Speeches, June session 2010
Monday 21
June 2010 at 3 p.m.
Communication by Mr Antonio Miloshoski,
Minister for Foreign Affairs of “the
Mr KOX (Netherlands), on behalf of the Group
of the Unified European Left – With regard to the EU’s
accession to the European Convention on Human Rights, our Secretary General
informed us this morning that a working group has been formed with seven
members from EU countries and seven from non-EU countries, and that they have
started negotiations.
The
problem is that 47 countries have to sign and ratify the treaty, but the wish
of the Secretary General was that the treaty should enter into force
immediately after successful negotiations, with countries having three years to
object. Can you confirm that that approach will be adopted, because otherwise
we will have to wait a long time for the treaty to come into force?
THE PRESIDENT –
Thank you. Would you like to answer that question, Mr Miloshoski?
Mr MILOSHOSKI
– Thank you, Mr Kox, for this question. The momentum is such that accession to
the European Convention on Human Rights will happen and we are prepared for
implementation. It will be one of the historic occasions since the formation of
this Organisation. Therefore, our chairmanship will continue to pay great
attention to this issue.
All
options are under consideration. We prefer options that would lead to accession
sooner, but it will depend on the domestic procedures for verification and
ratification of some of the member states. In that context, on 7 July, we will
have an opportunity to discuss the issue openly and directly with Mrs Reding, the Vice-President of the European Commission and
we will try our best to explain how important it is to all of us that this
process takes place sooner rather than later.
Budgets and priorities of the Council of
Mr KOX (
At
the meeting of the Bureau this morning, the Secretary General said that he was
shocked by the total lack of synergy in the Council of Europe and its organs.
Fortunately, he told me that it was not a traumatic experience and he was
already recovering. Indeed, he is on his way to improving the Organisation. His
message to all the organs of the Council of Europe was clear – improve or
implode. We should take that message very seriously.
It
is good that the Assembly reacts positively to the proposals made by the
Secretary General to revitalise the Council of Europe. We need to realise that
working together is sometimes more fruitful than always working against each
other. That is another message from the Secretary General. However, we should
take care that we do not accept his proposals too readily. The report
frequently states that “we understand” or “we understand completely”, but we
must remember that these are proposals from the Secretary General and the
Committee of Ministers, and we must secure our own position. Up to this point,
the only proposals have been to decrease the budget of the Parliamentary
Assembly. That is a dead end for us, and Mr Wille’s
report made it clear that such forced anorexia for this Organisation will kill
it in the end. We should not forget that.
In
the past few years, we have realised that having to work with ever less money
has reduced our ambition and visibility, as well as our possibilities. It is no
accident that the Council of Europe is becoming less important in
Progress report
Mr KOX (
I will not go into the full details
of the progress report, as I imagine that many of you will have read it. I will
instead focus on some of the items on which we made progress. The first is the
enhanced dialogue between the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary
Assembly. In April, the presidential committee met the Bureau of the Committee
of Ministers and the Secretary General. That represented a major step forward
in providing enhanced co-operation and greater synergy between the different
organs of the Council of Europe. We now appear to be moving away from
confrontation towards co-operation, which is a very useful development. This
shows progress for our Organisation. The new report of the Secretary General
elaborates on the enhanced dialogue and co-operation, and we shall discuss
these matters further on Thursday this week in the Joint Committee. The
Secretary General is making many good proposals, but it is important that we
now put them into practice – that will really mean progress.
The second item on which I want to
elaborate is the composition and participation of the national delegations to
the Parliamentary Assembly. On 30 April, the Bureau instructed a rules
committee to draw up a report on the fair representation of political parties
and groups in the national delegations. Among others, the problems in the
Moldovan delegation led to this instruction. The good news is that, although
the report is still in preparation, the problem in
Another problem that we could not
solve in the past few months is the fact that ever fewer parliaments are
allowing substitutes to participate in the work of this Assembly. That is a
very dangerous development, and if we allow it to continue, it will lead to the
erosion of the Assembly. I therefore hope that we shall see progress in the
next progress report and that all substitutes will be allowed to do their work
in the Assembly.
The third item involves relations
with
The fourth item is for the first
request for partner for democracy status that we have received from the
Parliament of Morocco in the past few months. The Bureau has referred it to the
Political Affairs Committee for a report. We must remember that a parliament
that asks for this special status must declare and show respect for the Council
of Europe’s values, hold free and fair elections, work towards the abolition of
the death penalty and encourage the balanced participation of men and women in
political life. It is now up to the Political Affairs Committee to examine
whether the Moroccan Parliament’s request meets those criteria. We also hope to
receive a formal request soon from the Palestinian National Council to become
part of the democracy of this Assembly. The Assembly has not yet received such
a request, but it will probably come soon. That would also show progress.
The fifth item involves the rights
of temporary staff. We had a discussion about that in the Bureau in
The sixth item, which is also the
last item, is that in the past month we have made progress with regard to the
accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights.
Today, we heard about developments from the Secretary General in the Bureau
meeting, and we have heard Minister Miloshoski
explaining that there is indeed progress on this level. We should emphasise how
important it is that the European Union accedes to the European Convention on
Human Rights; that could solve a lot of problems of double standards in
Madam President, we have made some
progress as an Assembly in the past month but we have to remember that we have
also had terrible setbacks in the same period. We have seen the enormous Greek
debt crisis, huge social problems in
Last week, Mr Saramago,
the great writer, died. One of his famous sayings was that if conditions
influence human beings, let us then do our utmost to promote human conditions.
If that was the progress made by this Assembly over the past month
then we have done our jobs, and if not then we should reconsider our
work.
Mr MELNIKOV (
Some
laws were insulting to great swathes of the population, and to artists. There
was also an anti-Russian tendency.
The
rehabilitation of Nazism was an insult to the victims of the Nazis. The
deepening economic crisis had led to the use of anti-communist sentiments as a
distraction. He hoped that the Assembly would take a stand against these
developments.
Mr KOX (
It
was also pointed out that we need to discuss the entirety of the work of the
Assembly in the near future. As my friend Mr Mignon pointed out, we have a good
basis for this report on the future of the Council of Europe. I know that the
President of the Assembly is thinking of ways to revitalise the discussions,
and we need to reach our own position. It is great that we have proposals from
the Secretary General, but we must also make our own proposals. In October,
this Assembly will have to come back to that issue.
I
thank Mrs Err for her conclusions on
Some
speakers mentioned the investment in this Hemicycle compared with the lack of
money for our temporary staff, but the Secretary General will react to that. Mr
Melnikov told us about set-backs in Europe, including
the rise of xenophobia and the strange laws that we have seen in
I
am grateful to everyone for their contributions.
Tuesday 22
June 2010 at
Legal remedies for human rights violations in the
Mr LOTMAN (Estonia) on behalf of the Unified European Left
Group – The issue of human rights in North Caucasus is so
burning and tragic that, once again, it seems somehow inappropriate to
congratulate the rapporteur, so I will say only that
Dick Marty has maintained his high standard of reporting – the work on the
North Caucasus is as thorough as that on secret detention by the CIA.
The
substance of the report is tragic indeed. In the
The
report justly points out that the situation is at its worst in
As
usual in these extreme situations, it is women who suffer most. The situation
of women’s rights has deteriorated to a horrible extent – “bride abductions”
have become commonplace in
So,
after about 150 years of the more or less universal abolition of slavery, we
have a self-styled ruler who openly states that women can be kept as slaves. He
is seconded by the so-called ombudsman – is not that ironic? – who openly justifies savage murders of young women by
referring to what he calls those who “forget the code of conduct that should be
followed by mountain women” – that is, by the victims.
On
behalf of the Group of the Unified European Left, let me ask the Russian
Government: is that also your view of human rights? How can the head of a
regional administration in a Council of Europe member state openly justify
gender-based slavery?
Saying
that this is some sort of deep tradition firmly rooted in Chechnyan
culture is rubbish. I cannot recall either of the freely elected presidents of
the country – the late Johar Dudajev
and the late Aslan Mashadov
– stating anything like that.
Of
course, women do not just suffer passively. It is no coincidence that among the
most outspoken critics of these horrible crimes were two women: Russian
journalist, Anna Politkovskaia, and
That
is all part of what has been called in an open letter signed by many prominent
persons – among others, Vaclav Havel, Desmond Tutu and Grigori
Yavlinksy – “Killing Justice in
Let
us adopt the report, but that is not the end of the matter. If we are indeed
what we claim to be – guardians of human rights – we have to continue our work
until this horror ends.
Address by Mr Milo Đukanović, Prime
Minister of
Mr KOX (
THE PRESIDENT
– Thank you. Would you like to answer that question, Mr Ðukanović?
Mr ÐUKANOVIĆ
(Translation) – Very briefly, yes.
THE PRESIDENT
– Thank you. That was a very good and short answer.
Tuesday 22
June 2010 at 3p.m.
The situation in Kosovo and the role of the Council of Europe
The Situation of Roma in Europe and relevant activities of the Council
of Europe
Ms MÓSESDÓTTIR (
The
lack of progress in eliminating discrimination against the largest minority
group in
Lack
of ethnically disaggregated statistical information means that the monitoring
of various forms of discrimination and abuse, including human trafficking, and
the evaluation of the impact of intervention policies are difficult, if not
impossible. That has to change.
One
way to achieve change would be to give EUROSTAT the responsibility to assist
statistical offices across
Surprisingly,
the report hardly mentions the situation of Roma women. I would like to add the
gender dimension to our discussion of the situation of Roma in
Roma
women face double marginalisation as a result of the ethnic and gender-based
discrimination. The latter has its roots in the Roma culture and family
structure. Unlike most women in minority groups in
Those
traditional domestic and family duties induce Roma girls to leave school early
and prevent many Roma women from entering the formal labour market. Targeted
ethnic minority policies do not always reach the Roma to the same degree as
other “more integrated” ethnic minorities. In particular, they tend not to
reach Roma women.
The
poor knowledge of Roma women’s social conditions and of their own views and
expectations is reflected in policies that rarely address their specific needs
and problems. Thus, the involvement in policy-making of representatives of Roma
women should be facilitated. We should also ensure that measures are
implemented at local level through Roma women’s associations.
Irregular migrants
Mrs ANDERSEN (Norway) on behalf of the Group of
the Unified European Left – Listening to the rapporteurs
and also keeping in mind the political discussions in different European
countries, it seems to me timely that the Council of Europe is considering
matters relating to obligations on the principles of human rights in respect of
these questions.
I
have not heard anyone here using the wording that I hear in political debate
elsewhere. We might be grateful for that, but there are strong voices in many
European countries calling for lower standards in our policy on asylum seekers
and irregular migrants. The Group of the Unified European Left wants to
underline the fact that, especially when dealing with questions relating to
such groups, it is important to stick to the principles.
We
support voluntary return programmes and also accept readmission agreements,
which are necessary tools, but regulations have to abide by the obligations and
principles of international conventions on human rights, as stated in the text
today.
Identity
politics, both populist and extremist, as well as strong nationalistic rhetoric,
has been reinforced in recent years in
In
spite of the obvious fact that such migrants have not caused the financial
crisis, they are put in the position of scapegoats or, as the report says, “hot potatoes”. I want to shine a light on the example
from the agreement between
It
is important that we distinguish between assisted voluntary returns for
irregular migrants and the return of convicted prisoners. Also, there is a
special need with regard to unaccompanied minors. That is a very difficult
question, especially when we have return agreements.
Lastly,
there is a need to safeguard the victims of trafficking. We look forward to the
Council of Europe placing stronger emphasis on that specific issue.
Wednesday 23
June 2010 at
Islam, Islamism
and Islamophobia in Europe
Mr KOX (
The
quotations come from prominent members of the so-called Freedom Party, which
has been my country’s third biggest party since the elections that took place
on 9 June. It took that position from my party, which was the big winner four
years ago. That change in voter support demonstrates what is happening in my
country – the ever-growing popularity of a party that is an excellent example
of the growing Islamophobia in
This
populist Freedom Party has publicly stated the following in the Dutch
Parliament and press: “Send the Muslims who cause problems out of the country,
with their entire families”; “Let us immediately adopt a total immigration stop
for people from Muslim countries”; “Why not introduce a tax on headscarves?
Then we finally will earn something on what has cost us already so much. I
would say, ‘Let the polluter pay’”; “Many fundamental problems, such
infrastructure, traffic jams, housing problems and the welfare state are in the
end directly related to migrants”; “Every non-western immigrant should sign an
assimilation contract. That states exactly what to do and not to do. If you do
not live up to that, you have to leave the country”; “Islamic states cannot
become part of the European Union”; “These Muslim colonists did not come to
integrate, but to take over the country and suppress us”; “The core of the
problem is the fascist Islam, the sick ideology of Allah and Mohammed as
written down in the Islamic version of Mein Kampf: The Koran”; and “We are selling ourselves to the
devil called Mohammed”.
Those
are horrible statements, but we must be aware that the Freedom Party is not an
isolated party in my country. The biggest Dutch party, the People’s Party for
Freedom and Democracy, a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for
I
am aware that the sad stories of the
Mr GEORGIOU (
He
said that it was politicians who created problems, and greater work needed to
be done through education. Religions depended on one another. There was no
longer any purely national or ethnic religion based purely within state
boundaries, so all religions needed to live peacefully alongside one another.
Too often, the teachings of churches had been used as a pretext for war, and
churches required greater internal democracy. He warned against big countries
fostering a climate of fear, and criticised anti-religious policies aimed
primarily at the Muslim faith, which had been implemented after 11 September.
He said that many countries needed help to become more democratic, and more
must be done to ensure the separation of church and state.
Wednesday 23
June 2010 at 3 p.m.
The state of democracy in Europe
Mrs ANDERSEN (
Neo-liberalism
does not work. Millions of workers, poor people and generations of young people
now have to pay the bill, and they are angry. It is our responsibility. We can
no longer rely on a system where a small elite always
takes 95% of the profit and never pays the bill. That is why I think the report
on “The political consequences of the economic crisis” is too weak and
non-political.
Let
us look at
What
is happening now? International organisations such as the World Bank and the EU
demand to re-establish some of the structures and the system that created the
problems. The national politicians are told, “Hands off!” They are not being
allowed to react and take care of their citizens. Of course, that fuels the
anger of a furious population.
International
bodies are now promoting neo-liberalism and overruling democracy, human rights,
social responsibility and other needs. There is a need for a new policy to
safeguard our planet’s resources. How do they react to that? They say, “Hands
off!” I can understand why people are disappointed in democracy, as Mr Gross
also said, and we must enable ourselves to do something.
A
lot of countries are in deep trouble. What do they do? They launch major
programmes for cutting social welfare and public spending. I can understand
that this is very difficult and that something has to be done, but such things
can promote more unequal societies.
I
want to draw attention to a survey presented in a book called “The Spirit
Level”. A study of 50 countries shows that more equal societies are more
stable, more effective and more secure, and they promote social mobility. It is
not only a diagnoses for our ills; it provides an
invaluable instrument for shifting the balance from self-interested consumerism
to a collaborative society. That has to be taken into consideration when
countries are dealing with the financial crisis at a national level.
Mrs KANELLI (
Am
I free? No, I am not. I am Greek. Everybody says that I destroyed the European
economy because I had the Olympic games, because I
have sunshine and because I have Plato and Aristotle in my bag.
You
talk about democracy being built in
I
come from a country where one of the biggest German companies, Siemens, has
bought both political parties. It is a big scandal. Now we owe
We
must not forget that just 20 or 30 years ago having one job that could give you
a decent life was a right, not a privilege. Now it is a matter of chance, or
opportunity. Somebody has to give you the opportunity. This crisis is not a
physical phenomenon, it is a crisis of capitalism and
a profit crisis. Banks do not make the profits that they made in the 40 years
after the Second World War. It is not only a crisis of values but of the
difference between surviving and living. These are two different values. To
live is a matter of quality and it should not belong only to the rich. If you
have a media that can buy teams and if globalisation can move capital all over
the world, you cannot claim democracy in
As
a Greek, I can be proud that we have the third largest commercial shipping
fleet in the world, but Greek citizens have to pay for protection in the area
off
The state of democracy in
Mr PETRENCO (
Can
we assert that during the last reporting period, over the past year, the
general state of democracy in
A
conspicuous example of such violations of democratic norms and standards in
Europe today, unfortunately, is my country, the
These
are not just words. Here are a few illustrative examples. The Moldovan TV
channel, NIT, with wide national coverage, currently the only broadcaster
critical of the authorities, was forced a few months ago by the so-called
democratic authorities of the country to vacate its premises, and at the moment
its studio is located in the garage of a private house. I draw your attention
to the fact that one of the most popular TV channels in the country broadcasts
from a garage. Then there is the continuing harassment of other unwanted media
with ongoing attacks and intimidations. In recent months two newspapers,
‘Moldova Suverana’ and ‘Nezavisimaya
Moldova’, have been nationalised; a number of radio stations have been deprived
of their broadcast frequencies; it has been decided to suspend the broadcasting
of the Russian radio station, Silver Rain; a news broadcast on the channel,
REN-TV, was shut down; and a person who attacked a group of reporters from the
Omega news agency was acquitted on every charge.
For
the first time in the history of modern Moldova, during a peaceful political
demonstration on 1 May a wire fence for protesters, a cage over
Those
facts should worry us all and give us food for thought. In which direction is
This
Parliamentary Assembly has to respond. A precedent should not be created.
Otherwise European democracy can be included in the red book of endangered
systems.
Thursday 24
June 2010 at
Debate under urgent procedure: flare-up of tension in the Middle East
Mr LAAKSO (
Usually,
conclusions are to be drawn at the end of a speech, but I intend to do things
the other way round because it is time for a conclusion to be reached at the
beginning of a speech. This conclusion is very serious.
It
seems that there is now a government in
As
a friend of
It
is high time that we looked at the policy of
The
international community cannot afford to give the
Isolating
Hamas after its election victory was a big mistake.
For instance, my country,
There
is a need for major revision of European policy towards the
I
thank
Address by by Gjorgje
Ivanov, President of “the
Mrs PAPADIMITRIOU (
THE PRESIDENT
– Thank you. Would you like to answer that question, Mr Ivanov?
Mr IVANOV
said that he was very pleased with recent developments in relations between
In
restaurants in
Thursday 24
June 2010 at 3 p.m.
Current affairs debate: the situation in Kyrgyzstan
Mr LOTMAN (
The
estimates of the death toll of the recent ethnic violence vary. Although the
official death toll from the clashes stood at 214 last time I checked, interim
government leader Roza Otunbayeva
is reported to have said that 10 times as many people – that is 2 000, as
others have said – have been killed. It is estimated that there are more than
100 000 refugees and some sources put the figure as high as 400 000.
Again, there is huge variance in the estimates and little knowledge of what is
going on.
Assessments
of who is guilty are even vaguer. Apparently, the Uzbeks blame the Kyrgyz for
starting the violence and vice versa. That is not surprising. All that can be
said for sure is that, whoever started the violence, the Uzbeks have suffered
most. Most of the casualties and refugees are Uzbeks. Different conspiracy
theories abound about who organised the initial attacks, and some might even be
true. They vary from blaming the former president and his family members – who
of course deny any involvement – to claiming that rogue elements in the police,
army or other security forces have organised the whole thing.
The
good news is that mob violence has subsided, some refugees have started to
return home and the police and army are largely in control of the situation.
However, there is bad news within the good news in that those forces are
specifically targeting the Uzbek population by searching houses in what they
claim is an effort to restore law and order. There is further news that police
officers are destroying documents of the Uzbeks in what seems to be an effort
to stop them from voting in the constitutional referendum scheduled for Sunday.
There are also reports of abductions and heavy beatings by the security forces,
which come from those in the middle of the situation. Again, it has mostly been
Uzbeks who have been the victims. The police and army officers in charge
locally are ethnic Kyrgyz from the conflict region who, according to some
sources, have a biased view of the situation. Furthermore, the provisional
government, which is also ethnically Kyrgyz, has no strong ties to the region
and might not be in control of its armed forces there. So, a pessimistic view
could be that mob violence has simply been replaced by the misuse of the armed
forces.
The
international community has been a bit slow to react but it seems that things
are getting on the move. The OSCE is there, but its presence probably needs to
be strengthened. The
The handling of the H1N1 pandemic: more transparency needed
Mr HUNKO (
Predictions
of the seriousness of the outbreak and its designation as a Phase 6 pandemic
were based on a limited range of scientific opinion. Billions of dollars had
been spent on the vaccine and it was necessary to clarify what had happened to
avoid future repetition of the problems. The WHO had changed the criteria for a
Phase 6 pandemic, basing it on this outbreak. There had been no clear answer
from the WHO as to why that had happened. He had received a secret report,
placed on the internet by a whistleblower, concerning what had transpired
between the German state and the pharmaceutical industry.
Some
very deft marketing by the pharmaceutical industry had resulted in huge costs
for states. The German people had lost trust in the WHO as a result. The WHO
was under pressure from private interests, and steps had to be taken to ensure
its independence as there were many other diseases which could lead to similar
problems.
Mrs ANDERSEN (
Everyone
is still confused about what happened. I was confident that the decisions had
been taken on a solid basis until I attended the hearing here in
There
are big killers in the world: AIDS, malaria, malnutrition, famine and diahorrea are just some of them. They affect poor people
and poor countries, and perhaps that is why they are not so interesting to the
pharmaceutical industry. They ought to be our concern, however. We ought to be
spending more money on them, as well as on the other health problems affecting
our populations. As many of my colleagues have said, however, there are many problems
involved. No government, or individual politician can
say that it will not take the advice of the WHO if it says that a pandemic is
likely to occur. That is why it is crucial that we clarify the definition of a
pandemic, to determine whether it will be dangerous. We must also have
transparency over the connections between the WHO and the pharmaceutical
industry, to ensure that we can trust the advice that we receive. This is a
signal that we need financing for the important health matters throughout the
world.
Mrs FRAHM (
Now,
a year later, we can see that the threat from the virus was exaggerated, and
the rapporteur, Mr Flynn, has made it clear that we
have some cleaning up to do after the experience of the so-called H1N1
pandemic. It seems that the exaggeration of the pandemic was perhaps neither a
mistake nor a coincidence. The pharmaceutical industries that earned a fortune
from the pandemic had their people in the WHO, which had the power to declare
the pandemic and thereby oblige a number of countries to buy large supplies of
products from those industries.
The WHO and health authorities at European and
national level broke with the principles in the European code of conduct in
their handling of the situation. They
thereby forced countries to spend billions on unnecessary supplies of medicine,
as well as scaring the public all over
Organisations
such as the WHO and the European health authorities need to be transparent and
to publish information on the connections and economic interests of people in
committees or other bodies who have an influence on decision making in these
matters. The Assembly must support the line in the recommendation and call on
the Committee of Ministers to instruct the European Health Committee and
related bodies to promote good governance and to live up to the standards in
the European code of conduct on lobbying.
Also,
the Committee of Ministers must urge member states to put pressure on the WHO
in order to secure an open and thorough evaluation of the process followed by a
change towards good governance and a clear policy on lobbying. If it does not,
the loss of faith in these institutions may be disastrous if – or when – a real
pandemic threatens the lives of people in
The functioning of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan
Mr LAAKSO (
As
we know, there will be parliamentary elections in
There
has been intensive co-operation between the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe and the
There
is a clear tendency in many member countries of the Council of Europe to
“forget” the Venice Commission when dealing with difficult issues – I am not
now talking just about Azerbaijan. We must not allow this to continue. It is
even more dangerous, if we in the Assembly or in the side of the Committee of
Ministers “forget” that the Venice Commission has an opinion on many important
matters, which should be taken into consideration and followed.
Naturally,
problems, both big and small, still exist in
Friday 25
June 2010 at
Prohibiting the marketing and use of the Mosquito youth dispersal
device
Mr HUNKO (
An
advertisement for one device claimed it was “a way of getting rid of young
people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time”. Clearly, the device was
being marketed as a harmless solution to a societal problem, but this was not
the case. In
Combating sexist stereotypes in the media
Mrs FRAHM (Denmark) on behalf of the
Group of the Unified European Left – Thank you, dear colleagues, for holding
this debate and thank you, Mrs Stump, for presenting your report today. Just
imagine what would happen if disabled people or sexual minorities were
described in the media in the same way as women are described, or if the media
presented religious or ethnic minorities in that way. I am sure that if things
were different, a report on this subject would not be presented to the Council
of Europe Assembly on a Friday, and that we would give it a higher priority. Having
been here for a while, and having been the Chair of the Committee on Equal
Opportunities for Women and Men for a few months, I believe that we partly have
ourselves to blame if things are not moving in the right direction.
In
my country, there is a new line in advertising that involves making jokes about
women. For example, during the football world cup, an advert for our national
lottery system and for betting on football games has featured a blonde woman
who knows nothing about anything. This is presented as a joke, but I wonder
whether any other group would accept being depicted in the way that she is
being depicted. Jokes are healthy; humour is one of the healthiest things in
the world. If we can laugh at ourselves, that is the healthiest thing of all.
However, if the jokes turn into mockery and this becomes part of a pattern, we
should do something about it. We should react.
As
Mrs Stump said, this report is not against motherhood. However, I believe that
we hear too little in the media about fatherhood. Any new minister in my
country who happens to be a woman is always asked, “How can you do this job?
You have children to take care of.” She then has to explain, “I am not a bad
mother. My mother takes care of my children, and my husband is also very good
with them.” I have never heard such a question being asked of a male minister.
This happens because the journalists have made it into a pattern. As Mrs Stump
said at the end of her presentation, taking this up with journalists and
dealing with it in journalistic education in our countries would be a splendid
idea.
Decent pensions
for women
Mrs FRAHM (
It
is important not only to change the way that women act but to change the way
that our societies work. I shall give you an example. In
This
tells me that women are trying to do all the right things in order to catch up
and close the wage gap, but have not been able to do so. We have a pensions
system that clearly benefits the working patterns of men, while we know that it
discriminates against the working patterns of women. Women depend on a strong
public sector and a strong welfare system. As my colleague from
This
is the way that society discriminates against women. It depends on women to
spend time with their children instead of working in the labour market. If
society wants that to happen, it should also be ready to let women benefit
economically from doing what society expects of them.
We
should change the system now. We have had so many strategies to change the way
that women work. We had the strategy on women’s education and a strategy for
women to take men’s jobs in order to be as well paid as men. We have had many
strategies to try to change the way that women choose their education and their
career, the way that they plan their family and the way that they take care of
their children.
Now
it is time for us to look at how the system works and how it benefits the way
that women act. We should change it so that we have the right to a pension and
parental leave. We should skip the phrase “maternal leave” and use the phrase
“parental leave” in order to demand equal treatment with regard to the question
of how to take care of our children. We should have the right to a pension when
we take care of elderly relatives, such as our parents. We should have the
right to a pension if we go into part-time work in order to take care of family
affairs.
Thank
you for the report. It is time to change.
Forests: the future of our planet
Mrs ANDERSEN (
I
shall use the time available to me to discuss climate change, not biodiversity.
Tackling climate change is different from other political issues, because we
can compromise or change our policies in other areas – we can do things over
again – but when climate change happens it is too late. We cannot say to
nature, “Hey, wait a moment. We are not ready to compromise yet.” So this is a
different issue and we just have to tackle it before it is too late.
Is
it right that we are discussing this question, but we also need to highlight
the fact that vital international work on these issues needs to be done under
the UN umbrella and that developed countries need to do their duty. We must
also recognise that the most important thing we can do is protect biodiversity
and rain forests in developing countries. That is why the Norwegian Government
launched the international climate and forest initiative during the climate
change negotiations in
We
believe that multilateral channels are the best and most efficient way to
organise international efforts to reduce the loss of tropical forest. We need
to utilise the competence and capacities of the UN, the World Bank and the
African Development Bank, but we need some changes in these organisations in
order to ensure that they value this large asset and the importance of
preserving tropical rain forests.
I
also wish to underline the importance of co-operating with non-governmental
organisations, especially at the local level, when dealing with this issue.
This is not only about climate change and biodiversity; it is about the lives
of indigenous people and the many others living in these areas. If we are to
deal with this properly, we need to co-operate with NGOs and people on the
ground.
Today
we have no way of putting an economic value on living trees that accurately
reflects their actual value for the well-being of this planet. That is a
problem, because everything today is counted in money.
Mr LOTMAN (Estonia), Chair of the Committee on
the Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs – On behalf of the
committee, I thank all my colleagues who are still here, especially those who
have participated in the debate. It is nice to hear that the main findings of
the report are endorsed by all who participated. I am also grateful for the
minor criticisms and suggestions for improvement that have been made. They are
well grounded; I agree to them.
However,
it is vital that the report, in a way, follows in the footsteps of the report
on biodiversity and climate change that we approved at the end of the previous
session, because this issue is relevant to both those subjects. Forests are
carbon sinks and stores, so they are important as mitigators
of climate change. They are also significant habitats that are essential to
biodiversity.
It
is important that our Assembly discusses those issues because we are the only
pan-European body to deal with them. The European Union is doing some work, but
it does not represent the whole of
Thank
you, colleagues, for taking part in the debate. I thank the rapporteur
and our fantastic staff, without whom none of this would have been possible.