Nyt fra E u r o p a r å d e t Opdatering juni og kalender juli Pressemeddelelse DK 9/05,5  . juli 2005 Council of Europe parliamentarians urge Russia to improve its democracy Strasbourg, 22.06.2005 – The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) t   oday urged Russia to improve its democracy, calling for more power for the Russian parliament, pluralist and impartial broadcasting and normal conditions for civil society. In a reference to the reforms of autumn 2004, the Assembly declared: “In order for  democracy to function properly, power must not only be vertically reinforced but also horizontally shared.” While acknowledging that the authorities had to deal with serious problems which threatened the country – such as terrorism, corruption or irregular privatisations which led to oligarchic control – the parliamentarians said the solutions, even if adapted to Russia’s realities, should be in line with Council of Europe principles. They called on the Russian authorities to “adjust the direction” of re  cent reforms, and significantly accelerate the pace of compliance with remaining commitments to the Council of Europe, which Russia joined in 1996. Other demands included immediate abolition of the death penalty, an end to human rights violations in Chechnya, improvements to the judiciary and “zero tolerance” for the abuse of soldiers. Russia was also asked to cease activities which may undermine the territorial integrity of neighbouring countries, and in particular to withdraw its military forces from Moldova. PACE also said existing Council of Europe assistance to Russia was insufficient, given its size and diversity, and called for significantly more funds to help it honour its commitments. The Russian Federation is one of ten Council of Europe [1] member states subject to the Assembly’s monitoring procedure, which involves regular visits to the state concerned and dialogue with the authorities and civil society. 1. . Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Monaco, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Ukraine. Terry Davis: “We must develop partnership with the people of Europe” Strasbourg, 23.06.2005 – “The Summit in Warsaw was not the end of the book. It was the beginning of a new chapter in the life of the Council of Europe,”  Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, stressed today addressing the Parliamentary Assembly on the follow-up to the Summit. “The Heads of State and Government not only reaffirmed democracy, human rights and the rule of law as the basisof the Council of Europe, but also urged us to focus on these three values in all our work – to relate all our activities to the task of translating democracy, human rights and the rule of law into reality throughout Europe,” he said. The Secretary General pointed to the Summit’s decisions to establish a Council of Europe Forum for the Future of Democracy, a group of wise persons on the long-term effectiveness of the European Convention on Human Rights, a centre of expertise on local government reform and a high-level task force on social

2 cohesion. He underlined that the Council of Europe should be a campaigning organisation, leading in campaigns against torture and against racism, discrimination, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. “We ask all Europeans to jo in us in forging unity amidst diversity, by reinforcing a sense of belonging to shared values, by creating a sense of Europe as a civic community, inclusive and cohesive: a source of creativity, open to knowledge, to intercultural and inter-religious dialogue, and to multiple cultures. By so doing, we will deepen our unity and further develop the values which we share with our neighbouring countries and the wider world,” concluded Mr Davis. PACE President warns that ‘Europe could soon be on the road back to egocentric nationalism’ Addressing the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) at its summer session in Strasbourg (20– 24 June), PACE President René van der Linden stressed that after the referenda which took place in France and the Netherlands on the European Treaty, Europe finds itself in an extremely difficult situation. “If we do not learn from these votes and do not react accordingly, we could soon be on the slippery road back to egocentric nationalism and its dangers,” he said. “It causes  a standstill instead of progress and optimism. It has a negative impact on the necessary and justified solidarity with central and eastern European countries. In this connection I want to pay tribute to the behaviour of those countries at the European Council last week. I share Mr Juncker’s deep disappointment with regard to the position taken by some other governments, which has plunged the European Union into one of the deepest crises of its history. All this, despite the great statesmanship shown by the President of the Council, Mr Juncker,“ René van der Linden said with a view to the recent European Council. “The EU constitutional treaty aims at making Europe more democratic, to improve the decision -making process, to pave the way to a Europe speaking with one voice and to ensure respect for common values, also through the accession of the EU to the European Convention on Human Rights. I would appeal here to the EU, during the reflection period, to proceed with the accession of the European Union or at least the European Community to the European Convention on Human Rights. This would strongly contribute to a common European legal area – for the benefit of all our citizens,” the PACE President said. Vedtagelser:  Den Parlamentariske Forsamlings standing committee mø de (Lissabon , 6. juni 2005) RES 1440 + REC 1705 Recent political developments in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Marcedonia” in the context of regional stability RES 1441 Development challenges in Europe’s islands RES 1442 The right to strike in essential services: economic implications RES 1443 Challenge of credentials of individual members of a national delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly on substantive grounds RES 1444 Protection of European deltas RES 1445 Increase of the number of seats of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men to 83 RES 1446 Co-operation and sustainable development in the Adriatic basin RES 1447 Request for current affairs and urgent debates (Rules 50.2 and 52.2 of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure) RES 1448 Deadline for tabling amendments OPI 256 Budgets of the Council of Europe for the financial year 2006 OPI 257 Expenditure of the Assembly for the financial year 2006

3 Vedtagelser: Den Parlamentariske Forsamlings sommer-session (Strasbourg, 20.-24. juni 2005) REC 1706 Media and terrorism RES 1449 The environment and the Millennium Development Goals RES 1450 The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals RES 1451 Contribution of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to economic development in central and eastern Europe RES 1452 + REC 1707 Situation in the Middle East RES 1453 + REC 1708 Current situation in Kosovo RES 1454 + REC 1709 Disappearance and murder of a great number of women and girls in Mexico RES 1455 + REC 1710 Honouring of obligations and commitments by the Russian Federation RES 1456 Functioning of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan RES 1457 + REC 1711 Follow-up to Resolution 1359 (2004) on political prisoners in Azerbaijan REC 1712 Follow-up to the Third Summit RES 1458 Constitutional reform process in Armenia REC 1713 Democratic oversight of the security sector in member states RES 1459 + REC 1714 Abolition of restrictions on the right to vote RES 1460 + REC 1715 Improving the response to mental health needs in Europe Vedtagelser under sessionen i Kongressen af Lokale og Regionale Myndigheder (Strasbourg, 30. maj - 2. juni)

4 Reports on racism in Albania, Croatia, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom Strasbourg, 14.06.2005 – T   he Council of Europe’s expert body on combating racism, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), today released five new reports examining racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and intolerance in Albania, Croatia, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. ECRI recognises that positive developments have occurred in all five of these Council of Europe member countries. At the same time, however, the reports detail continuing grounds for concern for the Commission:

5 In Sweden: Executive summary Since the publication of ECRI’s second report on Sweden, progress has been made in a number of areas. Civil law provisions against discrimination have been extended to a number of important fields of life. There has been an increasing focus in public debate on the different forms of racial discrimination, as reflected in the setting up of two governmental enquiries on structural discrimination and in increased funding of institutions and organisations working against racism and racial discrimination. Work to promote democracy, human rights and respect of difference has been intensified, notably through the Living History Forum. The Swedish authorities have taken additional measures, including legal and financial measures, to combat trafficking in human beings. A system to monitor progress towards the achievement of integration objectives has been put in place.   However, a number of recommendations made in ECRI’s second report have not been implemented or have only been partially implemented. In spite of an increased focus on racial discrimination, this phenomenon still affects the daily life of some members of ethnic minorities in Sweden. While discrimination in employment is of particular concern, discrimination is also widespread in housing, access to public places and other areas. The situation of de facto segregation in residential areas and schools still runs counter to efforts to promote an integrated society. The active presence of racist organisations in Sweden and their activities, including the widespread dissemination of racist propaganda notably through the Internet, are still of concern to ECRI. The responsibility of these organisations for part of the racist violence and harassment that Swedish society still experiences is stressed.   In this report, ECRI recommends that the Swedish authorities take further action in a number of areas. It recommends that they ratify Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which lays down a general prohibition of discrimination. ECRI also recommends that the Swedish authorities fine-tune existing criminal and civil law provisions to ensure that they constitute effective tools against racist expression, racist organisations, racially motivated crime and racial discrimination. The Swedish authorities should also take further steps to improve the implementation of these provisions, including in respect of members of racist organisations. ECRI recommends that the Swedish authorities increasingly put the fight against discrimination at the heart of their integration strategies and consequently focus on measures aimed at the majority population. In this context, ECRI recommends that discrimination in employment be given priority attention. ECRI recommends that the Swedish authorities continue and expand their work to ensure that their monitoring systems enable them to monitor progress in the achievement of integration objectives. These new reports form part of a third monitoring cycle of Council of Europe member states’ laws, policies and practices aimed at combating racism. ECRI’s country-specific reports are available in English, French and the national language of the country concerned at http://www.coe.int/ecri. They cover all member states on an equal footing, from the perspective of protecting human rights. They examine whether ECRI’s main recommendations from previous reports have been followed and, if so, to what degree of success and effectiveness. Møder i  juli 2005 (hvor intet andet er nævnt  , holdes møde t i Strasbourg) 3. Valgobservation i Albanien 4. -6. Menneskerettighedskommissæren på besøg i Island 4.-7. Ministerkomitéen 5. -7. Konference: Stop Violence Against Children: ACT NOW. (Ljubljana) 8.-9. Konference: Combatting Sexual Exploytation and Abuse of Children (Ljubljana) 8. Konference: The 20th anniversary of the Charter of Local Self-Government (Lissabon) 13. Ministerkomitéen

6 _____________________________________________________________________ Nyt fra Europarådet udgives 11 gange om året af Europarådets pressekorrespondent i de nord iske lande Bremerholm 6, DK-1069 København K, Tlf.  +45 33 14 15 84, Fax + 45 33 15 54 84 E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.coe.int