Assembly President welcomes the Ukrainian Supreme Court’s decision
PACE to observe presidential election in Ukraine

A 30-member delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly, headed by Tadeusz Iwinski (Poland, SOC), will observe the re-run of the second round of the presidential election to be held in Ukraine on 26 December 2004.

The parliamentarians will arrive in Kyiv on 24 December to meet with the two candidates and the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission. On election day, they will be deployed in the capital and throughout the country. 

Peter Schieder: 'The rule of law has prevailed'

Assembly President Peter Schieder welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court of Ukraine to re-run the second round of the Presidential election. “This decision shows that the rule of law has prevailed in finding a solution to the current political crisis. The re-run of a second round by the 26th December will give the Ukrainian people a new chance to freely express their will and democratically elect their President', Mr Schieder said. (more) 

Addressing a hearing organised by PACE’s Legal Affairs Committee in Paris on 17 December, Jamal al-Harith, a British muslim who spent two years detained without charge at Guantanamo Bay, told parliamentarians how he was subjected to “systematic abuse' which he was informed amounts to torture under international law.  (more)
 

The patient has the right to decline the treatment
Assistance to patients at end of life: the Social Affairs Committee adopts a text

The Committee on Social Affairs, meeting in Paris on 17 December, adopted a draft resolution on 'Assistance to patients at end of life'. The text, prepared by Dick Marty (Switzerland, LDR), propose that Council of Europe member States define and implement 'a genuine policy of assistance to patients at end of life which does not cause them to want to die' and underlines the right of any patient 'capable of discernment, being fully aware of the facts, to decline the treatment proposed'.  (more)

Measures to improve the state of legal certainty
Protection of human rights in Kosovo

The Legal Affairs Committee, meeting in Paris on 16 December, adopted a draft-resolution and a draft-recommendation on 'The protection of Human rights in Kosovo' (rapporteur: Tony Lloyd, United Kingdom, SOC). The parliamentarians proposed a series of measures to improve the state of legal certainty and to reinforce the judicial system. They were in favour that the UNMIK and KFOR/NATO commence work, in cooperation with the Council of Europe, towards establishing a Human Rights Court for Kosovo.  (more)

Stressing the importance of the election
PACE to observe election of the President of the Palestinian Authority

PACE's Bureau stressed the importance of the organisation of the elections for a successor to Yasser Arafat and decided to send a delegation to observe the election of the President of the Palestinian Authority. PACE’s Political Affairs Committee called on the Parliament of Israel, which holds observer status with the Assembly, to facilitate the proper conduct of the forthcoming Palestinian presidential election, in particular the free movement of persons.  (more)
 

CALENDAR 25-28 December - Ukraine PACE observes the presidential election in Ukraine A 30-member PACE delegation, headed by Tadeusz Iwinski (Poland, SOC), will meet the two candidates and will observe the re-run on 26 December. 9 January – Territories controlled by the Palestinian Authority PACE observes election of the President of the Palestinian Authority A 15-member PACE delegation, headed by Lord Kilclooney (United Kingdom, EPP/CD), will observe the election on 9 January. 10 January – Vienna (Austria) Meeting of the Bureau On the agenda: preparation of the coming plenary session (24-28 January 2005), the presidential election in Ukraine and the Palestinian Authority, and dialogue with the Parliament of Liechtenstein.        12-16 January – Mexico President on official visit to Mexico Peter Schieder will meet the President and Foreign Minister, party leaders and parliamentarians to discuss Mexico’s relations with the Council of Europe, where it holds observer status. He will also address the Mexican Senate. 14 January – Paris (France) Meeting of the Equality Committee On the agenda: possible adoption of a draft opinion on the Council of Europe draft Convention against Trafficking in Human Beings.