Roma rights 28/10/2013 Roma-related events in Strasbourg and Marseille: Dosta! prize ceremony and cultural conference Strasbourg, 28.10.2013 - Two major events aimed at promoting Roma culture, Roma role models and addressing stereotypes are taking place this week in Strasbourg and Marseille. In Strasbourg the 2013 Dosta! Prize will be presented at a ceremony in the hemicycle of the Council of Europe’s main building, the Palais de l’Europe, at approximately 18h40 on 30 October, during the autumn session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (29-31 October). The prize is awarded for innovative municipal projects promoting Roma...

Council of Europe 21/10/2013 Yerevan: Conference on combating racism and intolerance Thorbjørn Jagland and Edward Nalbandian Strasbourg, 21 October 2013 - “Racism, xenophobia and the various manifestations of intolerance and discrimination have been the downfall of Europe in the past. We must not underestimate their power to damage our continent today”, this was the message delivered today by Secretary General Jagland in Yerevan at the opening of a high-level conference on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Europe.   The event is an initiative of the Armenian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, bringing together...

Expert group on trafficking in human beings 17/10/2013 GRETA annual report highlights five priorities for fighting human trafficking Strasbourg, 17.10.2013 – The annual report by Council of Europe’s expert group on trafficking in human beings ( GRETA ), has set out five key priorities for the international fight against human trafficking. The introduction to the report, published today, stresses that: · It is crucial that more countries sign up to the Council of Europe’s ground-breaking anti-trafficking convention, to eliminate “black spots” in Europe and beyond which help enable traffickers to evade justice and deprive victims of their...

Council of Europe 16/10/2013 Council of Europe sets up Cybercrime Programme Office in Bucharest Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni and Titus Corlăţean Strasbourg, 15.10.2013 – The Council of Europe will set up a Programme Office on Cybercrime in Bucharest (Romania) to manage its global capacity building activities in this area. A Memorandum of Understanding to this effect was signed today in Bucharest by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania Titus Corlăţean and Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni . Prime Minister Victor Ponta had made the offer to host such an office in Bucharest during meetings with the Council of Europe Secretary General...

Venice Commission 15/10/2013 Venice Commission opinions on Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Tunisia . Strasbourg, 14 October 2013 - Following its plenary meeting last weekend, the Council of Europe’s international body of constitutional and legal experts, known as the Venice Commission, has published a series of opinions on Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, Tunisia and Ukraine. In a joint opinion with the Council of Europe’s Directorate for Human Rights, the Venice Commission concludes that the draft law on reforming the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Ukraine is a good basis for long-awaited reform of the prosecution service. In a separate...

European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) 15/10/2013 ECRI Reports on Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands and the Russian Federation Demonstrations against racial intolerance, Ulan-Ude, Russia, 2009 Strasbourg, 15/10/13 – The Council of Europe’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) has published new reports on Malta, the Republic of Moldova, the Netherlands and the Russian Federation.   Each report includes three recommendations to the authorities that require priority implementation and will be revisited by ECRI in two years’ time: In Malta , ECRI recommends making the naturalisation process more impartial and transparent,...

President of the Parliamentary Assembly 14/10/2013 Italy: Parliamentary Assembly President praises efforts to save migrants in distress at sea Jean-Claude Mignon Strasbourg, 11 October 2013 – At the end of an official visit to Italy (10 and 11 October 2013), Jean-Claude Mignon, President of the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), praised Italy’s efforts to save the lives of migrants and refugees in distress at sea, and in particular the exceptional and tireless work of the coastguards. He also paid tribute to the commitment of the Italian authorities at the highest level to address the human rights problems in Italy and was particularly impressed by the statement of the...

European Pharmacopoeia 14/10/2013 Counterfeit medical products: Council of Europe steps up action worldwide with MEDICRIME Convention Strasbourg, 14 October 2013 – Seventy participants from 32 countries from all continents, member states and observer states of the Council of Europe and observer states of the European Pharmacopoeia Commission will meet on 16 and 17 October in Strasbourg to discuss cooperation in the legal and public health fields so that the MEDICRIME Convention can rapidly be ratified by as many countries as possible worldwide. In June 2013, about 100 countries participated in a worldwide operation ( PANGEA VI) aimed at dismantling criminal networks...

Venice Commission 11/10/2013 Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Tunisia on Venice Commission’s agenda Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista Strasbourg, 11.10.2013 – The Council of Europe’s advisory body of legal and constitutional experts, the Venice Commission , is holding a plenary session in Venice on 11 and 12 0ctober. Documents likely to be adopted at the meeting include: Ukraine - A joint Venice Commission/Council of Europe opinion on the extent to which the new draft law on the public prosecutor’s office complies with European standard - A joint opinion from the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR assessing proposed changes to legislation on parliamentary...

Parliamentary Assembly 10/10/2013 Presidential election in Azerbaijan: joint statement by PACE and EP delegations . Strasbourg, 10 October 2013 - Election observation delegations of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament were invited by the Azeri authorities to observe the Presidential election held on 9 October 2013. The delegations congratulated the people of Azerbaijan on the peaceful campaign and election day, and on a free, fair and transparent electoral process.   They stressed that the will of the authorities of Azerbaijan to have a large presence of national and international observers for the 2013 presidential election was...

Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) 10/10/2013 Anti-torture Committee publishes report on Turkey Strasbourg, 10 October 2013 - The Council of Europe’s Anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes the report on its ad hoc visit to Turkey in June 2012. The main objective of the visit was to examine the treatment and conditions of detention of juveniles held in prisons.   The visit was triggered by allegations received earlier in 2012 of ill-treatment of juvenile prisoners by prison staff and inter-prisoner violence at Pozantı Prison. The delegation visited Ankara-Sincan Juvenile Prison, to which all the juveniles...

Council of Europe and European Union 10/10/2013 European Day against Death Penalty: joint Council of Europe/EU declaration Strasbourg, 10 October 2013 - The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, and the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, have issued a joint declaration to mark the 7th European Day against the Death Penalty (10 October). In the declaration, Secretary General Jagland and High Representative Ashton reiterate their strong opposition to the use of capital punishment, underling its inhumane and cruel nature and its failure to prevent crime. Encouraged by the growing...

Commissioner for Human Rights 09/10/2013 Commissioner Muižnieks: Austerity measures weaken human rights protection in Spain Nils Muižnieks Strasbourg, 9/10/2013 – “Cuts in social, health and educational budgets have led to a worrying growth of family poverty in Spain. This has had a particularly negative impact on the enjoyment of human rights by children and persons with disabilities. The Spanish authorities should do more to ensure that the human rights of vulnerable groups are better respected in the context of austerity measures”, said  Nils Muižnieks, Commissioner for Human Rights, releasing a report on his visit to Spain carried out on 3-7 June 2013. ...