15/09/2020 | Standing Committee
PACE is asking election experts to assess the fairness of different electoral systems in the light of certain anomalies which mean that parliaments do not necessarily reflect the political choices made by constituents at the ballot-box. “Not all electoral systems provide an equal degree of...
15/09/2020 | Standing Committee
The Standing Committee (*) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) meeting today by videoconference, adopted the following statement on an urgent need for a democratic, broad-based and inclusive political process in Belarus: "1. The Parliamentary Assembly’s political...
15/09/2020 | Standing Committee
“Since our last digital meeting in June, we have still been facing many of the questions and the concerns raised by the pandemic regarding respect for democracy, the rule of law and human rights in this extraordinary situation,” said Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, the Greek Alternate Minister of Foreign...
15/09/2020 | Standing Committee
In a resolution adopted today on the basis of a report by Stefan Schennach (Austria, SOC), the Assembly called on member States to “develop a new culture of public dialogue” on advances in science and technology, so that progress in these fields respect fundamental values and human dignity...
15/09/2020 | Standing Committee
In order to avoid freedom of expression being limited in a discriminatory manner while at the same time making efforts to take down illegal content on the internet, the PACE Standing Committee today proposed establishing an Ombudsman institution (or equivalent) with the requisite “independence...
11/09/2020 | Standing Committee
The Standing Committee (*) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will meet by videoconference on Tuesday 15 September 2020. After the opening of the meeting by PACE President Rik Daems, the parliamentarians will hold an exchange of views with Miltiadis Varvitsiotis...
26/06/2020 | Standing Committee
“Confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic, people widely observed the restrictions imposed to protect human life and public health, showing a strong sense of maturity and respect for human life,” said Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, the Greek Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs, Chairman of the Committee...
26/06/2020 | Standing Committee
“The greatest threat in Europe now is complacency. The COVID-19 pandemic is not over; and nobody is safe until we are all safe,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization, addressing PACE's Standing Committee today by video-conference. The impacts of COVID...
26/06/2020 | Standing Committee
All types of modern contraception, including long-acting reversible contraception “should be accessible and affordable for everyone”, irrespective of their sex, social or national origin and any other status, and should be “accompanied by reliable advice and information”, the PACE Standing...
26/06/2020 | Standing Committee
States facing future pandemic crises should “act fast to contain outbreaks, using tried and tested, effective measures, implemented in a rights-compliant way,” the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has said. Responses should be “data-driven, evidence-based, and incorporate...
26/06/2020 | Standing Committee
An exchange of views on the COVID-19 pandemic with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization, was one of the highlights of the meeting of the Standing Committee (*) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which met on Friday 26 June 2020...
26/06/2020 | Standing Committee
PACE has expressed its deep concern at the spread of sexual violence against children, often unreported due to shame, unbalanced power relations between victims and perpetrators, fear of disclosing intimate information or the fact that disclosure could result in further victimisation. Adopting a...