26/01/2005 | News
President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, speaking to the plenary Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly this morning, unveiled a plan for autonomy in South Ossetia involving a local executive and parliament with control over economic policy, culture and education and what he called “a voice in the national structures of government”. He promised to protect language rights in the region and offered compensation for people who lost property in the 1990-1992 conflict, help for returnees and the full payment of pension arrears. Mr Saakashvili also asked for the help of the Council of Europe as a mediator, and described Russia as a constructive partner for peace. “Today we have committed on paper an offer that forms the basis for a lasting and just settlement,” said Mr Saakashvili, who last addressed PACE a year ago on coming to power. "The time has come to end divisions between peoples."
26/01/2005 | News
26/01/2005 | News
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) wants the Third Summit of Council of Europe Heads of State and Government, to be held in Warsaw on 16 and 17 May 2005, to define the Council of Europe's place in the European institutional landscape and to "provide the Organisation with a clear political mandate for the coming years". The members of the Assembly, who adopted a list of proposals for the Organisation's executive body, want the Heads of State of the 46 member states to draw up a precise definition of the Council of Europe's place in the European architecture and of "the procedures governing its co-operation with the European Union, the OSCE, NATO, the United Nations and its subsidiary bodies and sub-regional mechanisms".
26/01/2005 | News
This afternoon, PACE suggested that member states continue to apply the precautionary principle to GMOs, with compulsory labelling to give consumers the option of choosing non-GMO foodstuffs, GMO-free zones, minimum distances between crops, and safety fences. GMO production is increasing, and many of the risks – particularly medium and long-term effects – have not been sufficiently investigated. The parliamentarians believe that long-term monitoring is vital for assessing the ecological impact of GMOs.
26/01/2005 | News
While emphasising that the election of Mahmoud Abbas as President of the Palestinian Authority opens a new window of opportunity for dialogue and renewal of a peace process in the Middle East, PACE today called on the international community to make an active contribution to the resumption of contacts between both parties. According to the adopted text, "the contacts between all parties concerned must be resumed immediately in order to take full advantage of the momentum resulting from the outcome of the election”. The United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia “should assume their responsibilities in line with their international positions and aspirations and be much more actively involved in the negotiation process". The parliamentarians said that a political solution can only be achieved through an end to violence and terrorism. "A ceasefire on both sides should be declared without delay", they said.
25/01/2005 | News
Two 'elected representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community' have been participating in PACE activities since Monday 24 January. They are Özdil Nami, from the Turkish Republican Party, and Hüseyin Özgürgün, of the National Unity Party. They will from now on be able to speak in the Assembly Chamber, although only one of them may speak in each debate. Their participation in committee activities will be a matter for each committee to decide. The decision to allow them to participate follows last April's Assembly Resolution 1376, which stated that "the Turkish Cypriots’ international isolation must cease", following their massive support for the Annan plan. The number of two representatives is based on paragraph 10 of Resolution 1113 (1997), according to which "Cyprus is entitled to three Representatives (and three Substitutes) in the Parliamentary Assembly, two of which are to be Greek Cypriots and one a Turkish Cypriot".
25/01/2005 | News
"Six million Jews died during the Holocaust. Six million faces, six million names, six million human fates. Together with millions of other Europeans, who were killed because of their ethnic origin, disability, political views or sexual orientation, they were the victims of the worst crime in the history of mankind. A crime conceived, planned and carried out here in Europe, less than a lifetime ago", PACE President René van der Linden said today during a commemoration ceremony of the 60the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz at the Council of Europe. "We cannot and must not tolerate the revival of the ideology behind this crime, we must not accept that the horrors caused by the Nazi regime and the memory of the Shoah are banalised, questioned, denied or even ridiculed. I wish I could have said that Europe is free of anti-Semitism, that it is free of hatred and intolerance and neglect for human life and dignity, but we all know that this is not yet the case", he said.
25/01/2005 | News
Armenia and Azerbaijan should actively submit constructive proposals to each other via the OSCE’s Minsk Group for achieving a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Assembly said today – and if that fails, they should consider using the UN’s International Court of Justice. More than ten years after the conflict began, “considerable parts of the territory of Azerbaijan are still occupied by Armenian forces”, the parliamentarians pointed out – adding that occupation of foreign territory by a member state was a grave violation of that state’s obligations to the Council of Europe. They called on Azerbaijan to establish contacts with the political representatives of both communities from Nagorno-Karabakh, without preconditions, regarding the future status of the region. The Assembly also offered its help in creating a “parliamentary dimension” to the Minsk Process.
25/01/2005 | News
Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe today, Viktor Yushchenko said that, as President, he would do everything within his power to ensure that the democratic changes in his country were irreversible. Emphasising that the holding of above-board elections had opened the way for a new Ukrainian society - one which was open, democratic and European - the new President thanked the Parliamentary Assembly for helping streamline the process of amending Ukraine's Constitution and hailed the work of its monitoring co-rapporteurs. Ukraine would honour its commitments to the Council of Europe, he said.
25/01/2005 | News
PACE today called on UNMIK and KFOR/NATO to commence work, in co-operation with the Council of Europe, towards establishing a Human Rights Court for Kosovo, as part of a series of essential reforms to the human rights protection system. PACE believes that this court should follow the procedures and case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). It should have power to annul decisions and acts of UNMIK and KFOR, and award appropriate redress or compensation. Following the proposals contained in the text on the "Protection of Human Rights in Kosovo" prepared by Tony Lloyd (United Kingdom, SOC), the parliamentarians underlined that the Court’s judges should be appointed by the President of the ECHR. Acoording to the parliamentarians, Kosovo is part of Europe, and the fact that it is currently under interim administration should not deprive its inhabitants from the effective protection of European human rights standards.
25/01/2005 | News
The prosecutions of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and two other former Yukos executives went beyond the mere pursuit of justice to include such elements as “to weaken an outspoken political opponent, intimidate other wealthy individuals and regain control of strategic economic assets”, PACE said in a resolution adopted today. It called on Russia, with the help of the Council of Europe, to continue preparing and implementing reforms of its legal and judicial system, and law enforcement agencies, so as to strengthen the rule of law and the protection of human rights.
24/01/2005 | News
Adopting its order of business on the first day of the session, the Assembly decided to hold an urgent debate on “Europe and the Tsunami disaster” at 3pm on Thursday 27th, with the participation of Yvette Stevens from the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. A second urgent debate on “Prospects for peace in the Middle East” was also agreed, to take place at 10am on Wednesday 28th, with the participation of representatives of the Palestinian Legislative Council and Israeli Knesset. The debate on Georgia’s honouring of its obligations and commitments will now take place on Monday afternoon, and the debate on the draft Council of Europe Convention against trafficking in human beings on Wednesday afternoon. Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis will make his address on “the state of the Council of Europe” on Thursday at noon.