "The Council of Europe, as a value community, was created as the first step in a process of European integration intended to prevent the re-emergence of intolerance and extremism in Europe. The fight against anti-semitism has been a priority of the Council of Europe since 1949 and will continue to be so for as long as the threat remains. Rejection of anti-semitism is a universal principle”, said M. van der Linden.