27/06/2006 | News
Presenting to the Assembly his report on alleged secret detention centres involving Council of Europe member states, Dick Marty (Switzerland, ADLE) today advocated setting up a new world legal order to deal with the terrorist threat. “The idea now is not to voice criticism, and the resolution does not do so. What is mainly needed now is to say that we are determined to combat terrorism, but we want to do so by appropriate means. We must set up a world legal order to deal with the terrorist threat, and we must do so with our friends and our allies the United States, but we must do it on the basis of the values which have been built up over the years, particularly in this Organisation”, he said.
27/06/2006 | News
"I believe we have now reached a turning point in our response to the allegations of rendition flights and illegal detentions in Europe. It is time to turn to the future. We cannot undo what has already happened, but we must make sure that it does not happen again," Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis said during the PACE debate on allegations of rendition flights and illegal detentions in Europe.
27/06/2006 | News
PACE today called for clear regulations to govern the activities of foreign intelligence services operating in Europe, and demanded “human rights clauses” in military base agreements with the US. Strongly backing the report by Dick Marty (Switzerland, ALDE) on alleged secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers of detainees, the Assembly – which brings together 315 parliamentarians from the Council of Europe’s 46 member states – said its central objective was to prevent future human rights violations of the sort established by Mr Marty’s report, which “played into the hands of terrorists”.
27/06/2006 | News
As their reforms have produced spectacular results in central European countries that have recently joined the EU, the European Bank for Reconstruction will, as from now gradually phase out its funding there in favour of moore needy countries to the east and south of the EU. The report calls for a stronger co-ordination between the EBRD and the EU in order to support ongoing reforms and foster investor confidence against a background of high perceived risk. It also points to a huge energy efficiency challenge and the need to improve the business environment in a global race for growth and development.
26/06/2006 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today warmly welcomed President Arroyo’s signing of a law abolishing the death penalty in the Philippines. "The 46 nations of the Council of Europe have been a de facto death-penalty-free zone since 1997, and we are happy that an ever-growing circle of civilised nations feel the same way on this fundamental human rights issue,” he said. PACE is due to debate a report on Council of Europe member and observer states – including the US and Japan – which have not abolished the death penalty at its forthcoming session.
26/06/2006 | Session
At a press conference today in Strasbourg, PACE President René van der Linden expressed shock and sadness at reports of the brutal killing of four Russian diplomats previously kidnapped in Iraq. If true, he said, this revealed "the bloody logic of Terror" and he condemned this act on behalf of the Assembly. It was a top priority for the democratic world to fight terror by all lawful means and he urged member states to sign and ratify the Convention against terrorism. He also called for the state of human rights in Europe to be a matter for significant debate in the Assembly each year. To this end he referred to a major new initiative whereby the Council would develop a system for reporting annually on the level of respect for human rights amongst all member states and any important relevant political issues could be highlighted. He hoped this would catalyse debate in national parliaments.
26/06/2006 | News
“Co-operation between the Council of Europe and Azerbaijan remains essential for the development of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights in this country,” said the Assembly today. PACE therefore decided not to reconsider the credentials of the Azeri parliamentary delegation and requested the Monitoring Committee “to follow closely developments in the country”. A progress report on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Azerbaijan will be presented at the spring 2007 part-session.
26/06/2006 | President
"We have entered a decisive phase of negotiations with the European Union on our future relations", said the President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, René van der Linden. He stressed the need for agreement on the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency, whose competence should be limited, for examination on the merits, to the application of European Community law and, in geographical terms, to the EU member states, to avoid duplication and wasting European tax-payers' money. He also called for recognition of the Council of Europe's role as the lead organisation for questions of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe, and for strong emphasis on the parliamentary dimension in keeping with the wishes of Europe's citizens, who wished to see European organisations become more democratic.
26/06/2006 | News
The Council of Europe and the EU should “develop a common vision of a pan-European confederative body where the two partners would integrate on the bases of shared values”, PACE said today. Debating a report on the Council’s external relations, the parliamentarians also said the Council of Europe should create a new status for non-member states that wish to co-operate with the organisation "on the basis of respect for universal values" in order to benefit from its experience but are not yet in a position to guarantee full compliance with its principles. They suggested China could be considered for this new status.
20/06/2006 | News
Debates on alleged secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers in Europe, as well as on the balance between freedom of expression and respect for religious beliefs – with the participation of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan – are among highlights of the PACE's summer plenary session, which takes place in Strasbourg from 26 to 30 June 2006. On the morning of Tuesday 27 June Dick Marty (Switzerland, ALDE) will present his report on “alleged secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers of detainees involving Council of Europe member states”. Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security Franco Frattini and the European Parliament’s rapporteur on this subject, Giovanni Claudio Fava, will take part in the debate.
20/06/2006 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Erik Jurgens (Netherlands, SOC), rapporteur on the Implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, visited Ukraine on 19 and 20 May. The rapporteur welcomed the recent Law for the execution of the Court’s judgments by Ukraine and encouraged the authorities to resolve the outstanding problems as a matter of priority. The authorities gave the assurances that they recognize the problems that give rise to appeals, many of them repetitive, to the European Court of Human Rights, and are diligently trying to find solutions; by new legislations and by the training of judges.
19/06/2006 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
On the eve of World Refugee Day, Mevlüt Cavusoglu, PACE's Chair of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population released the following statement: “Member states of the Council of Europe must re-examine what are becoming “fortress policies” towards refugees and asylum seekers. The number of refugees in Europe fell by 15 percent last year, according to statistics from UNHCR. While this is in part due to an improvement in conditions in a number of countries of origin of refugees and asylum seekers, it is also due to an increasingly fortress approach by states towards these persons."