http://www.assembly.coe.int/rss/rss.aspx?cat=2&size=20&title=Parliamentary+Assembly+of+the+Council+of+Europe+(PACE):+Parliamentary+Assembly&rssdesc=&lang=en-gb Fri, 24 May 2013 20:56:03 +0200 PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon will make an official visit to Azerbaijan from 26 to 28 May, during which he is due to meet the President of the Republic, the Speaker of Parliament, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the leaders of the political parties in Parliament, and members of the Parliamentary Committee on international and inter-parliamentary relations. Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8747&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8747 PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon will make an official visit to Georgia from 28 to 29 May, during which he is due to meet the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Speaker of Parliament, the Minister for Foreign Affairs... Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8749&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8749 Liliane Maury Pasquier (Switzerland, SOC), PACE Rapporteur of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy on the parliamentary contribution to solving the Western Sahara conflict, currently on a visit to Rabat and to Laayoune (21-24 May 2013), has met with national and local Moroccan authorities, members of Parliament, representatives of the international community and Sahrawi civil societ... Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8751&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8751 Håkon Haugli, General rapporteur on the rights of LGBT people of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), today made the following statement: "Freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly are pillars of democratic life in any country..." Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8753&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8753 The PACE Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination, meeting in Paris today, expressed deep concern at the repeated infringement, in some Council of Europe member states, of the right of freedom of assembly and freedom of expression in relation to LGBTs and at the clear setback in this area due to the introduction of laws and draft laws on the prohibition of so-called homosexual propaganda. Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8755&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8755 At the end of a hearing on the situation of transgender persons, the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination decided to further discuss the issue with a view to improve the situation of transgender persons particularly in the fields of health care, transphobic hate crime and gender recognition. Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8757&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8757 The question of how far media should regulate themselves or be regulated by the state was debated this week by participants at a London conference on the role of national parliaments in media regulation in Europe. Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8741&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8741 PACE Standing Committee meeting will be held in Yerevan on Friday 31 May 2013 under the Armenian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers. On this occasion, PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon will hold high-level meetings with the President of the Republic Serzh Sargsyan, the Speaker of the National Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian. Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8743&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8743 “Its link with national parliaments is fundamental for the PACE, and we can be effective only if we strengthen that link”, said PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon, addressing the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Representatives in Brussels today... Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8739&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8739 Around 100 parliamentarians from across Europe, media experts and NGO representatives are to gather at the House of Commons in London on 21-22 May for a conference on the role of national parliaments in media regulation in Europe. Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8735&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8735 A PACE delegation* looking into the consequences of the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia has deeply regretted that the de facto authorities in Tskhinvali and Sukhumi refused to receive the delegation. The delegation has just returned from a visit to Moscow and Tbilisi (12-15 May 2013). Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8737&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8737 In his address to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe at its 123rd session, PACE President, Jean-Claude Mignon, today called for reinforcement of Council of Europe action in the fields of democracy, human rights and rule of law. Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8727&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8727 To mark the International Day against Homophobia (May 17), Håkon Haugli, General rapporteur on the rights of LGBT people of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), made the following statement: “On 17 May 1990 the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases... Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8729&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8729 Wojciech Sawicki, the PACE Secretary General, has issued a call for nominations for the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, which will be awarded for the first time on 30 September next in Strasbourg. Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8723&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8723 Turkey is an indispensable partner for promoting the aims and values of the Council of Europe, PACE President, Jean-Claude Mignon, said today, speaking during an official visit to the country (13-15 May). The President, speaking in Ankara following a meeting with President Abdullah Gül and other leading officials in the country, said that Turkey, with its solid democratic system, was an exampl... Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8725&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8725 Bulgaria’s early parliamentary elections on 12 May were held in a competitive environment, fundamental freedoms were respected, and the administration of elections was well managed, although the campaign was overshadowed by a number of incidents that diminished trust in state institutions and the process was negatively affected by pervasive allegations of vote-buying, international observers sa... Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8721&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8721 The PACE delegation observing the early parliamentary elections in Bulgaria yesterday met President Rosen Plevneliev, Prime Minister Marin Raykov, Deputy Prime Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva and Justice Minister Dragomir Yordanov. Discussions focussed on the atmosphere of the election campaign with just two days left to voting day. The 19-member delegation is observing the election alongside obse... Sat, 11 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8717&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8717 PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon, speaking on the eve of an official visit to Turkey, has strongly condemned the attacks in the town of Rehyanli, close to the Syrian border. “I want to express my sincere condolences to the families of the victims, and my support to all who are working on behalf of those affected. I also express my support for the Turkish authorities [...]. The perpetrators of... Sat, 11 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8719&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8719 PACE President, Jean-Claude Mignon, will make an official visit to Turkey from 13 to 15 May, during which he is due to meet the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for the Family and Social Policy. Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8713&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8713 Håkon Haugli (Norway, SOC), PACE rapporteur of the Equality and Non-Discrimination Committee, will make a fact-finding visit to Kyiv on 15-16 May 2013 in the framework of the preparation of his report on "Tackling discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity". Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://assembly.coe.int/ConsultationNews.asp?idNews=8715&Rss_Channel=2&Content-Language=en-gb&Rss_IDNews=8715