Ref. DC 025 (2016)

Week in brief 29 February–6 March 2016

Conference on recognition of qualifications held by refugees

1^st March, Paris – The Council of Europe and UNESCO will organise a conference to discuss on the “Recognition of qualifications held by refugees, displaced persons and persons in a refugee-like situation” and will focus on some guidelines for improved recognition of qualifications held by refugees based on art. 7 of the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region (Lisbon Recognition Convention).

Children’s Forum

3 March, Strasbourg (Palais de l’Europe, Hemicycle, 10:30am – 12pm) – The Council of Europe and the Themis association will bring together 1200 children from 45 school classes of CM1-CM2 of the Region Alsace and the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg who worked on a project or an idea on a concrete action to favour more tolerance and living together in peace. Ten projects have been selected and will be presented on this occasion. As for the World Forum for Democracy, the pupils will vote for the most relevant initiative which will be rewarded by a diploma created by the artist Laurent Salles.

ROMED2 – Democratic Governance and Community Participation through Mediation

3-4 March, Tenerife (Spain) – After Valencia in December 2015, Tenerife will be the second Spanish municipality to join the ROMED2 Joint Programme of the Council of Europe and European Union. With mediators trained in ROMED1, the ROMED2 programme supports Roma citizens to organise into “Community Action Groups” (CAG) in the municipalities of implementation, and provides assistance for sustainable dialogue between these action groups and local authorities.

The Secretary General’s Special Representative for Roma issues and the President of the Cabildo of Tenerife will sign the commitment letter at the launching event, which includes meetings with local authorities and representatives of the Ministry of Employment, Trade, Industry and Economic Development, departments of the City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and visits to Roma communities on the island including Añaza, San Isidro, El Fraile and La Cuesta.

 

Also…

29 February-1 March, Azerbaijan – PACE President Pedro Agramunt will make an official visit to Azerbaijan, during which he is due to meet the President of the Republic, the Speaker of the Milli Mejlis and the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Meetings are also scheduled with the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE, members of the diplomatic community and NGOs representatives.

1^st March, Geneva – Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland will take part in the High-level segment of the 31st session of UN Human Rights Council and have high-level bilateral meetings.

1^st March, Strasbourg – The Council of Europe’s anti-torture committee (CPT) will publish the report on its last visit to Greece.

1^st March, Strasbourg – The Council of Europe’s anti-racism commission (ECRI) will publish country reports on France, Georgia and Monaco, as well as conclusions on the implementation of specific interim recommendations by Ireland and Liechtenstein.

1^st March, Strasbourg – The European Court of Human Rights will notify in writing 12 judgments.

1^st March, Brussels – Frank Schwabe and Zsolt Németh, PACE co-rapporteurs for post-monitoring dialogue with Bulgaria, will have an exchange of views with European Commission officials dealing with matters in relation with Bulgaria.

1-2 March, London – Béatrice Fresko-Rolfo, rapporteur of the PACE Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination, will make a fact-finding visit, in the context of the preparation of her report on female genital mutilation in Europe.

2 March, Strasbourg – The European Court of Human Rights will hold a Grand Chamber hearing in the case of Lupeni Greek Catholic Parish and Others v. Romania (9:15 a.m.).

The case concerns the restitution of places of worship belonging to the Greek Catholic Church which were transferred to the Orthodox Church under the totalitarian regime, and more specifically the question of the application of a special law to determine the legal status of such property.

2-3 March, Brussels – Andrea Rigoni, rapporteur of the PACE Political Affairs Committee, will make a fact-finding visit, in the context of the preparation of his report on the situation in Belarus. Meetings are scheduled with representatives of the European Parliament, the External Action Service of the European Commission and civil society.

3 March, Paris – Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland and Deputy Secretary General Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni will take part in the meeting of the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

3 March, Strasbourg – The European Court of Human Rights will notify in writing 45 judgments and/or decisions.

3 March, Brussels – Gisela Wurm, member of the PACE Committee on Equality and Non-Discriminationwill attend an interparliamentary meeting on “Women refugees and asylum seekers in the EU”, organised at the European Parliament in Brussels by the EP Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM). This meeting will be held on the occasion of the International Women’s Day (8 March).

4 March, Rome – Secretary General´s Special Representative for Migration and Refugees, Tomáš Boček, will take part in the panel “The Way Forward: The role of the OSCE and international partners” at theOSCE Security Days Conference on Refocusing Migration and Security: Bridging National and Regional Responses. The panel will be moderated by OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier.

4 March, Paris – Items on the PACE Standing Committee agenda will include debates on the need to eradicate statelessness of children, forced migration as a new challenge, the libraries and museums of Europe in times of change, and the Draft Council of Europe Convention on Cinematographic Co-production. Deputy Secretary General Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni will attend the meeting.

More information – Draft agenda

5 March, Riga – The Council of Europe’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity unit (SOGI) together with LGBT Association “Mozaika” and Rosa Luxemburg Foundation will organise a conference to discuss on the recent developments in the LGBT rights situation in Latvia and in the Baltic region and exchange experiences.