28/11/2005 | Election observation
The Council of Europe observers to the Constitutional Referendum held on 27 November 2005 in Armenia regret the decision taken by the authorities which precluded the attendance of any other international observers. The transparency of the referendum was further hampered by the decision of the parliamentary opposition to call on their members to withdraw from the electoral commissions. It is also regrettable that political pluralism inside polling stations was not better assisted by a greater number of domestic observers.
28/11/2005 | Standing Committee
The Parliamentary Assembly has called on Ukraine to respond favourably to Slovak proposals in order to create a new international border crossing in the village of Vel’ké Slemence/Mali Selmenci, on their common border, to end the consequences of the 1945 agreement which cut the village in two. According to a report adopted by the Assembly’s Standing Committee this week, Abolishing the last piece of the iron curtain in central Europe, “fifteen years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, an uncrossable boundary – armed sentries, double fencing, barbed wire and electric alarm systems – still traverses the main street… and people have to make a 50-mile journey to go from one part of the village to the other”.
25/11/2005 | News
In an information memorandum published today, Dick Marty, the PACE rapporteur who is investigating allegations about secret detention centres in Council of Europe member states, refers to suspicious movements by 31 aircraft allegedly belonging to entities with direct or indirect links to the CIA, and believed to have been used by the CIA to transport prisoners in the “war against terrorism”.
25/11/2005 | Standing Committee
On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), adopted the following statement at its meeting in Bucharest today: “Thousands of women face physical, sexual and psychological violence on a daily basis in Europe. Every day, one in five women in our continent is the victim of domestic abuse. The problem affects all member states of the Council of Europe and all socio-professional categories. Too many victims, however, suffer in silence and too many crimes go unpunished.
24/11/2005 | President
"Georgia’s Rose Revolution was and remains an inspiration to democratic forces throughout Eastern Europe, and I congratulate you on your initiative to hold this Forum so as to maintain the momentum," Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President René van der Linden said in a letter to President Mikheil Saakashvili together with a written message for participants at the International Forum on Democratic Transition in Tbilisi, which he regretted being unable to attend.
24/11/2005 | President
Corruption could “seriously jeopardize” Romania’s bid to join the European Union by 2007, the President of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly has told Romanian Members of Parliament. In an address to Romania’s Parliament today, René van der Linden told MPs they should themselves set an example through their personal behaviour, by declaring their sources of income and any potential conflicts of interest.
24/11/2005 | News
An eight-member delegation from the Council of Europe was present in the Chechen Republic from 26 to 28 November 2005 on the occasion of the 27 November elections. The delegation – composed of five members of the Organisation’s Parliamentary Assembly and three members of its Congress of Local and Regional Authorities – gathered information on the situation in the Republic and will report back to these two bodies with its conclusions. It did not observe the elections.
24/11/2005 | News
Delegations from the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe will be in Armenia from 25 to 28 November to observe the constitutional referendum on 27 November 2005. During the visit, the delegations will meet Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, President of the National Assembly of Armenia Arthur Baghdasaryan, Chairman of the Central Election Commission Garegin Azaryan, as well as representatives of the media, NGOs and other international organisations.
22/11/2005 | News
René van der Linden has appealed to all Armenian citizens to participate in the forthcoming Constitutional referendum on 27 November. "The revision of the Constitution is a major political event that will affect the daily lives of all Armenian citizens. It is therefore important that everyone expresses their opinion," he said. "This is an opportunity for Armenians to show their commitment to Europe." An Assembly and Congress delegation will observe the referendum.
22/11/2005 | News
trasbourg, 22.11.2005 – The President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, René van der Linden, has appealed to all Armenian citizens to participate in the forthcoming Constitutional referendum on 27 November. “The revision of the Constitution is a major political event that will affect the daily lives of all Armenian citizens. It is therefore important that everyone expresses their opinion,” he said.
22/11/2005 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
The Rapporteur of the PACE's Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Dick Marty (Switzerland, ALDE), who is responsible for investigating the alleged existence of secret detention centres in Council of Europe member states, today told the committee at a meeting in Paris that at this stage he had no proof of the existence of such centres, but did have indications that the implementation of anti-terrorism measures was incompatible with the Council of Europe’s human rights standards.
21/11/2005 | President
PACE President René van der Linden will make an official visit to Romania on 23 and 24 November at the beginning of the Romanian chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the 46-member Organisation. He will meet with Traian Basescu, President of the Republic, Nicolae Vacaroiu, President of the Senate, Adrian Nastase, President of the Chamber of Deputies, Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, Prime Minister, and Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu, Minister for Foreign Affairs. The discussions will further focus on Romania’s contribution to the democratic process in the region, the fight against corruption, the situation in Transnistria and trafficking in human beings.