Council of Europe Press Division

Phone: +33 3 88 41 25 60, Fax: +33 3 88 41 39 11

E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.coe.int

 

 

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Dato: 17. november 2006. Antal sider (inkl. denne): 2

 

 

Ahead of Council of Europe campaign, national parliaments urged to use ‘all means’ to combat domestic violence

Strasbourg, 17.11.2006 – Ahead of a major Council of Europe campaign to combat domestic violence against women, to be launched in Madrid on 27 November, the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), meeting in San Marino, today adopted the following declaration:

“Domestic violence against women is a serious assault on women’s dignity which no Council of Europe member state should tolerate.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, committed to defending human rights, publicly and unequivocally condemns domestic violence. Such violence is the result of an unequal relationship between women and men which it also perpetuates. Domestic violence is not geographically circumscribed, is not limited to certain age groups or linked to ethnic origin. It occurs in every kind of family relationship and in all social strata.

The cost of domestic violence to society is high. There is the personal and social cost for the women who live a terrible nightmare and who experience constant fear and anxiety. In addition, there is the huge financial cost to society in general, which shoulders the burden of health care, protection, legal and policing costs. And there is a political cost when democratic societies are incapable of protecting women from domestic violence which is a frontal attack on their physical integrity and their human dignity.

The Parliamentary Assembly is convinced that combating domestic violence against women will help to build a fairer society where the fundamental rights of all, men and women alike, are respected.

In this context, the Parliamentary Assembly affirms that combating domestic violence against women must be a priority for member states. The Assembly calls upon the member states to assume fully their responsibilities and to take all necessary measures to end this violence. The Assembly pledges its support for, and will contribute to, the Council of Europe's campaign to combat violence against women, including domestic violence. The campaign will be launched in Madrid (Spain) on 27 November 2006. The Assembly reiterates its appeal to national parliaments to implement the project entitled “Parliaments united in combating domestic violence against women”, to make the fight against domestic violence a priority theme of their work and thereby to contribute to the Council of Europe Campaign, by all parliamentary means at their disposal.”

The Standing Committee – which acts in the name of the Parliamentary Assembly between plenary sessions – brings together some eighty parliamentarians from the Council of Europe’s 46 member states.

Link to the website of the parliamentary dimension of the campaign

Parliamentary Assembly Communication Unit
Tel: +33 3 88 41 31 93
Fax : +33 3 90 21 41 34
[email protected]
www.coe.int/press

Council of Europe to launch first Europe-wide campaign to “Stop domestic violence against women” (Madrid, 27. November 2006)

Strasbourg, 14.11.2006: A major Council of Europe campaign aimed at stopping domestic violence against women Europe-wide will be launched at the Spanish Senate in Madrid on Monday November 27 (Plaza de la Marina Española, Madrid).

Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis will be amongst dignatories at the official launch ceremony at the Spanish Senate building at 12.30 pm.

The launch takes place during a conference bringing together around 300 top European experts, politicians and NGOs united in their determination to stop domestic violence against women. It will focus on three themes: support and protection of victims, legal and policy measures to combat violence, and changing attitudes towards violence.

The Council of Europe will be represented by Committee of Ministers Chair and San Marino Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Fiorenzo Stolfi, Parliamentary Assembly President René van der Linden, Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg and Ian Micallef, President of the Local Authorities Chamber of the Council of Europe Congress

Speakers will include ministers from different Council member countries and representatives from international organisations and the Spanish Senate.

Operational Information

The conference is open to the press, and starts at 9am.
A press conference will be held at 1.15 pm.
Journalists are asked to use the Bailén street entrance. A working room with PCs is available.

Further information on the campaign is available on www.coe.int/stopviolence and on the conference on the www.coe.int/stopviolence/conference.

Council of Europe press contacts:
In Madrid (Spanish-speaking)
Felix Santos: Tel. +34-91 715.82.41; Mobile +34 66 942 39 67 ; [email protected]
In Strasbourg,
Cathie Burton : Tel. +33 3 88 41 28 93; Mobile : tel+33 6 85 11 64 93;[email protected]

Accreditation:
Journalists should contact Clara Núñez Lagos of the Senate press service (Tel. +34 91 538 14 96; Fax: +34 91 538 17 00; [email protected]) giving their media, and a letter from their editor, along with copies of identity documents

Television journalists should contact Alfonso Palazón of the Senate audiovisual service in Madrid (+34 629 99 38 06) for questions on the event itself.
For television journalists, a videokit of interviews is available from the Council of Europe in professional format, please contact the audiovisual service on +33 3 88 41 25 65 or [email protected].