23/01/2019 | 11:58:45 We will now hear an address by Mr Sauli NIINISTÖ, President of Finland. After his address Mr Sauli NIINISTÖ will take questions from the floor. Mr President, welcome to Strasbourg, the home of democracy, the rule of law and human rights. Your visit is highly symbolic, as Finland currently chairs the Committee of Ministers of our Organisation. We are delighted to welcome you here to the Assembly Chamber. Let me restate what I told you a few moments ago in my office. Our Assembly shares and... 22/01/2019 | 16:38:59 You like to engage in points of order, but they must relate to the rules. The last one did not and I shall not accept any more. I must remind you that the vote is in progress to elect two judges to the European Court of Human Rights. The poll will close at 5 p.m. Those who have not yet voted may still do so by going to the area behind the President’s Chair. The next item of business this afternoon is the debate on the report titled “Sergei Magnitsky and beyond – fighting impunity by targeted... 22/01/2019 | 15:37:07 We now come to the communication from Mr Thorbjørn JAGLAND, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, which will be followed by questions from the floor. Secretary General, allow me to welcome you here for your annual communication. All of us here are fully aware of the challenges facing the Council of Europe in 2019, which marks the celebration of our Organisation’s 70th anniversary. Our Organisation needs a clear road map to make sure that its statutory bodies and all other Council of... 22/01/2019 | 15:34:51 The sitting is open. Election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Italy and Sweden (reminder). I must remind you that the vote is again open for the election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Italy and Sweden. The list of candidates, as well as their CVs, is in Document 14776, Document 14663 and Document 14796 Addendum 2. The poll was suspended at 1 p.m. and is now reopening. It will close again at 5 p.m. I invite all those who have not... 22/01/2019 | 12:05:10 It is a great pleasure to welcome you to this Assembly Chamber in the framework of the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers by Finland. We had the chance to hear a presentation of your chairmanship priorities in Helsinki in November last year. On that occasion, we also had a frank and open exchange of views with you on some of the most topical issues on the European agenda. Moreover, the members of the Presidential Committee highly appreciated your readiness to participate in the... 22/01/2019 | 10:12:26 I now have the pleasure of welcoming Mr Gianni BUQUICCHIO, President of the European Commission for Democracy through Law – the Venice Commission. May I welcome you to our Hemicycle, a place you know very well, particularly as you are such a frequent and regular participant in our discussions. The relationship between the Venice Commission and our Parliamentary Assembly is excellent, and you provide us with specific tools for our work, including the code of conduct for referendums and the... 22/01/2019 | 10:07:34 The next item of business this morning is the debate on the report by Dame Cheryl Gillan, “Updating guidelines to ensure fair referendums in Council of Europe member States” (Doc. 14791), which will be presented by Mr John Howell on behalf of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy. We will then have the pleasure of hearing from Mr Gianni Buquicchio, president of the European Commission for Democracy through Law, the Venice Commission. I remind members that, following our decision on... 22/01/2019 | 10:03:18 This morning the agenda calls for the election of two judges to the European Court of Human Rights from Italy and Sweden respectively. The list of candidates and biographical notices are to be found in Documents 14776 and 14663 and the report from the Committee on the Election of Judges to the European Court of Human Rights in Document 14796 Addendum 2. Voting will take place in the area behind the President’s Chair. At 1 p.m. the ballot will be suspended. It will reopen at 3.30 p.m. and... 21/01/2019 | 12:50:28 As you know, dear colleagues, the promotion of gender equality has always been one of my political priorities. As a female parliamentarian and President of the Parliamentary Assembly, I wish to mainstream it into the policies, practices and cultures of our parliaments and the Parliamentary Assembly itself. Regrettably, violence against women remains one of most contemptible violations of human rights. It is one of the serious consequences of the inequality between men and women. In October... 21/01/2019 | 12:09:31 The next item on the agenda is the debate on the progress report of the Bureau and Standing Committee (Document 14796 and Addendum 1 and 2 and Document 14799) presented by Mr Ian LIDDELL-GRAINGER. This will be combined with consideration of the Report of the ad hoc Committee of the Bureau on the Observation of the presidential election in Georgia (28 October and 28 November 2018) (Document 14784) presented by Mr Andrej HUNKO; and the Report of the ad hoc Committee of the Bureau on the...