News 2011
Secretary General opens the "Exchange on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue in Luxembourg"
"Religion can be a powerful and positive force for social cohesion, allowing communities of different origins to work for the common good, in line with their belief", said Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland, during his opening speech at the Abbaye de Neumunster in Luxembourg. The event,...
Jagland: Council of Europe ready to support Russia's democratic reforms
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, welcomes the democratic reforms announced by President Medvedev and offers assistance with their implementation. "The measures announced by President Medvedev are important steps towards strengthening Russian democracy. The...
Secretary General meets French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé
Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland met French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé for bilateral consultations on Wednesday in Paris. Topics of discussion included the reform of the European Court of Human Rights, the developments to southern Mediterranean countries and the accession of the European...
Jagland addresses media freedom in Turkey and meets Erdogan
By invitation of the Turkish Ministry of Justice the Secretary General participated in a conference entitled "Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights concerning Turkey: Difficulties and Suggestions for Solutions". The conference addressed a range of issues including the high number of...
Jagland welcomes NGO debate on Living Together
Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland welcomed the participation of non governmental organisations (NGO) from some 40 countries – including North African nations in the midst of the Arab Spring – on how to make the Council of Europe's Living Together report reality. Over the two day gathering,...
Human rights overarching theme for UK Chairmanship
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague today stressed the determination and political commitment of his government to drive forward essential reforms of the Court of Human Rights during the British chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers. Speaking shortly before the official...
Secretary General makes first official visit to Netherlands
"Europe is a place where nations, cultures and people meet and mix and this constitutes our true identity", has said today Thorbjørn Jagland in a key-note speech at the prestigious Leiden University, during his first official visit to the Netherlands. The Secretary General met with the Prime...
Secretary General in London ahead of UK chairmanship
In London today for talks with the UK government ahead of its chairmanship of the Council of Europe, the Secretary General met with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. He also met the Secretary of State for Justice, Kenneth Clarke, Foreign Office Minister for Europe, David Lidington and members of...
Secretary General makes first official visit to Kazakhstan
Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland is making his first official visit to Astana for meetings with the President of Kazakhstan, the Speaker of the Majilis (Lower House) of the Parliament, Secretary of State, Chairman of the Constitutional Council, Prosecutor General, Foreign Minister as well as...
Secretary General greets sportsmen with disabilities
Thorbjørn Jagland welcomed participants in the Lipetsk-Strasbourg international cycle race this afternoon at the finish line in Strasbourg, as they arrived from their 3500 km race from Russia, across Belarus, Poland and Germany. The Secretary General described the event, labelled "Europe without...
Jagland addresses Forum for Future of Democracy
"Countries are running a high risk of seriously undermining the European model of social cohesion", Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland warned when talking about the present financial crisis in his address to the Forum for the Future of Democracy on 13 October . He also stressed that the Council...
Jagland makes first official visit to Poland Warsaw
Secretary General, Thorbjørn Jagland, is today making his first official visit to Warsaw for meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radoslaw Sikorski, the Minister of Justice, Krzysztof Kwiatkowski, and the Speaker of the Sejm, Grzegorz Schetyna. Mr Jagland will also attend the conference...
Secretary General meets Mahmoud Abbas
In New York this week to attend the UN General Assembly, Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland discussed the Palestinian membership bid with Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority, who will address the Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg in two weeks....
Secretary General reacts to Tymoshenko's sentence
Reacting to the verdict in the trial against the former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland said: "In a democracy, judgment about political decisions should be left to the parliament and to voters, not to courts. I hope that...
"What reasons behind the ban of Belgrade Pride?"
In a letter to the Serbian President Boris Tadic, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, requests clarification on what measures the Serbian authorities are planning to undertake to guarantee the freedom of assembly and association for all groups of society. Letter to the...
''Do not execute Troy Davis''
''The use of death penalty bears the risk of making an irrepairable mistake'', Thorbjørn Jagland expressed his concern about the pending execution of Troy Davis in Georgia, USA. In his letter to the Chairman of the State of Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, he asks to stop the execution of Mr...
Thorbjørn Jagland meets Jean Leonetti
Yesterday the Secretary General received the French Minister responsible for European Affairs, Jean Leonetti. On that occasion the Minister confirmed France's undertaking to support the organisation in Strasbourg of an International Forum for Democracy to be held in October 2012. France will...
Condoléances à l’Organisation des Nations Unies après l’attentat terroriste à Abuja
Le Secrétaire Général a exprimé sa tristesse et sa consternation à la suite d'un nouvel attentat perpétré contre un bureau des Nations Unies et son personnel. Il a présenté ses plus sincères condoléances aux familles des victimes et assuré de sa sympathie toutes les personnes blessées dans...
Albanian electoral legislation: possible improvements?
Further to his letter addressed to Prime Minister Berisha on 10 June, Thorbjørn Jagland has now written to the President of the Venice Commission requesting an opinion on possible improvements to be made to the Albanian electoral legislation. This would involve a visit to Albania during the...
High ethical standards of those in power are essential
"High ethical standards of those in power are essential to protecting human rights and developing prosperous democracies," Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland told the opening session of the Council of Europe Summer University. His message was echoed by Rafaa Ben Achour,...
Speeches
