05/09/2005 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Strasbourg, 05.09.2005 – Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold (Switzerland, SOC), rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), visiting Ukraine from 29 August to 1 September, expressed her extreme concern about the disappearance of new-born babies in the country and allegations of trafficking of babies for adoption and of foetuses for scientific purposes. She called on the office of the principal state prosecutor to shed light on those cases already brought to his attention, to open investigations into any other suspicious incidents and to bring those responsible to justice. Ms Vermot-Mangold said that during her visit she had obtained detailed information on four cases and added that “whatever the number of disappearances, just one case is one too many”.
05/09/2005 | President
Ways of promoting democracy and human rights in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, the situation in Belarus, the possible use of Council of Europe expertise in Iraq and the fight against terrorism – including the need to adhere to international human rights and humanitarian law – are among subjects to be discussed with US authorities by the President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) René van der Linden during a visit to the United States from 6 to 9 September 2005.
05/09/2005 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today urged all Council of Europe member states to respond generously to the American appeal for assistance for victims of hurricane Katrina. The President, speaking on the eve of a three-day visit to the US, said: "This is the worst natural disaster in recent American history - and our humanitarian response must rise to this terrible challenge. Europe stands in solidarity with the people of the Gulf coast affected, and we are ready to do all we can to help. In Washington, I hope to find out what is needed. I will then do all in my power to mobilise the 46-nation Council of Europe to help deliver it."
01/09/2005 | Standing Committee
HRH the Princess of Hanover, who is President of the World Association of the Friends of Children, speaking today during the current affairs debate in Monaco on violence and all forms of child exploitation and abuse, said: "The Council of Europe needs the support of NGOs in the fight against the ill-treatment of children in the same way that we - as NGOs - cannot deal with prevention alone. This is why we need the help of your organisation to give us the legal weapons we need to fight ill-treatment of children, whether it is a question of organ trafficking, prostitution, paedophilia, cyber-crime involving children or child soldiers. Each time a child is treated badly, this is a crime against humanity."
01/09/2005 | Standing Committee
Russia and Lithuania should agree jointly on a strategy to protect the Curonian Spit – a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Baltic which stretches across the coasts of both countries – in the event of any oil spill, PACE’s Standing Committee said today. In June 2004 the Russian company Lukoil began extracting oil only 22 kilometres from the spit. The report by Daniel Goulet (France, ALDE), who chairs PACE’s Agriculture and Food Sub-committee, noted “the good operating conditions” of the Lukoil operation, including its modern technology and skilled staff, but recommended that both countries resolve the issue of who should pay compensation in the event of an accident – in line with the “polluter pays” principle – and do more to co-ordinate their accident response services.
01/09/2005 | Standing Committee
PACE President René van der Linden, speaking at today's opening of the Standing Committee meeting in Monaco, expressed his sympathy and solidarity with the families of victims of this summer’s calamities, in particular the terrorist bombings in London and Egypt, the air disasters, the floods and the devastation caused by fires, notably in France, Spain and Portugal, the hurricane in the United States and yesterday’s tragedy in Iraq. Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis aligned himself fully with the President’s statement.
26/08/2005 | Standing Committee
Strasbourg, 26.08.2005 – The Standing Committee of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) will be meeting in Monaco on 1 September – the first time the Council is organising a meeting in that country since admitting it to membership last October. As President of the World Association of Friends of Children HRH the Princess of Hanover will be participating in a current affairs debate on violence and all forms of exploitation and abuse of which children are the victims.
26/08/2005 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
After a three-day visit to Libya, Tony Lloyd, (United Kingdom, SOC), the Parliamentary Assembly’s rapporteur, spoke with satisfaction of his high-level meetings with Abdelrahman Shalgam, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nassar Al-Mabruk, Minister of Public Security, and Mohammed Zikree, Deputy Minister of Justice, concerning the fate of the five Bulgarian nurses who have been sentenced to death.
25/08/2005 | President
Constitutional reform in Armenia, the forthcoming elections in Azerbaijan and reforms in Georgia were the main issues discussed during high-level meetings held by the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), René van der Linden during his visit to the South Caucasus from 18 to 23 August. Overall, the President concluded that the reform process in the South-Caucasus as a whole needs to be boosted.
24/08/2005 | President
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President (PACE) René van der Linden today completed his visit to Azerbaijan and with it his week-long visit to the South Caucasus. In Azerbaijan he discussed principally the issues of the November Parliamentary elections, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and political prisoners, with a range of actors. The President stressed that the November elections would be a test case for Azerbaijan and an important opportunity for the international community to see that the government was doing its utmost to ensure free and fair elections.
23/08/2005 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) rapporteur Tony Lloyd (United Kingdom, SOC), is due to meet representatives of the Libyan authorities in Tripoli from 22 to 23 August, in order to raise the question of the fate of the five Bulgarian nurses condemned to capital punishment for having caused the death of 46 children and contaminated another 380 through blood transfusions causing an AIDS epidemic at the children’s hospital in Benghazi. The medical staff was arrested without charges by the Libyan police in 1999 and allegedly suffered severe torture during police and secret service interrogation.
23/08/2005 | President
Strasbourg, 23.08.2005 - Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President René van der Linden today welcomed the completion of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. “I hope that the partial withdrawal from the West Bank will follow without incidents,” he stressed appealing for calm and restraint. He also, once again, urged the Palestinian Authority to prevent acts of terror in an effective manner. He finally expressed his conviction that the withdrawal would provide impetus to the Middle East peace process on the basis of the Road Map.