16/03/2007 | Standing Committee
Göran Lennmarker, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE, today called for strong international organisations to ensure respect for common values. Addressing PACE’s Standing Committee in Paris, he said: “Europe today is now more democratic, peaceful and prosperous than ever before, and we have come a long way. Yet there are many challenges ahead, and in order to tackle them all we need, today more than ever, strong international organisations to ensure respect for common values.”
15/03/2007 | Political Affairs and Democracy
A report on the state of democracy in Europe has recommended key ways to improve democratic functioning on the continent, including enlarging the right to vote, greater representation for women, more “direct democracy”, a free, pluralist media and civic education. The text – approved on Monday 12 March by PACE’s Political Affairs Committee – will be a highlight of an all-day plenary debate on human rights and democracy in Europe, scheduled for Wednesday 18 April.
15/03/2007 | Bureau
PACE's Bureau, meeting today in Paris, adopted the following statement at the initiative of the head of the Italian delegation to PACE Andrea Rigoni: “The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, in line with the essential principles upheld by the Organisation, recalls that every time journalists are deprived of their freedom, this amounts to an attack on the very concept of freedom of expression and information – freedoms which are essential pillars of any democracy upholding the rule of law. For this reason, the Assembly wishes to add its voice to those from all quarters, governments and international organisations alike, demanding the release of La Repubblica’s Afghanistan correspondent Daniele Mastrogiacomo, and appeals for a speedy resolution.”
14/03/2007 | Standing Committee
The Standing Committee of PACE will meet in Paris on Friday 16 March. A current affairs debate on the promotion by Council of Europe member states of an international moratorium on the death penalty and a debate on the United States of America and international law are among the highlights of the agenda.
13/03/2007 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
European governments must show “zero tolerance” to human rights violations and root out impunity for violators, a PACE committee has said ahead of a major debate on the state of human rights on the continent. PACE’s Legal Affairs Committee said there was a “gap” between the commitments undertaken by Council of Europe member states and the situation in practice. “It is time to end hypocrisy and turn words into deeds”, the committee said in a draft resolution. The all-day debate, involving global human rights personalities, takes place on Wednesday 18 April in Strasbourg.
12/03/2007 | Political Affairs and Democracy
The PACE Political Affairs Committee today declared itself in favour of the Republic of Montenegro acceding to the Council of Europe, while enumerating a list of commitments to be honoured by this country. The text adopted, drafted by Jean-Charles Gardetto (Monaco, EPP/CD), welcomes the political will expressed by the Montenegro authorities to continue the reform process, while calling for concrete implementing measures. In particular, the committee noted the undertaking given by the authorities to adopt a new Constitution within a maximum period of one year and their intention of honouring the international treaties to which the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro was party.
09/03/2007 | News
Joint statement by the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly, the Chairman of the Congress, the Secretary General and the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe: “Three years ago 192 people were killed and more than 2000 people were injured in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Europe. The anniversary of the Madrid bombings is an occasion to reaffirm our solidarity with the families of the victims and the Spanish people, but also to reiterate the call for a better, broader and stronger international co-operation in the fight against terrorism."
09/03/2007 | President
"I am delighted to learn that President Papadopoulos has now taken the courageous and praiseworthy step of demolishing the wall across the Ledra Street crossing of the Green Line," PACE President René van der Linden said today. "Cyprus need no longer suffer the ignominy of having Europe’s last divided capital. During my recent official visit to the island, I raised this issue as a matter of priority," the President continued. He urged Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat to respond constructively and in good faith, by ensuring that Turkish Cypriot soldiers will not be visible to those using the Ledra Street crossing.
07/03/2007 | President
In an appeal to the 46 member states on the eve of International Women’s Day, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President René van der Linden and Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg stress that domestic violence is one of the most widespread violations of human dignity. According to a study carried out for the Council of Europe, between a quarter and a fifth of all women in Europe have been subjected to physical violence at least once in their adult lives. More than one out of ten women have suffered sexual violence with the use of force. Most acts of violence are committed by men in their immediate environment, generally partners or former partners.
28/02/2007 | President
Speaking at a meeting on “Establishing a Community code on visas”, organised by the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs in Brussels today, PACE President René van der Linden made a plea for the long-term goal of a visa-free European continent. “From the greater European perspective of 46 member states within the Council of Europe, it is important not to create a divided Europe,” he said.
27/02/2007 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
Where abortion isn’t illegal, it should be made safe and accessible in order to protect women’s lives, the author of a forthcoming PACE report on abortion and the Chair of the Assembly’s Equal Opportunities Committee said today at a hearing in Paris organised by the committee. Participants heard evidence that more than 70 000 women die each year worldwide as a result of unsafe abortions. The rapporteur, Gisela Wurm (Austria, SOC), will present her draft report later in the year.
27/02/2007 | Monitoring
Tony Lloyd (United Kingdom, SOC), the Assembly’s co-rapporteur for the monitoring of Azerbaijan, has said he is “extremely disappointed” that the issue of a license for the TV station ANS has still not been definitively resolved. “I am disappointed that a second tender has been announced after it was discovered that ANS was the only bidder in an earlier tender,” he said, in an interview. “It was never a public condition that there should be more than one bidder.” Azerbaijan had promised, when it joined the Council of Europe, not to use administrative means to restrict media, Mr Lloyd pointed out. The Monitoring Committee is due to make public its assessment of Azerbaijan – taking into account the recently-received comments of the authorities – on 28 March.