N° 68 | 21 Dec. 10
    

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The Assembly is due to debate the report on January 2011
PACE committee demands investigations into organ-trafficking and disappearances in Kosovo and Albania

PACE Legal Affairs Committee has called for a series of international and national investigations into evidence of disappearances, organ trafficking, corruption and collusion between organised criminal groups and political circles in Kosovo* revealed in a report by Dick Marty (Switzerland, ALDE).

According to a draft resolution unanimously approved in Paris, the committee said there were “numerous concrete and convergent indications” confirming that Serbian and Albanian Kosovars were held prisoner in secret places of detention under Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) control in northern Albania and were subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment, before ultimately disappearing. (More)

Video of Mr Marty's press conference
Draft resolution and explanatory memorandum (PDF)
Appendix to the report: a map (PDF)
Dick Marty makes public his report


A member of the election observation mission of the OSCE Assembly
Belarus: PACE rapporteur condemns violence on the streets of Minsk

The Assembly rapporteur for Belarus, Sinikka Hurskainen (Finland, SOC) has expressed her deep concern at episodes of violence on the streets of Minsk  following the presidential elections on Sunday 19 December. “I am particularly alarmed by reports that countless arrests have been made, also of several opposition leaders, including presidential candidates, activists and journalists, who appear to have been beaten by police,” she said. (More)

Parliamentary statement on the presidential elections in Belarus

 

Official visit   
PACE President welcomes Bulgaria’s strong
determination to fight corruption

Mevlüt Çavusoglu welcomed the strong determination of Bulgarian authorities to fight corruption and organised crime, an outstanding issue in the Parliamentary Assembly’s “post-monitoring dialogue” with Bulgaria. The President described Bulgaria as a “contructive, active and reliable” partner for the Council of Europe. (More)


'We have the power to change the situation'
Human trafficking: 'Let's not be
powerless witnesses but fight against it'

'Each of us has an individual political responsibility: let us not tolerate slavery. Let us not be powerless witnesses but fight against it', today said Jose Mendes Bota (Portugal, EPP/CD) at the opening of the Interparliamentary Conference 'Parliaments united against trafficking in human beings', organised in Paris by PACE's Committee on Equal Opportunities. (More)

Speech by José Mendes Bota


Civil and political rights were respected
Moldovan parliamentary elections
met most international standards 

Early parliamentary elections in Moldova met most OSCE and Council of Europe commitments, the international observers concluded in a statement. The observers noted that the elections were administered in a transparent and impartial manner and a diverse field of candidates provided voters with a genuine choice. Election day was assessed positively although some procedural errors were observed. (More)


Conference on nuclear energy
Investing in 'negawatts' is the cheapest
way to reduce our ecological footprint 

“Investing in negawatts is the cheapest way to reduce our ecological footprint. The development of renewable energy and energy-saving are not only safer but also more cost-effective alternatives to fossil fuels than nuclear energy”, said Aleksei Lotman (Estonia, UEL), Chair of PACE Environment Committee, at the opening of a two-day conference on nuclear energy organised by the committee in Strasbourg. (More)



 

PACE News is the electronic newsletter of the Parliamentary Assembly. It is published monthly and sent by e-mail. Click here to subscribe or to unsubscribe. It is also available on the PACE website (http://assembly.coe.int/Newsletter/). PACE is not responsible for the content of external websites.

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