13/01/2006 | President
René van der Linden, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, today welcomed the proposal that the European Parliament create a temporary committee to investigate the allegations of secret CIA detentions in Europe.
12/01/2006 | News
Alleged secret detentions in Council of Europe member states, the crimes of totalitarian communist regimes and human rights violations in the Chechen Republic are among subjects scheduled for debate during PACE's Winter Session in Strasbourg from 23 to 27 January 2006. The current affairs debate on alleged secret detentions is likely to take place on Tuesday 24 January at 10 a.m. Dick Marty (Switzerland, ALDE), who is investigating these allegations, is due to give his interim assessment in an information memorandum to be made public at 9 a.m.
12/01/2006 | Culture, Science, Education and Media
Organised by the Assembly’s Culture Committee, the hearing - in Paris on 18 January - concentrates on the situation of Kurdish communities from Iran, Iraq, Syria and the diaspora in order to complete a report by Lord Russell-Johnston (United Kingdom, ALDE), who visited Turkey in 2005.
12/01/2006 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
The committee holds an exchange of views with EBRD President Jean Lemierre in the framework of its annual report on the Bank’s activities. Also on the agenda: "Economic development in Ukraine, a test case for European solidarity" and "Europe’s interest in the continued economic development of Russia". On Thursday 19, the committee will meet senior representatives of the global risk management company Swiss Re.
09/01/2006 | President
PACE President René van der Linden will address participants of an international conference on intercultural and interreligious dialogue organised by the Russian Federation in cooperation with the Council of Europe in Nizhniy Novgorod on 7 and 8 September. The President very much welcomed this initiative as he considers that this issue receives too little attention from politicians. He said he will encourage churches to raise their voices and speak out on issues relating to our common values, e.g. human rights, poverty, children's rights, family issues, the fight against AIDS. The Conference will bring together some 300 government representatives, experts and leading figures from religious communities all across Europe. Those taking part will look at the challenges and opportunities of cultural diversity, the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue and the contribution the media can make to greater mutual understanding.
25/12/2005 | President
The President of PACE René van der Linden today welcomed the decision of the Libyan Supreme Court to order a new trial of the Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor facing the death penalty for deliberately infecting children with HIV. “The Libyan judicial system has demonstrated its independence today, recognising that new evidence and new information have cast serious doubt on this conviction,” he said. “The medics should now be released on bail.” He also thanked the British Presidency of the EU for its efforts to find a solution to this problem.
22/12/2005 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
PACE's Legal Affairs Committee this week decided to make public a supplementary introductory memorandum on "The implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights" by Erik Jurgens (Netherlands, SOC). In his memorandum Mr Jurgens updates his assessment of the situation in thirteen member states where Court judgments have still not been fully implemented after five years, or which raise important issues.
21/12/2005 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Desecration of cemeteries and memorials, the use of nazi symbols and growing support for xenophobic parties are signs that public opinion now seems more receptive to racist, xenophobic and extremist ideas, according to a draft resolution on “Combating the resurrection of nazi ideology” approved yesterday by PACE’s Political Affairs Committee. The Council of Europe should play the leading role in action to resist the resurrection of nazi ideology, according to the draft resolution, including by organising an international conference on the phenomenon. The report is due for debate during the Assembly’s winter session (23-27 January 2006).
16/12/2005 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
At a meeting in Paris today, the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee decided not to continue its work on the report “For recognition and supervision of surrogacy as an alternative to sterility.” The committee concluded that it was unable for the time being to submit proposals on the matter to the Assembly.
16/12/2005 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today warmly welcomed US President Bush's acceptance of the McCain amendment, which will help prevent the possibility of CIA or military personnel engaging in torture or serious ill-treatment. "The McCain amendment will help ensure that in our joint fight against terrorism, both Europe and the USA respect the same legal standards," he said.
15/12/2005 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
PACE's Committee on Legal Affairs adopted, at its meeting in Paris on 13 December, a draft resolution and a draft recommendation prepared by Rudolf Bindig (Germany, SOC) that expresses deep concern that "a fair number of Governments, Member States, and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe have failed to address the ongoing serious human rights violations in a regular, serious and intensive manner, despite the fact that such violations still occur on a massive scale in the Chechen Republic and in somes cases, neighbouring regions, in a climate of impunity." These draft texts are on the order of business of PACE's next plenary session (23-27 January 2005).
15/12/2005 | President
The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, René van der Linden, has strongly condemned the remarks of the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who yesterday described the Holocaust as a myth. “I find this comment profoundly shocking. It is a monstrous untruth, and clearly amounts to hate-speech in my view," he said. "This kind of inflammatory rhetoric is completely unacceptable, and will only jeopardise the prospects for peace in the Middle East at this critical time. Instead, recognition of and respect for both Israel and the Palestinians are essential."