22/08/2005 | President
The President welcomed the progress made since the Rose Revolution, while recognising that state and society can not be transformed overnight. Nevertheless, the President urged the authorities to maintain the momentum of reform so as to ensure that all obligations and commitments were met within the previously extended deadlines.
22/08/2005 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Strasbourg, 24.08.2005 - A rapporteur of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold (Switzerland, SOC), will visit Ukraine from 29 August to 1 September to investigate the alleged disappearance of newborn babies in mysterious circumstances. German media had reported that two babies born in a clinic in Kharkov at the end of 2002 had been taken away from their mothers a few hours after being born.
19/08/2005 | President
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President René van der Linden today completed a two-day visit to Armenia, as part of his visit to the South-Caucasus from 18-23 August at - as he stressed - “a crucial time for the country”. The President urged dialogue between the government, opposition and civil society. The constitutional reform was a test case for further democratic development in Armenia and of its willingness to fulfil its obligations and commitments to the Council of Europe, he said.
17/08/2005 | President
Strasbourg, 17.08.2005 – Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President René van der Linden (PACE) has expressed sadness and consternation on hearing that Frère Roger, founder of the Taizé community, had been murdered during a prayer vigil last night attended by more than 2 500 young people from all parts of Europe. The President paid tribute to a man of peace who had worked tirelessly for a church close to all of humankind, a place for reconciliation, sharing and simplicity. He also encouraged Frère Aloïs, Frère Roger's designated successor, to continue to work for peace, reconciliation and trust between human beings - all values upheld by the Taizé community through its very existence and through the difficult work it did every day - and which also lie at the heart of the Council of Europe’s mission.
05/08/2005 | President
PACE President René van der Linden is to make an official visit to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia from 18 to 23 August. He is due to meet Presidents, Prime Ministers, Foreign Affairs Ministers, Speakers of Parliament and national delegations to PACE of all three countries, as well as NGO representatives and other members of civil society, to discuss a range of issues including proposed constitutional reform in Armenia, forthcoming elections in Azerbaijan and recent developments in Georgia.
03/08/2005 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today called on the authorities of Iran not to bypass the historic opportunity to come to an agreement with France, Germany and the United Kingdom on its nuclear programme. “The EU offer is indeed generous and will lead to a ‘win-win’ situation for all parties,” he said. The President recalled Resolution 1436 (2005), adopted by PACE in April 2005, which he said “gave due consideration to Iran’s legitimate security and economic concerns”, but nonetheless condemned the incompatibility of its nuclear activities with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which it is a party. Iran borders three Council of Europe member states. The President reiterated the Assembly’s confidence in the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency and its support for the European initiative. “The Assembly, for its part, is ready to engage in a dialogue with Iran for an open society and democratic values”, the President said.
01/08/2005 | News
"The statement by the IRA to henceforth renounce violence is a major step forward toward a peaceful solution to the Northern Ireland conflict and is to be warmly welcomed by all those who believe in the primacy of peace and an orderly political process," PACE President René van der Linden stated today. "We must now hope that this commitment will be honoured by the IRA in its entirety and met with the necessary trust and positive response by all those involved in the peace process, leading as soon as possible to the restoration of devolved government in the province," he concluded.
23/07/2005 | News
The PACE President today expressed his consternation following the bomb attacks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh. René van der Linden expressed, on behalf of all the members of the Parliamentary Assembly, his condoleances and solidarity with the families of the victims and injured. "This new criminal act, a week after the attacks in London, reminds us once again that terrorism has no boundaries and that it is therefore necessary to increase international co-operation to combat terrorism. The Parliamentary Assembly will continue to help combating terrorism and promoting intercultural dialogue, including with countries situated beyond European borders", he said.
21/07/2005 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
A PACE rapporteur is to visit Ukraine to investigate claims that newborn babies are disappearing in mysterious circumstances. German media reported that two babies born in a clinic in Kharkov at the end of 2002 were taken away from their mothers a few hours after being born. Medical staff later declared that they had died of complications, but their parents were never given access to their bodies despite repeated requests. Several foetuses and bodies of newborn babies whose organs had been removed were subsequently discovered at the clinic's biological waste site, according to the reports. One Ukrainian NGO believes up to 300 similar disappearances may have occurred between 2001 and 2003. Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold (Switzerland, SOC), who is in Ukraine from 31 August to 1 September, will visit the clinic and speak with staff as well as the NGO concerned and Ukraine's health minister and ombudsman.
11/07/2005 | News
"The year 2005 has seen the 60th anniversary of the end of the war which brought into being the shared commitment of all civilised peoples that 'never again' should we see such inhumanity towards our fellow human beings", said Council of Europe leaders in a joint statement. "Today sees the 10th anniversary of the massacre in Srebrenica – a stark reminder that our commitment to eradicate such inhumanity has not yet been fulfilled. We ask – how, in only one generation, can we have forgotten that when humanity is sacrificed for power or greed, all is lost, we are all lost? What happened in the region of Srebrenica in 1995 was a crime against our common humanity."
08/07/2005 | President
At a press conference organised in Kiev on 8 July, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President René van der Linden, who chairs a high-level PACE delegation currently visiting Ukraine, expressed concern that “Ukraine belongs to those few countries that have signed or ratified the least number of Council of Europe conventions.” In a speech before the Verkhovna Rada the day before, he had called upon parliamentarians to put pressure on the authorities to speed up the ratification process. With regard to next year’s parliamentary elections he stressed that their preparation and conduct are of a paramount significance and a major test of Ukraine’s democratic credentials and announced that as in the past, PACE will be observing these elections.
08/07/2005 | Prizes
The Chair of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) Sub-committee on the Europe Prize Guy Lengagne (France, SOC) and the Mayor of last year’s winner, Oudenaarde, will jointly present the prize to the Mayor of Kaliningrad, on 9 July. There will be a special session of the City Council, attended by the Governor of the Kaliningrad Region, to mark the event, which forms part of the town’s Europe Day celebrations. The event is open to the press. A press conference will be held at 2.30 p.m.