27/10/2006 | President
René van der Linden will participate in the quadripartite meeting between the Council of Europe and the European Union, a high-level co-ordination meeting. Items on the agenda include co-operation between the Council of Europe and the EU, follow-up to Mr Juncker's report on co-operation between the two institutions, the roles of the Council and the EU in defending human rights and the development of inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue.
26/10/2006 | President
The French draft law on Armenian genocide does not reflect the principle of freedom of speech, said PACE President René van der Linden following a meeting today with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül. "This draft law will not help to build a positive climate for relations between Turkey and France or Turkey and the EU," he said, adding that in general he was not in favour of drafting legislation on questions of history or memory. However the President added that Turkish criticism of the lack of freedom of speech shown by the French draft law could also be "self-reflected" as regards the situation in Turkey, a reference to Article 301 of the Turkish penal code.
24/10/2006 | President
PACE President René van der Linden will make a working visit to Turkey from 25 to 29 October 2006. In Ankara, at meetings with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül, he is due to discuss Turkey-Council of Europe relations and raise the issue of Turkey’s EU accession negotiations. The President will also attend a round table discussion with legal and human rights experts at Bilgi University, Istanbul, on Friday 27. The following day he will lay a wreath at the Gallipoli War Memorial and visit the war graves there, as well as meet a delegation from the Çanakkale Provincial Council.
19/10/2006 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
Representatives of national parliaments from across Greater Europe today signalled their support for the “white ribbon” campaign to combat violence against women ahead of a major Europe-wide governmental and parliamentary campaign on this theme to be launched in Madrid on November 27. The Speakers of Parliament of every member state will be sent one of the ribbons – specially produced to focus attention on the coming Council of Europe campaign. Dozens more were worn by parliamentarians from the 46-nation organisation at a preparatory meeting held in Strasbourg today.
19/10/2006 | Election observation
A 19-member PACE delegation, headed by Alexander Fomenko (Russia, UEL), will observe the referendum on a new constitution taking place in Serbia on 28 and 29 October 2006. The delegation, which has been invited to carry out the observation by the Secretary of the Republican Electoral Commission, will assess – within the framework of the Assembly’s monitoring of Serbia – whether the conduct of the referendum is in line with Council of Europe standards.
19/10/2006 | News
The second annual meeting of the Council of Europe Forum for the Future of Democracy, which examined the role of political parties in democracy-building, ended today with the presentation of the conclusions by the General Rapporteur, Mikko Elo. The conclusions will provide the basis for a report proposing the adoption of a code of good conduct for political parties. Mr Elo’s report is due to be debated by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe during its winter session in January 2007.
18/10/2006 | President
“Journalistic freedom being one of the pillars of democracy, state authorities are responsible not only for the legal framework for journalism, but also for the general climate in which journalists are working. They must create conditions for journalists to work freely and independently,” said PACE President René van der Linden, at the opening of the Forum for the Future of Democracy in Moscow, which is examining the role of political parties in democracy-building.
18/10/2006 | News
"Statistics show that more and more people are turning away from public life, considering that politicians and the political parties are increasingly becoming 'joint–stock companies' taking care mostly of their share-holders - members of the party, instead of the interests of the citizens', PACE President today said adressing the Forum for the Future of Democracy in Moscow. "We must look at ourselves, at our political parties, and start the hard work to inverse this tendency. We must go back to our citizens, young people, students, associations with a view to ensuring their fullest involvement in public affairs", he said.
18/10/2006 | News
A parliamentary seminar on respect for the principle of equality between women and men in civil law, including in family codes, will take place in Strasbourg on Friday 20 October. The event, organised by the PACE Equal Opportunities Committee and the Council’s North-South Centre, will draw on experience of the situations in Portugal, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. The seminar will be attended by parliamentarians from Council of Europe member states as well as North Africa, legal experts and religious leaders. Specific areas for dicussion include marriage and divorce and the transmission of surname.
18/10/2006 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today reacted to President George W. Bush’s signature into law of the Military Commissions Act, a bill that sets standards for the interrogation and prosecution of foreign terror suspects held by the US. “If the law aims to enshrine defendants' human rights, it still restricts their right to challenge their detention. As an observer state to the Council of Europe, the United States should send a strong message to the world by demonstrating that terrorism can be overcome by lawful means. As our Assembly has previously requested, the US authorities should conduct their fight against terrorism in conformity with international human rights norms and the rule of law. It should also align its definitions of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment with the definition used by the United Nations Committee against Torture”, he said.
17/10/2006 | Monitoring
A PACE committee is to assess whether or not electoral fraud in the United Kingdom merits the opening of the Assembly’s “monitoring procedure”. Meeting yesterday in Yerevan, Armenia, PACE’s Monitoring Committee appointed two of its members, former German Justice Minister Herta Däubler-Gmelin (SOC) and Polish Senator Urszula Gacek (EPP/CD), to look into allegations of irregularities involving postal and absentee votes in Birmingham, Blackburn, Coventry and London.
17/10/2006 | News
PACE President René van der Linden today warmly welcomed the launch of the “Football against racism in Europe” (fare) action week. “Sport naturally brings people of different cultures and backgrounds together,” he said, describing the initiative as an ideal method to declare racism offside. “Any manifestation of intolerance and racism is a violation of human rights,” he said. He said that PACE fully shared and supported the emphasis of the action week: - greater participation of ethnic minorities and migrants; - inclusion of women and girls; - action against homophobia in the game.