Committee of Ministers - Parliamentary Assembly 21/01/2013 Andorran Chairmanship to promote knowledge of the Convention among civil society and youth Gilbert Saboya Sunye, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Andorra, Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers  Speaking today at the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) Gilbert Saboya, Foreign Affairs Minister of Andorra, announced that the Andorran Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers will soon launch a campaign to promote the European Convention of Human Rights.   The campaign will aim to mobilise civil society and youth to increase awareness on human rights protection, in accordance with the main theme of the chairmanship: the...

Parliamentary Assembly 21/01/2013 Credentials of Greek and Hungarian members are ratified by PACE . Strasbourg, 22.01.2012 – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has decided to ratify the credentials of Eleni Zaroulia and Tamás Gaudi Nagy, Greek and Hungarian members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) whose credentials were challenged on the opening day of the session.   Making the challenges yesterday, Fiamma Nirenstein (Italy, EPP/CD) said that both members belonged to political parties which were “racist and anti-semitic” and that the values of these parties – as well as statements made by the...

President of the Parliamentary Assembly 21/01/2013 Jean-Claude Mignon, re-elected President of Parliamentary Assembly, presents 2013 priorities . Strasbourg, 21.01.2013 – In his opening address at the Winter Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Assembly President Jean-Claude Mignon took stock of his action over the past twelve months. Having been re-elected for a new one-year term, he also presented the priorities for his presidency.   "I shall naturally endeavour to continue into 2013 the action we initiated in 2012. I shall strive in particular to ensure that the co-operation with the European Union is as pragmatic as...

Parliamentary Assembly 21/01/2013 Urgent debates on developments in Mali and Algeria and on migration in Eastern Mediterranean When adopting its final agenda at the opening of the Winter Session 2013, PACE decided to hold two urgent debates: on “Recent developments in Mali and Algeria and the threat to security and human rights in the Mediterranean region” and on “Migration and asylum: mounting tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean”.   Addresses by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle, and Italian Justice Minister Paola Severino are among highlights of the...

Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence 18/01/2013 Helsinki: regional conference on combating violence against women Philippe Boillat Representatives from member states governments, parliaments and local authorities, judiciary and law enforcement, regional and international organisations, notably the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), the Nordic Council, UN Women, EU and the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), meet on 17 and 18 January in Helsinki, for the Regional Conference on the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.   Every day in Europe, women fall victim of violence. They are...

European Pharmacopoeia 17/01/2013 Ukraine becomes the 38th member of the European Pharmacopoeia . On 17 December 2012, the Permanent Representation of Ukraine to the Council of Europe handed to Mr Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, its instrument of accession to the European Convention on the Elaboration of a European Pharmacopoeia [European Treaty Series n° 050], as amended by the Protocol of 16 November 1989. This text will enter into force in Ukraine on 18 March 2013. Ukraine is the 38th member of the European Pharmacopoeia.   Ratification of this Convention marks the desire of the Ukrainian authorities to participate in the...

Roma rights 16/01/2013 First congress of Roma mediators opens in Brussels . More than 350 people – including EU Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou and Council of Europe Special Representative for Roma Issues, Jeroen Schokkenbroek – meet in Brussels on 17 and 18 January for the first ever Congress of ROMED Mediators.   Since January 2011, the Council of Europe’s ROMED programme, which is jointly funded by the European Union, has trained more than 1,000 mediators working with institutions and Roma communities in 20 countries to help facilitate Roma access to education, employment and healthcare.   The Brussels event aims to take stock of the lessons...

Deputy Secretary General 15/01/2013 Deputy Secretary General meets Italian Minister for Social Policies Fornero Elsa Fornero and Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni Strasbourg, 15 January 2013 - "The Council of Europe has developed a series of instruments and mechanisms in order to promote social fairness", said Gabriella Battaini Dragoni in the meeting with the Italian Minister for Labour, Social policies and Equal Opportunities, Elsa Fornero. The Deputy Secretary General has highlighted the relevance of the Institution's social activities in the turmoil provided by the financial crisis, emphasizing the role of the Social Charter. Minister Fornero has underlined the importance for...

Commissioner for Human Rights 15/01/2013 Governments should act in best interest of stateless children Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks Strasbourg, 15/1/2013 – “Citizenship is the ‘right to have rights’. Without citizenship, one lacks not only political rights, but often social and economic rights as well. On a symbolic level, citizenship implies being a full member of a national community, and even further, of humanity”, says Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, in his latest Human Rights Comment published today.   Hundreds of thousands of persons in Europe do not have citizenship of any state....

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities 10/01/2013 Principality of Monaco signs and ratifies the European Charter of Local Self-Government Strasbourg, 10.01.2013 - The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe welcomes the simultaneous signature and ratification of the European Charter of Local Self-Government by the Principality of Monaco on 10 January 2013. This text will come into force in respect of Monaco on 1 May 2013. Thus the Principality has joined the 45 Council of Europe countries which have already signed this international treaty.   The President of the Congress, Herwig Van Staa (Austria, EPP/ECC), pointed out that the ratification of...

Deputy Secretary General 08/01/2013 Council of Europe heightens its presence in Tunisia Deputy Secretary General Gabriella Battaini Dragoni and Rafik Abdessalem, Tunisian Minister for Foreign Affairs Strasbourg, 8 January 2012 - "The Council of Europe has always played a crucial role for democracies in transition", said Gabriella Battaini Dragoni during her official visit to Tunisia. The Deputy Secretary General has signed the first Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a non member state of the Organisation, in order to establish a Council of Europe office in Tunis, dealing with operational projects in the fields of Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law.   ...

Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption 08/01/2013 Estonia urged to sharpen corruption prevention policy Strasbourg, 08.01.2013 – The Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption ( GRECO ) has called on Estonia to make a number of improvements to its corruption prevention policy in respect of members of Parliament, judges and prosecutors.   In a report published today, GRECO acknowledges that Estonia remains one of the least corrupt countries in today’s Europe. Its legislative framework in the field under review is found to be satisfactory and would potentially become more focused following the entry into force in April 2013 of the...

European Court of Human Rights 04/01/2013 European Court of Human Rights: hearings in January 2013 European Court of Human Rights Strasbourg, 4 January 2013 - In January 2013, the Court will be holding a hearing in the case of Vallianatos and Others v. Greece, which concerns the legislation on “civil unions” that entered into force in Greece in November 2008. The applicants allege that these unions, comprising a “contract between two individuals of full age and of different sexes”, are discriminatory.   The Court will also be holding a hearing in the case of Fernández Martínez v. Spain, which concerns the decision not to renew the contract...

President of the Parliamentary Assembly 03/01/2013 New Year greetings from PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon Strasbourg, 1 January 2013 - New Year greetings from PACE President, Jean-Claude Mignon: "On this first day of the New Year, I would like to wish happiness, prosperity, health and Peace to 800 million Europeans living in 47 member states of the Council of Europe, as well as to the citizens of the Observer states and to our Partners for Democracy. I also address my best wishes to 636 MPs, members of our Assembly, to the members of the Committee of Ministers, to our Secretary General and to the Deputy Secretary General, to the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly,...

Parliamentary Assembly 03/01/2013 Parliamentary Assembly winter session: 21-25 January 2013 Parliamentary Assembly Addresses by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle, and Italian Minister for Justice Paola Severino (to be confirmed) will be among highlights of PACE’s Winter Session 2013 (Strasbourg, 21-25 January).   Other highlights include debates on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Azerbaijan and the follow-up to the issue of political prisoners in this country, the situation in Kosovo*, the state of media freedom in Europe and the humanitarian situation in...

European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 02/01/2013 Anti-torture Committee to visit ten states in 2013 to monitor situation of persons deprived of liberty In 2013, as part of its programme of periodic visits, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) intends to examine the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in the following ten countries: Belgium , Cyprus , Greece , Hungary , Montenegro , Poland , San Marino , Slovakia , Turkey and Ukraine .    Persons in possession of information concerning deprivation of liberty in any of...

Parliamentary Assembly 23/12/2012 Baumettes prison in Marseille: PACE President welcomes that the French Council of State declares emergency Strasbourg, 23.12.2012 - The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Jean-Claude Mignon, made the following statement this morning:   "I commend the work and success of the International Observatory on Prisons (IOP), which seized the Council of State, and recall that the OIP recommends the pure and simple closure of the Baumette’s men prison. The Parliamentary Assembly supports the IOP’s actions, which follow the same lines as those of the CPT, the European Committee for the Prevention...

Parliamentary Assembly 20/12/2012 Transnistria: Parliamentary Assembly as platform for dialogue Jean-Claude Mignon Strasbourg, 20.12.2012 – During his working visit to the Republic of Moldova from 17 to 20 December and in his address to its parliament, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Jean-Claude Mignon, offered the services of the Parliamentary Assembly as a platform for relaunching dialogue between the representatives of the Moldovan Parliament and the Transnistrian Supreme Soviet. The President said that his talks in Chisinau had revealed the realism and good faith shown by the government and the parliament in their approach to...