Compendium of actions

and good practice

of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European network of parliamentarians involved in the Council of Europe campaign to combat violence against women, including domestic violence (2006-2008)

Secretariat of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex Tel: +33 (03) 88 41 35 17 Fax: +33 (0)3 88 90 21 56 52 e-mail: pace.combatviolence@coe.int http://assembly.coe.int

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Table of contents

Introduction by José Mendes Bota, Rapporteur of the PACE .............7

Activities conducted under the auspices of the Parliamentary Assembly in the context of the Council of Europe campaign to combat violence against women, including domestic violence (2006-2008) ..........................................................................................................9

The Parliamentary Assembly ................................................................10

Activities of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men .................................................................................18

Network of contact parliamentarians ................................................ 21

Actions conducted by national parliaments in implementing the parliamentary dimension of the Council of Europe campaign .......25

Albania ...........................................................................................................26Andorra ..........................................................................................................26Austria ............................................................................................................27Azerbaijan .....................................................................................................28Belgium ..........................................................................................................29Bosnia and Herzegovina ..........................................................................29Bulgaria ..........................................................................................................30Croatia ............................................................................................................30Cyprus ............................................................................................................31Czech Republic............................................................................................32Denmark ........................................................................................................33Finland ...........................................................................................................33France .............................................................................................................34Germany ........................................................................................................35Greece ............................................................................................................36Hungary .........................................................................................................36

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Iceland ............................................................................................................36Ireland ............................................................................................................37Italy ..................................................................................................................38Liechtenstein ...............................................................................................38Lithuania .......................................................................................................38Luxembourg.................................................................................................39Malta ...............................................................................................................39Moldova .........................................................................................................39Monaco ..........................................................................................................40Norway ...........................................................................................................41Poland ............................................................................................................41Portugal .........................................................................................................42Romania .........................................................................................................44San Marino ....................................................................................................45Serbia ..............................................................................................................46Slovakia ..........................................................................................................46Slovenia .........................................................................................................47Spain ...............................................................................................................48Sweden ..........................................................................................................49Switzerland ...................................................................................................52“The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” ...............................52Turkey .............................................................................................................54Ukraine ...........................................................................................................55United Kingdom .........................................................................................55Canada ...........................................................................................................56Mexico ............................................................................................................56Inter-parliamentary Union ......................................................................56European Parliament ................................................................................57Nordic Council .............................................................................................58

Appendix .............................................................................................................59

The contact parliamentarians ................................................................59 The regional co-ordinators ....................................................................62

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The Council of Europe (www.coe.int)

The Council of Europe is the continent’s oldest political organisation. Founded in 1949, it has 47 member states, representing more than 800 million Europeans, and "ve observer states (Canada, the Holy See, Japan, Mexico and the United States of America).

The main aims of the organisation are:

u to protect human rights, parliamentary democracy and the rule of law in all member states;

u to develop continent-wide agreements for greater proximity between member countries’ social and legal practices; and

u to promote awareness of a European identity based on shared values and cutting across di#erent cultures.

Since November 1990, the accession of 22 countries of Central and Eastern Europe has given the Council of Europe a genuine pan-European dimension. Since then, its main job has been to act as a political anchor and human rights watchdog for Europe’s post- communist democracies, to assist them in carrying out and consoli-dating political, legal and constitutional reform in parallel with economic reform, and to provide know-how in areas such as human rights, local democracy, education, culture and the environment.

The Council of Europe has its permanent headquarters in Strasbourg (France). By statute, it has two constituent organs: the Committee of Ministers, composed of the Ministers for Foreign A#airs of the mem-ber states, and the Parliamentary Assembly, comprising delegations from the national parliaments.

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The 636 men and women who constitute the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (http://assembly.coe.int) come together four times a year from the parliaments of the Organisation’s member states to debate the issues of the moment, to request action from Europe’s governments, and to hold those governments to account for their acts. They speak on behalf the 800 million Europeans whom they represent on any subject they choose, and Europe’s governments – represented in the Council of Europe by the Committee of Ministers – are obliged to answer them. These parliamentarians are the democratic conscience of greater Europe.

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Introduction by José Mendes Bota,

Rapporteur of the PACE

In 2007, and again in 2008, the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) appointed me Rapporteur on the parliamentary dimension of the Council of Europe Campaign to Combat Violence against Women, including Domestic Violence. I took this task very seriously, which was an extremely important responsibility: there are apparently some 80 million women in Europe who are victims of such violence and it is one of the most widespread violations of human rights.

People who witness domestic violence may decide to turn a blind eye. Or they may decide to take action and to break the silence. The members of the PACE chose to do the latter and to commit them-selves to combating violence against women because it is unaccept-able that a woman should be the victim of her husband, her lover or her former partner and that he should go unpunished.

With the support of the PACE, my fellow parliamentarians and I have unceasingly denounced this crime. We held conferences, hearings and seminars, at regional, national and European level, and we have compared our experiences and shared our good practices. For almost two years, we did everything we could to mobilise national parlia-mentarians, especially men. We assessed existing legislation and in several countries, thanks to the untiring e#orts of parliamentarians who were determined to turn general principles into laws and practical measures, our e#orts led to amendments to laws in this "eld. I wish to extend my deepest gratitude to my colleagues, the members of national parliaments, for their commitment.

In preparing my "nal report on the assessment of the Council of Europe Campaign, I have reviewed and highlighted the wide range

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of activities conducted by the PACE and the contact parliamentarians in their respective countries. This record of their work underlines the commitment of national parliaments in upholding the Council of Europe’s values and we have good reason to be satis"ed with the activities conducted and the progress that has been made in this sphere. Some parliaments have adopted major, path-breaking legislation. Others have become aware of the gravity of this problem and have undertaken the legislative reforms required. Nevertheless, like Nyamko Sabuni, the Swedish Minister for Integration and Gender Equality, I "rmly believe that the Campaign closing conference was only “the end of the beginning”: the work done by not only parlia-mentarians but also governments, local and regional authorities and NGOs, must continue beyond the campaign. As long as women con-tinue to be subjected to violence merely because they are women, no country in Europe should give up the "ght.

I would like to encourage the PACE and the national parliaments to continue their e#orts over the following years and to continue taking action to uphold human rights and promote equality between women and men in all walks of life, including the right to happiness.

José Mendes Bota

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Activities conducted under the auspices of

the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council

of Europe

in the context of the Campaign to combat violence

against women, including domestic violence

(2006-2008)

For the "rst time since it was founded in 1949, the Council of Europe organised a pan-European campaign to combat violence against women, including domestic violence (hereafter referred to as the Campaign) aimed at 800 million Europeans, with the support of the Council’s three main pillars: the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which is "rmly committed to combating domestic violence against women, was the initiator of the Campaign. Following the report by Jean-Guy Branger (France, EPP/CD), adopted by the PACE in 2004, the Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the Council of Europe, meeting in Warsaw in May 2005, decided to launch a cam-paign to combat violence against women, including domestic violence, and made this issue a priority for the Organisation. At the invitation of the Spanish Senate, the Campaign was launched in Madrid on 27 November 2006, in the presence of José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Prime Minister of Spain, René van der Linden, President of the Parliamentary Assembly, Fiorenzo Stol", Chair of the Committee of Ministers and Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

National parliaments play a key role in adopting laws to protect the victims, punish the perpetrators and prevent domestic violence, and

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in monitoring the application of these laws. The Parliamentary Assembly has invested large amounts of "nancial and human resources to ensure the implementation of the parliamentary dimension of the Campaign and to encourage national parliaments to take an active part.

With the support of the Presidents of the PACE – first René van der Linden (Netherlands, EPP/CD) and then Lluís Maria de Puig (Spain, SOC) – and the PACE Bureau, the PACE Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (hereafter referred to as the

Committee on Equal Opportunities) took on responsibility for the implementation of the parliamentary dimension of the Campaign. A network of national contact parliamentarians, appointed in accord-ance with Resolution 1512 (2006) and organised in six regional groups1, ensured that the campaign was implemented by all the parliaments of Council of Europe member states and in the parlia-ments that have observer status with the PACE (Canada, Israel and Mexico).

The Parliamentary Assembly

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) played a key role throughout the Campaign, which ran from November 2006 to June 2008.

It helped organise the launching conference, which took place in Madrid on 27 November 2006 and, in a video message, the presidents of "ve parliaments (France, Norway, Romania, Ukraine and Canada) expressed their support for the Campaign. Marlene Rupprecht, member of the PACE and contact parliamentarian in respect of Germany, helped produce another video comprising "rst-hand accounts by victims of domestic violence, which was also presented in Madrid. Members of the Parliamentary Assembly took part in the various discussion panels at the conference. Some forty national parliamentarians, members of

1. The list of contact parliamentarians and the composition of the regional groups are appended.

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the PACE and the European Parliament, also attended the launching conference.

Adoption of texts by the PACE

At the initiative of the Committee on Equal Opportunities, the PACE adopted the following texts to launch the Campaign and support its implementation:

u Recommendation 1681 (2004) on the “Campaign to combat domestic violence against women in Europe”. Rapporteur: Jean-Guy Branger (France, EPP/CD). Doc. 10273 (16 September 2004).

u Resolution 1512 and Recommendation 1759 (2006) on “Parliaments united in combating domestic violence against women”. Rapporteur: Minodora Cliveti (Romania, SOC). Doc. 10934 (19 May 2006).

u Resolution 1582 and Recommendation 1817 (2007) on “Parliaments united in combating domestic violence against women: mid-term assessment of the campaign”. Rapporteur: José Mendes Bota, (Portugal, EPP/CD). Doc.11372 (13 September 2007).

José Mendes Bota (Portugal, EPP/CD), Rapporteur, prepared a report on “Combating violence against women: towards a Council of Europe convention” for debate by the PACE in October 2008.

The PACE Standing Committee adopted a solemn declaration on

violence against women (AS/Per (2006) 5) in San Marino on 17 November 2006 and a declaration on Involvement of men – a

crucial factor for change to combat violence against women, in Bratislava on 23 November 2007.

Pan-European parliamentary activities

The Parliamentary Assembly encouraged national parliaments to organise events in connection with commemorative days such as International Women’s Day (8 March), International Day for the

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Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November) and 16 Days

of Activism against gender violence, from 25 November to 10 December (International Human Rights Day).

The PACE has launched pan-European initiatives to encourage parlia-ments to adopt solemn declarations against domestic violence (25 November 2006), the holding of parliamentary hearings in con-nection with the Campaign (8 March 2007) and involve men in combating violence against women (25 November 2007), as 80% of the parliamentarians in Europe are men.

In June 2007 it also launched an on-line declaration, which was signed by over 100 parliamentarians across Europe.

Mobilisation of national delegations to the PACE

National delegations to the PACE were fully involved in the parlia-mentary dimension of the Campaign and made an active contribu-tion to its implementation:

u The Swedish delegation hosted the hearing on Parliaments united

in combating domestic violence against women in Stockholm on 30 March 2006, which provided the opportunity to prepare the Committee on Equal Opportunities’ contribution to the Council of Europe Campaign.

u The Austrian delegation hosted the meeting of regional group E, at the Austrian parliament on 16 October 2007, and helped to organise the closing conference on 30 April 2008 with the sup-port of Barbara Prammer, President of the Austrian Parliament and Head of the Austrian delegation, and Gisela Wurm contact parliamentarian (SOC).

u The Finnish delegation hosted the meeting of regional group A, at the Finnish Parliament on 10 October 2007, with the support of Sinikka Hurskainen (SOC), Head of Delegation, and Jukka Gustafsson, contact parliamentarian.

u The Bulgarian delegation hosted the meeting of regional group D, at the Bulgarian parliament on 29 November 2007, with the

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support of Younal Loutfi (ALDE), Head of Delegation, and Darinka Stantcheva (ALDE), contact parliamentarian.

u The Turkish delegation helped organise the hearing on Changing

mentalities: challenges and opportunities in Istanbul on 6 December 2007 with the support of Mevlüt Çavusoglu (EDG) and Gülsün Bilgehan (SOC), Chairperson of the Committee on Equal Opportunities and contact parliamentarian.

u At the initiative of the Head of Delegation, Jean-Claude Mignon (EPP/CD), the French delegation to the PACE and the Sub-Committee on Violence against Women held a joint colloquy in Paris on 15 May 2008 entitled Domestic violence against women:

prevention as the key to action, in the presence of Valérie Létard, the French State Secretary responsible for Solidarity, and Rama Yade, State Secretary responsible for Foreign A#airs and Human Rights.

Raising the awareness of members of the PACE attending

part- sessions and meetings of the PACE Standing Committee

At the initiative of the Committee on Equal Opportunities, the Assembly devoted the third meeting of women members of the

PACE in Strasbourg on 27 June 2006 to the Council of Europe Campaign. The meeting provided the opportunity for an exchange of views between Yakin Ertürk, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, and Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights.

The National Assembly of Serbia held a parliamentary round table on the role of parliament in promoting gender equality and combating

domestic violence to coincide with the meeting of the PACE Standing Committee in Belgrade on 23 May 2007. Gordana Čomić, contact parliamentarian for Serbia, Gülsün Bilgehan (Turkey, SOC), Chairperson of the Committee on Equal Opportunities, Lluís Maria de Puig (Spain, SOC) and Darinka Stantcheva (Bulgaria, ALDE) took part in the round table.

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The PACE and the Slovakian National Council held a parliamentary

round table entitled Combating domestic violence: men get involved in Bratislava on 22 November 2007, in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Social and Family A#airs of the Slovak Republic and the Council of Europe Information O>ce in Bratislava and with the par-ticipation of Martin Kuruc, contact parliamentarian for Slovakia, Gülsün Bilgehan (Turkey, SOC), Chairperson of the Committee on Equal Opportunities and Sinikka Hurskainen (Finland, SOC).

Finally, during each part session held between October 2006 and April 2008, an information stand was set up in the hall outside the Assembly chamber in Strasbourg to inform members of the PACE of the activities being conducted by national parliaments and contact parliamentarians and NGOs and providing campaign material.

Parliamentary dimension of the campaign

and international co-operation

In addition to co-operation with the parliaments which have observer status with the PACE, the Parliamentary Assembly invited inter- national parliamentary assemblies such as the Interparliamentary Union (IPU), the European Parliament and the Nordic Council to take part in the Council of Europe Campaign.

Interparliamentary Union

Fatma Pehlivan (Belgium), member of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, presented the parliamentary dimension of the Campaign at the IPU seminar, organised for the presiding o>cers and members of parliamentary bodies dealing with equality between women and men on “The role of parliamentary committees in gender mainstreaming and promoting the status of women” in Geneva on 5 December 2006.

At the side-event on “The role of parliaments in "nancing for gender equality”, held by the IPU to coincide with the Session of the UN Committee on the Status of Women in New York on 27 February 2008,

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Carina Hägg, Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Violence against Women, highlighted the parliamentary dimension of the Campaign. Carina Hägg and Swiss contact parliamentarian Doris Stump had discussions on that occasion with Yakin Ertürk, UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women.

The PACE Committee on Equal Opportunities declared its resolve to contribute to the campaign to intensify action to end violence against women and girls launched by Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General, on 25 February 2008 for the period 2008-2015, in conjunction with the Interparliamentary Union.

European Parliament

Anna Záborská, Chairperson of the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, and contact parliamentarian, addressed the PACE Committee on Equal Opportunities on the sub-ject of combating violence against women at several hearings. She also contributed to the launching conference in Madrid and the "nal conference in Vienna.

Minodora Cliveti, Chairperson of the Committee on Equal Opportunities, presented the parliamentary dimension of the Campaign at the meeting of the Network of Parliamentary Committees for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in Parliaments of the EU Member States (NCEO) held by the Finnish Presidency of the European Union in Helsinki on 1 November 2006.

Gülsün Bilgehan, Chairperson of the PACE Committee on Equal Opportunities, and Carina Hägg, Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Violence against Women, presented the “Parliaments united in combating domestic violence against women” project at the mini-hearing devoted to domestic violence organised by the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality of the European Parliament in Brussels on 11 April 2007.

Jean-Guy Branger, contact parliamentarian for France, presented the Council of Europe photo exhibition Breaking the silence on domestic

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violence at the French Senate from 24 June to 3 July 2008, in connec-tion with the meeting of the Network of Parliamentary Committees for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men held by the French presidency of the European Union in Paris on 3 July 2008.

Nordic Council

Carina Hägg presented the parliamentary dimension of the Campaign at a Nordic Council seminar in Helsinki on 30 January 2007.

The Nordic Council and the Baltic Assembly also decided to conduct joint activities in 2007 to support the parliamentary dimension of the Council of Europe Campaign.

The Nordic Council adopted a declaration on 25 September 2007 inviting the Nordic Council of Ministers to hold a regional conference in 2008 in connection of the Council of Europe Campaign.

Closer co-operation with the NGOs

Throughout the Campaign, the Parliamentary Assembly worked in close co-operation with NGOs. Amnesty International, the WAVE (Women against Violence Europe) Network, the United Kingdom’s White Ribbons Campaign, the European Women’s Lobby and the International Consortium for Domestic Violence contributed to parliamentary activities at national and European level. On 18 October 2006 the Bureaux of the Committee on Equal Opportunities and its Sub-Committee on Violence held a consultation meeting with these NGOs on the subject of The involvement of NGOs in the parlia-

mentary dimension of the Council of Europe campaign.

As part of its co-operation with the White Ribbon Campaign, the PACE and the contact parliamentarians widely distributed white ribbons

– a symbol of men’s involvement in combating domestic violence – over the two years of the Campaign. On several occasions the PACE also invited Chris Green, Director of the White Ribbon Campaign, to meet its members to discuss men’s role in combating domestic violence.

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Debates on the implementation of the parliamentary dimension of the Campaign were regularly held with members of the “Gender Equality” Grouping of the INGOs which hold participatory status with the Council of Europe.

PACE awareness-raising activities

aimed at the general public

The Assembly, with the participation of Amnesty International Strasbourg and the support of the City of Strasbourg, organised a

screening of the film Te doy mis ojos at the Odyssée cinema in Strasbourg on 7 December 2006 attended by 200 people in the presence of Ms de Boer Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General, Mr Mateo Sorinas, Secretary General of the Assembly and representatives of Amnesty International Strasbourg.

The PACE also organised a screening of the film Mutluluk by Abdullah Oguz (Turkey, 2007) in Strasbourg on 20 January 2008. It was followed by a debate in the presence of Zülfü Livaneli, artist and author of the novel on which the "lm was based, Gülsün Bilgehan, Chairperson of the PACE Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, Jean-Guy Branger, contact parliamentarian for France, Yavuz Mildon, President of the Chamber of Regions of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, and Temucin Tüzecan, Director of Communication of the Hürriyet group and instigator of the awareness-raising campaign launched by the Turkish daily Hürriyet to combat violence against women. The debate was chaired by Kayhan Karaca, journalist for NTV-MSNBC.

The Parliamentary Assembly took part in the lunchtime debate on how to mobilise male parliamentarians to combat violence against women, organised by the Madariaga European Foundation for the College of Europe in Brussels on 4 March 2008 as part of International Women’s Day. Two members of the PACE, Kent Olsson (Sweden, EPP/CD) and Nursuna Memecan (Turkey, ALDE) and the MEP Raül Romeva i Rueda (Spain, Greens/EFA) held an exchange of views in the presence of Axelle Red, Belgian singer and Goodwill Ambassador

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for UNICEF. Some sixty representatives of European NGOs based in Brussels also contributed to the debate.

Activities of the Committee on Equal Opportunities

for Women and Men

The PACE Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, chaired successively by Minodora Cliveti (Romania, SOC), Gülsün Bilgehan (Turkey, SOC) and Steingrímur J. Sigfùsson (Iceland, EUL), was responsible for managing the parliamentary dimension of the Campaign with the support of its Sub-Committee on Violence against Women, chaired by Carina Hägg (Sweden, SOC). From 2006 to 2008, the Committee was charged with proposing strategies for the PACE, preparing reports and texts for adoption, mobilising parliamentarians in countering violence against women and facilitating the pooling of information on the parliamentary activities planned in the course of the Campaign (questionnaire of 15 January 2007) and preparing the evaluation of the implementation of the seven key legislative measures identi"ed in Resolution 1582 (2007) by sending a question-naire to all of the national delegations of the PACE, to which 40 parliamentary delegations replied. The results of the evaluation can be found on the website of the parliamentary dimension of the Campaign and were presented at the closing conference of the par-liamentary dimension of the Campaign, which took place in Vienna on 30 April 2008 and was attended by 140 participants.

Hearings held by the Committee on Equal Opportunities

The hearing on Parliaments united in combating domestic violence

against women was held by the PACE Sub-Committee on Violence against Women in Stockholm on 30 March 2006 to decide how the PACE and national parliaments would be involved in the Campaign and facilitate the exchange of good parliamentary practices in this "eld. The exchange of views was attended by Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thomas Bodström, the Swedish Minister of Justice, and Hilary Fisher, Vice-Chairperson of

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the Council of Europe Task Force to Combat Violence against Women, including Domestic Violence.

Following the launching of the Campaign, the Committee meeting held in Madrid on 28 November 2006 focused mainly on the launch-ing of the parliamentary dimension of the Campaign, in the presence of the Gender Task Force of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe and Amnesty International.

The PACE Committee on Equal Opportunities, chaired by Gülsün Bilgehan, met in Istanbul on 6 December 2007 for a hearing on the subject: Changing mentalities: challenges and opportunities. The hearing concerned the role of the Turkish media and men’s par-ticipation in combating violence against women in Europe. It was preceded by an exchange of views with Nimet Çubukçu, State Minister for Women and Family A#airs of Turkey.

The Committee on Equal Opportunities held an exchange of views on a possible international treaty on domestic violence in

Strasbourg on 17 April 2008, with the participation of Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, and Jan Kleijssen, Director of Standard-Setting, Directorate General of Human Rights and Legal A#airs.

The Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men’s

contribution to the Council of Europe Campaign

The Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men pro-posed Hilary Fisher as member of the Council of Europe Task Force to combat violence against women, including domestic violence and she became Chair of the Task Force as from March 2007. The Committee on Equal Opportunities took an active part in the meetings of the Task Force and of the Steering Committee for Equality (CDEG).

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The Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men sup-ported and contributed to the activities organised by the Council of Europe Directorate of Human Rights and Legal A#airs:

u Contribution by Carina Hägg, Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on violence against Women and contact parliamentarian in respect of Sweden, to the "rst regional seminar on legal meas-ures to combat violence against women, including domestic violence (The Hague, 21-22 February 2007)

u Contribution by Carina Hägg to the 2nd regional seminar on men’s active participation in combating domestic violence

(Zagreb, 9-10 May 2007)

u Contribution by José Mendes Bota, Rapporteur on the Campaign and contact parliamentarian for Portugal, to the 3rd regional

seminar on data collection as a prerequisite for e#ective policies to combat violence against women, including domestic violence (Lisbon, 5 July 2007)

u Contribution by Gülsün Bilgehan, Chairperson of the PACE Committee on Equal Opportunities and contact parliamentarian for Turkey, to the 4th regional seminar on protection and spe-cialised support for victims of domestic violence (Skopje, 11-12 September 2007)

u Contribution by Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold, contact parliamen-tarian for Switzerland, to the 5th regional seminar on support and protection for victims of domestic violence (Espoo, 8-9 October 2007).

u Contribution by Paul Wille (Belgium, ALDE), Vice-President of the PACE, and several members of the PACE to the Closing Conference of the Campaign held in Strasbourg on 10 and

11 June 2008. On this occasion the Parliamentary Assembly held a parliamentary round table, chaired by José Mendes Bota, Rapporteur of the PACE, and presented the initial results of the parliamentary dimension of the Campaign.

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Network of contact parliamentarians

The network of contact parliamentarians was set up in Strasbourg at the 1st co-ordination meeting of contact parliamentarians involved in the parliamentary dimension of the Campaign. 56 parlia-

mentarians from parliaments of member states and states holding observer status with the Council of Europe, members of the European Parliament and the Nordic Council, joined the network, which was divided into six regional groups. Over 200 parliamentary events

were organised as a result.

Co-ordination meetings and regional group seminars

At the "rst co-ordination meeting, on 19 October 2006, all the contact parliamentarians appointed by national parliaments were informed of the main thrusts of the Campaign, the activities that could be conducted at parliamentary level and the tools available to them. Six national co-ordinators were appointed to manage a regional network of contact parliamentarians during the Campaign. The list of contact parliamentarians and regional co-ordinators is appended.

On 4 June 2007 the Assembly held the second co-ordination meet-

ing of contact parliamentarians involved in the parliamentary dimen-sion of the Council of Europe campaign, followed on 5 June by a joint meeting with the national contact points on facilitating interaction and joint activities at national level.

The regional groups met in:

u Strasbourg, on 5 October 2007 (groups C and F);

u Helsinki, on 10 October 2007 (group A);

u Vienna, on 16 October 2007 (group E);

u Paris, on 28 November 2007 (group B);

u So"a, on 29 November 2007 (group D).

The main aims of these meetings were to present the seven key legislative measures identi"ed by the PACE in Resolution 1582 (2007),

22

consider how they could be implemented and suggest ways of improving national laws.

The Final Conference of the parliamentary dimension of the Campaign (Vienna, 30 April 2008) provided the opportunity to assess the activities conducted by the PACE and national parliaments as part of the Campaign and to consider future activities to combat violence against women. On this occasion, the participants adopted the Vienna declaration and called for the drafting of a Council of Europe framework convention to combat violence against women, including domestic violence. The results and proposed future activ-ities were set out in the "nal report on the assessment of the imple-mentation of the parliamentary dimension of the Campaign prepared by the Rapporteur José Mendes Bota and presented at the 4th part session of the Parliamentary Assembly in October 2008.

Communication and liaison tools available

to the network of contact parliamentarians

u Handbook for parliamentarians

The Committee on Equal Opportunities prepared a Handbook for parliamentarians to facilitate and support the work of parlia- mentarians involved in combating domestic violence. The handbook makes recommendations with regard to awareness-raising activities and suggests legislative and standard-setting measures.

The initial version of the Handbook for parliamentarians involved in combating domestic violence was published in 2006, in French and English. It was widely distributed to parliamentarians in all the parlia-ments of member states and countries holding observer status with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

With the support of national parliaments, Council of Europe informa-tion o>ces and NGOs, the handbook has been translated into 10 other languages: Albanian, German, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Polish, Macedonian, Romanian, Slovenian, Swedish and Turkish. The 12

23

language versions can be found on the website of the parliamentary dimension of the Campaign.

A revised version, including good parliamentary practices developed during the Campaign, will be published in late 2008.

u Internet site

The Parliamentary Assembly has set up an internet site on the parlia-mentary dimension of the Campaign (http://assembly.coe.int/stop-violence) where all the activities conducted by contact parliamentar-ians, the Campaign news, initiatives supported by the PACE, reference texts, podcasts by the Campaign rapporteur and regional co- ordinators can be found. The site constitutes a database and tool for networking the activities of contact parliamentarians.

u Newsletters

A newsletter was prepared for each of the PACE part-sessions in Strasbourg and was distributed to members of the PACE and the general public. The newsletter included information on the activities carried out by the network of contact parliamentarians, new initia-tives and the highlights of the session with regard to combating violence against women. The six issues of the newsletter are available on the website of the parliamentary dimension of the Campaign.

u Campaign material

Campaign posters targeting parliamentarians were prepared in the working languages of the PACE (English, French, German, Italian and Russian) and, thanks to the assistance of national parliaments, were also translated into various other languages. White ribbons, bags, notepads, pens, post-its, USB keys and umbrellas were also made available to parliamentarians and NGOs.

u Council of Europe photo exhibition

The PACE and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, in co-operation with the Directorate of

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Communication and Research of the Council of Europe, held an exhibi-tion of photographs taken by Sandro Weltin, entitled Breaking the silence

on domestic violence. The exhibition included statements by six members of the PACE expressing their support for women who are victims of domestic violence. It was opened at the April 2007 part-session by Gülsün Bilgehan, Chairperson of the PACE Committee on Equal Opportunities and Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, in the pres-ence of Nicola Duckworth, Director of Amnesty International’s Europe and Central Asia programme. It was also presented in Belgrade, Sarajevo, So"a, Stockholm and Paris and Strasbourg.

The travelling exhibition was translated into several languages, thanks to the assistance of the Council of Europe information o>ces in Belgrade, Sarajevo and So"a, and was also presented in Novi Sad, Belgrade/Palilula (Serbia), Burgas, Lovech, Rousse, Sandanski, Silistra, Sliven, Turgovishe and Varna (Bulgaria). Thanks to the support provided by the Swiss Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it was also presented in the post o>ces of Banja Luka, Mrkonjic Grad, Trebinje, East Sarajevo, Dobo and Bijeljina. An electronic version of the Council of Europe photo exhibition can be found on the Campaign website.

25

Actions conducted by national parliaments

in implementing the parliamentary dimension of

the Council of Europe Campaign to combat violence

against women, including domestic violence

(2006-2008)

Contact parliamentarians carrying out the parliamentary dimension of the Council of Europe Campaign implemented over two years more than 200 activities. These events are classi"ed by country, in chronological order.

Legend of ideograms

Activities promoting visibility in the media (radio, televi-sion, newspapers, Internet

Seminars and conferences

Application of the seven minimum standards de"ned by the PACE in its Resolution 1582 (2007)

Adoption of legislative texts

Internation co-operation

Parliamentarians’ awareness-raising action

Involvement of men

26

Albania

Contribution by the Speaker of the Albanian Parliament, Joze"na Çoba Topalli, to a television spot broadcast on all national channels to mark 25 November 2007, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and to promote the Council of Europe campaign.

Launching by Ms Topalli of an SMS campaign in co-operation with the mobile telephone service operators in order to send every Albanian citizen the campaign motto.

Setting up of a men-only parliamentary sub-committee to combat domestic violence.

Translation and publication of the handbook for parliamentarians in Albanian by the Council of Europe information o>ce.

Andorra

Adoption of the Manifesto against domestic violence by parliament (General Council) in the presence of the President of the Parliament, the representatives and the Government on 24 November 2006.

Press conference given by the Vice-President of the Parliament and Maria Rosa Ferrer Obiols on the launch of the Council of Europe campaign on 19 April 2007 and presentation of the campaign

material translated into Catalan. Organisation of a round table with representatives of the Parliament, the Government, regional institu-tions and NGOs.

Inauguration of the travelling exhibition on domestic violence, 1 October 2007.

27

Conference on the probation issues in the criminal procedure related to cases of domestic abuse, 14 November 2007.

Call for male parliamentarians to join in the initiative “Men get involved to combat domestic violence” by the parliamentary action group on the campaign against domestic violence, 13 December 2007. Four male parliamentarians out of 21 answered the call.

Holding of a round of meetings with experts to evaluate the Andorran Penal Code and suggest the necessary reforms to bring the legislation into line with PACE Resolution 1582 (2007) in January and February 2008.

Organisation of a lecture series on domestic violence for "nal-year secondary school pupils with the participation of José Sanmartin, Director of the Reina Sofía Centre, in May 2008.

Establishment of a network of male parliamentarians included in the group of women parliamentarians.

Publication of a study on the pro"le of culprits of domestic violence by the Parliament in September 2008.

Austria

O#cial launch of the Council of Europe campaign by Barbara Prammer, President of the National Council (legislative assembly), 4 December 2006.

Contribution by Gisela Wurm to the magazine published by Wave Office / European Info Centre against Violence in October 2007 (Fempower no. 12).

Meeting of Regional Group E of contact parliamentarians at the invitation of the Austrian Parliament, 16 October 2007.

28

International conference “Stop domestic violence against women: 10 years of Austrian anti-violence legislation in the international context” from 5 to 7 November 2007 in the Austrian Parliament.

Issuance of a petition by Gisela Wurm to enlist male parliament-arians’ support, on the occasion of the National Council session, 6 December 2007.

Organisation of the Closing Conference of the parliamentary dimension of the Council of Europe campaign at the invitation of the Austrian Parliament, attended by Alfred Gusenbauer, Chancellor and Barbara Prammer, President of the National Council. Presentation of the exhibition “Behind the appearances”.

Translation of the handbook for parliamentarians into German by the NGO WAVE.

Azerbaijan

Public hearing dedicated to the Council of Europe campaign and chaired by the Vice-President of the Parliament Bahar Muradova, 21 December 2006.

Organisation of a series of conferences on domestic violence in the presence of Gular Ahmadova and the Deputy Minister of the Interior together with most presiding judges of the capital’s district courts in February and March 2007.

Organisation of the conference “Stop domestic violence against women” dedicated to the Council of Europe campaign, at the request of Gular Ahmadova, in the presence of parliamentarians and repre-sentatives of the Council of Europe, the United Nations, the police force and the university, 11 April 2007.

Public hearing on the "ght against domestic violence, in the pres-ence of the Vice-President of the Parliament Bahar Muradova and the

29

Deputy Speaker of the Estonian Parliament Kristiina Ojuland, 31 March 2008.

Belgium

Adoption of the House of Representatives and Senate resolution on the Council of Europe campaign, 23 November 2006. The debate ended with a press conference given by Colette Burgeon, Chairperson of the advisory committee on women’s emancipation to the House of Representatives and Fatma Pehlivan, Chairperson of the Senate advisory committee on equal opportunities for women and men.

Plenary meeting in the Senate and the House of Representatives on the campaign against domestic violence.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Adoption of a resolution on combating domestic violence against women.

Inauguration of the Council of Europe photo exhibition “Stop domes-tic violence against women” and launch of the national campaign with the slogan “Choose the brighter side of life” on 30 November 2007, followed by a press conference with Vinko Zorić, Chairperson of the parliamentary committee on equal opportunities.

Ceremonial session of the Committee on Gender Equality of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH on the occasion of International Women’s Day dedicated to the battle for the advancement of wom-en’s rights, including action against domestic violence, on 7 March 2008. Fund-raising in parliament for the bene"t of a “Safe Shelter”.

30

Presentation and promotion of the national strategy for preventing and combating domestic violence against women in parliament in June 2008.

Bulgaria

Press conference in parliament for the launch of the campaign, in the presence of the representatives of the parliamentary groups, organised by Darinka Stantcheva, contact parliamentarian, 24 November 2006.

Solemn ceremony in parliament followed by the adoption of a declaration in support of the Council of Europe campaign “Parliaments united in combating domestic violence against women”, 8 December 2006.

Meeting of Regional Group D of contact parliamentarians at the invitation of the Bulgarian Parliament on 29 November 2007 and inauguration of the Council of Europe photo exhibition in the national library. It was later shown in Burgas, Lovech, Rousse, Sandanski, Silistra, Sliven, Turgovishe and Varna.

Presentation of the Council of Europe photo exhibition in four regions of Bulgaria (September-December 2008).

Round table in parliament on “Public attitudes and domestic vio-lence: role of NGOs” in November 2008.

Croatia

Organisation of a round table on prevention of sexual violence against women organised by the parliamentary committee on equal opportunities, 23 November 2006.

31

Observation of one minute’s silence in tribute to the victims of domestic violence on 24 November 2006, on a motion by the Speaker of the Parliament.

Contribution to the Council of Europe regional seminar by Gordana Sobol, Chairperson of the parliamentary committee on gender equality, on men’s active participation in combating domes-tic violence, organised in Zagreb on 9 and 10 March 2007.

Thematic meeting of the parliamentary committee on gender equal-ity to promote the Council of Europe campaign and the national campaign on prevention of domestic violence followed by a press

conference given by Gordana Sobol, Chairperson of the parliamen-tary committee on gender equality, 15 March 2007.

Cyprus

Contribution by the Speaker of the Parliament, Demetris Christo"as, to the o>cial launching conference of the Council of Europe cam-paign in the House of Representatives, 23 November 2006.

Special meeting of the House Standing Committee on Equal Opportunities between Men and Women introduced by the Speaker of the Parliament, Demetris Christofias, and Sotiroula Charalambous on the theme of action against domestic violence, 24 November 2006.

Exchange of views in the House Standing Committee on Equal Opportunities between Men and Women on the future action plan to be adopted in liaison with the Council of Europe campaign, 7 February 2007.

Conference on prevention of domestic violence introduced by the President of the House of Representatives, Demetris Christo"as, the party leaders and the Minister of Justice and Public Order Sofoclis Sofocleous, 1 March 2007. On that occasion, the Council of Europe

32

campaign spots were broadcast, the Council of Europe campaign material was translated into Greek and distributed to the participants.

Formal session of Parliament devoted to the prevention of domes-tic violence on the occasion of International Women’s Day, 8 March 2007.

Contribution of Sotiroula Charalambous, Chairperson of the House Standing Committee on Equal Opportunities between Men and Women, to the joint meeting of contact parliamentarians and national focal points of the campaign and presentation of the “Multi-agency co-operation to combat violence against women”, based on the Cyprus experience, 5 June 2007.

Issuance of a petition by Antigoni Papadopoulos, member of PACE, entitled “Real men do not commit violence against women” sup-ported by 200 prominent men (ministers, members of parliament, senior o>cials) in April 2008.

Czech Republic

Participation by Anna Čurdova in a television programme (talk show) on the national channel directed especially at women on the Council of Europe campaign and the issue of preventing domestic violence, November 2006.

Press conference by the President of the Parliament, Miloslav Vlček and Anna Čurdova for the launch of the Council of Europe campaign, 5 December 2006.

Press conference in Parliament on “Human rights = women’s rights”, 27 December 2006.

Public hearing in Parliament to mark International Women’s Day, 7 March 2007.

33

International conference in the Chamber of Deputies “What will happen then? When the dissolution of partnership doesn’t mean the end of domestic violence”, 21 November 2007.

Denmark

Public hearing on action against domestic violence, 2 March 2007.

Finland

Presentation of the parliamentary dimension of the Council of Europe campaign by the Chairperson of the PACE Committee on Equal Opportunities, Minodora Cliveti at the meeting of the Network of Parliamentary Committees for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in Parliaments of the EU Member States organised by the Finnish Presidency of the European Union on 1st November 2006.

Meeting of Regional Group A of contact parliamentarians at the invitation of the Finnish Parliament, 10 September 2007.

Joint public hearing of the parliamentary committees on employ-ment and gender equality devoted to prevention of domestic violence, organised by Jukka Gustafsson, contact parliamentarian, on 6 November 2007.

Public event against domestic violence against women in the parlia-ment, associating all political parties, organised by Jukka Gustafsson, contact parliamentarian, on 2 April 2008.

International conference on domestic violence held in parliament with the participation of the President of the Republic, Tarja Halonen, 8 April 2008.

34

France

Message of support from Christian Poncelet, President of the Senate, on the occasion of the launch of the Council of Europe campaign on 27 November 2006 in Madrid.

Letter from Christian Poncelet, President of the Senate, to all Senators, informing them about the launch of the Paneuropean campaign on 27 November 2006 and the appointment of Jean-Guy Branger as contact parliamentarian and regional co- ordinator, 5 February 2007.

Letter from Jean-Guy Branger, contact parliamentarian, to all Senators, informing them about Resolution 1512 and Recommendation 1759 (2006), 13 February 2007.

Letter from Jean-Guy Branger, contact parliamentarian, to all Senators inviting them to sign the declaration “Parliaments of Europe mobilised to combat domestic violence against women”, 5 July 2007.

Visit by the Senate delegation for women’s rights to the facilities of the overseas Département of La Réunion for sheltering victims of violence committed by men, 18-21 October 2007.

Meeting of Regional Group B of contact parliamentarians convened by Jean-Guy Branger, 28 November 2007.

Presentation of the stage play “L’autre guerre” in Dammarie-les-Lys followed by a debate organised by Jean-Claude Mignon, Head of the French delegation to PACE, to make "eld workers aware of violence to women, 18 December 2007.

Parliamentary colloquy organised by the French delegation to PACE and the PACE Sub-Committee on Violence against Women entitled “Domestic violence against women: prevention as the key to action”, with the participation of Valérie Létard, French Secretary of State

35

responsible for Solidarity and Rama Yade, Secretary of State respon-sible for Foreign A#airs and Human Rights, 15 May 2008.

Inauguration of the Council of Europe photo exhibition in the Senate at the initiative of Jean-Guy Branger on 24 June 2008, on the occasion of the meeting of the Network of Parliamentary Committees for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in Parliaments of the EU Member States organised by the French Presidency of the European Union.

Posting of web blog by Jean-Guy Mr Branger: www.stop-aux-vio-lences-domestiques.com in February 2007.

Germany

Welcome address of the Bundestag President Dr. Norbert Lammert dedicated to the campaign, on the occasion of the visit of PACE President René van der Linden, 30 November 2006. Dr Lammert, backed by the "ve political groups, committed the members of the Bundestag to supporting the objectives of the campaign.

Interview of PACE President René van der Linden relating in par-ticular to the Council of Europe campaign, published by the weekly newspaper Das Parlament, 5 December 2006.

Adoption by the parliament of the Federal Government second action plan on violence against women on 28 September 2007.

Debate in Parliament on the theme of the 6th report of the Federal Republic of Germany on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 7 March 2008.

36

Greece

Contribution to the debate in Parliament by Maria Kollia-Tsaroucha, Chairperson of the parliamentary committee on equality and human rights on the adoption of measures combating domestic violence, November 2006.

Hungary

Presentation of the exhibition “Stop violence – Council of Europe campaigns against violence” organised by the Council of Europe Information and Documentation Centre in the Parliament Building, 31 January 2007-30 March 2007.

Commemoration on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in the plenary session of the Parliament, including an address of Katalin Szili, Speaker, and addresses from Klara Sandor, member of parliament and contact parliamentarian, and Monika Lampert, Minister of Social Affairs and Labour, 25 November 2007.

Final conference of the Hungarian campaign against domestic vio-lence in parliament, 1 April 2008.

Translation and publication of the handbook for parliamentarians in Hungarian.

Iceland

Amendment of the General Penal Code in order to address domestic violence more competently (2006). Violence perpetrated

37

between (former) partners is since then regarded as an aggravating circumstance under criminal law.

Amendment of the Act on Foreigners, particularly addressing the situation of foreign victims of a domestic violence (2008). The aim of the amendment is to grant foreigners, who otherwise do not meet conditions for obtaining a separate residence permit, the right to obtain such a permit if separating from their spouse as a result of domestic violence.

Introduction of an amendment in 2007 to include the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure on restraining order in a separate Act. In association with the new bill of law, provisions regarding removal of a violent spouse and barring order are being consid-ered.

Endorsement by the parliament of the 2006-2011 Action Plan of the Government of Iceland to Combat Domestic and Sexual Violence.

Preparation underway to establish a group of male parliamentarians

who are committed to combating violence against women.

Publication of a press article by Steingrímur J. Sigfússon, Chairperson of the PACE Committee on Equal Opportunities, on the parliamentary dimension of the Council of Europe campaign, 8 March 2008.

Ireland

Meeting of the parliamentary Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women’s Rights to mark the parliamentary day of action, in the presence of groups opposing domestic violence, 17 January 2007.

38

Italy

Launching conference of the Council of Europe campaign and parliamentary day of action against gender-based violence at the initiative of Titti de Simone, contact parliamentarian, 23 November 2006.

Liechtenstein

Launching of a poster campaign at the initative of Women’s House of Liechtenstein and in co-operation with the Parliament, 24 November 2006.

Press conference by Renate Wohlwend, head of Liechtenstein’s PACE delegation and Gebhard Negele after the tabling of a question on domestic violence to the government on 19 September 2007.

Lithuania

Extraordinary parliamentary session on the theme “Stop domestic violence” and adoption of a resolution moved by the Speaker, Viktoras Muntianas, and Marija Aušrinė Pavilionienė, 24 November 2006.

Presentation of a proposal for a law on family violence by Marija Aušrinė Pavilionienė, 28 June 2007.

Organisation of a conference “Stop domestic violence” in parliament by Marija Aušrinė Pavilionienė, 28 October 2007.

Translation and publication of the handbook for parliamentarians in Lithuanian.

39

Luxembourg

Adoption of a resolution on domestic violence, 23 November 2006.

Malta

Distribution of white ribbons to parliamentarians on 25 November 2007.

Moldova

Conference to launch the campaign in parliament with the support of the OSCE, 22 November 2006.

Adoption of a statement by the parliament publicly and explicitly domestic violence, 24 November 2006.

Adoption by the parliament of the Act creating the Ministry of Social Protection, Family and Child, 24 November 2006. This Ministry is a main public authority entitled to ensure the development and pro-motion of the policy for family reinforcement, prevention of domes-tic violence, protection and assistance to victims and aggressors.

Adoption by the parliament of the Domestic Violence Prevention and Combating Act, based on the recommendations provided by the Council of Europe and the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 1 March 2007.

Presentation of a photo exposition on Childhood without violence, portraying children from di#erent Moldovan municipalities, organised

40

by the Moldovan Parliament, in partnership with UNICEF, in the par-liamentary hall.

Participation of several members of parliament in various radio and TV broadcasts where the issues of domestic violence and violence towards women and children have been tackled.

Organisation of a concert in support, given by the national philhar-monic orchestra, to mark the Action Day to stop domestic violence against women, 9 November 2007.

Establishment of a network of male parliamentarians.

Monaco

Adoption of a solemn declaration against domestic violence by the National Council on the initiative of Catherine Fautrier, 11 December 2006.

Address by the President of the Parliament, Stéphane Valeri, in hon-our of International Women’s Day, 8 March 2007.

Organisation by the Parliament of the working group of "eld oper-ators combating domestic violence, 10 May 2007.

Celebration of the International Day against domestic violence in parliament, 25 November 2007.

Statement by the President of the Parliament, Stéphane Valeri, to mark International Women’s Day, 7 March 2008.

Adoption of bill 190 on prevention of domestic violence, 29 April 2008.

41

Norway

Formal session in Parliament on fighting domestic violence, 24 November 2006.

Message of support from Thorbjörn Jagland, President of the Storting, at the launch of the Council of Europe Campaign on 27 November 2006 in Madrid.

Poland

Approval by the Polish parliament of an interministerial Programme to combat violence in the family (2006-2016), including violence against women, which includes a yearly monitoring procedure by the parliament, September 2005. Several support and educational actions addressing victims and perpetrators have been undertaken since then to implement this Programme. In this context a wide campaign was organised in 2007 to combat violence in the family.

Special debate in the Senate on the situation of women in Poland, dedicated to prevention of violence and organised at the call of Urszula Gacek, contact parliamentarian, 21 February 2007.

Regular exchanges of views in the group of women parliamentar-ians on preventing domestic violence against women at the invitation of Mirosława Nykiel, contact parliamentarian.

Translation and publication of the handbook for parliamentarians in Polish.

42

Portugal

Parliamentary debate in plenary session to launch the European campaign to combat domestic violence against women, 7 December 2006.

Formation of a multi-party parliamentary working group against domestic violence, co-ordinated by José Mendes Bota, contact par-liamentarian.

Statement by Helena Pinto in plenary session of the parliament on the issue of domestic violence, 15 March 2007.

Parliamentary debate and adoption, unanimously and by accla-

mation, in plenary session of the parliament of the Resolution in support of the Council of Europe campaign, 12 April 2007.

Public hearing in parliament on the "ght against domestic violence, 24 April 2007.

1st regional seminar and study visit by the parliamentary working group to Bragança, 25 June 2007.

Contribution by José Mendes Bota to the Council of Europe regional seminar on collection of data as the prerequisite for e#ective policies to combat violence against women organised in Lisbon on 5 July 2007.

Statement by José Mendes Bota at the closing session of parliament on the theme of domestic violence, 27 July 2007.

Parliamentary debate in plenary session on the protection against gender-based violence, 18 October 2007.

2nd regional seminar and study visit by the parliamentary working group in Faro (Algarve), 12 November 2007.

43

Dispatch to each member of parliament of a letter from José Mendes Bota calling upon them to form a network of male parlia-mentarians involved in combating domestic violence, 25 November 2007.

Organisation of 11 seminars in the context of the 16 days of activ-ism in 2007 involving the members of the parliamentary working group co-ordinated by José Mendes Bota (intervention of parliamen-tarians in schools and universities), 25 November to 10 December 2008.

Parliamentary debate in plenary session on electronic vigilance against domestic violence against women, 19 December 2007.

3rd regional seminar and study visit by the parliamentary working group in Ponta Delgada (Azores Autonomous Region), 4 April 2008.

Statement by Maria do Rosário Carneiro in plenary session of the parliament on the issue of homicides of women in Portugal, 7 May 2008.

4th regional seminar and study visit by the parliamentary working group to Santarem, 12 May 2008.

Debate in Parliament on the outcome of the Council of Europe cam-paign, 18 July 2008, during which José Mendes Bota presented the activity report of the working group in charge of organising the participation of the Portuguese parliament in the campaign against domestic violence.

Translation of the Council of Europe campaign material into Portuguese and distribution of 7 500 posters in public places.

Creation of a website dedicated to domestic violence by José Mendes Bota. (www.parlamento.pt/violenciadomestica).

Creation of a travelling exhibition on domestic violence, which was presented to the public in 5 cities in Portugal (Lisbon, Bragança, Alfândega da Fé, Faro and Santarém).

44

Romania

Adoption of a solemn declaration on the occasion of the parliamentary day of action against domestic violence by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate during the joint session, 23 November 2006.

Message of support from Nicolae Vacaroiu, President of the Senate, at the launch of the Council of Europe campaign on 27 November 2006 in Madrid.

Conference organised by the Parliament in co-operation with the Sensiblu foundation “When you lose your control, the other may lose his life”, 24 November 2006.

Debate in Parliament on preventing and combating domestic vio-lence for real protection of victims, 29 November 2006.

Debate in Parliament on the priority or otherwise of violence against women in Romania, 13 December 2006.

Inauguration of the photo exhibition on women’s issues in parlia-ment, 10 March 2007.

Adoption of amendments to Law No. 217/2003 by the parliamentary committee on equal opportunities for women and men on 27 July 2007, followed by a press conference on the project “Public affairs and transparent financing of action against domestic violence”.

Launch of the national campaign “Stop domestic violence” in par-liament, in partnership with the Council of Europe information o>ce and the national agency for family welfare, 28 November 2007.

Inauguration of an exhibition of cartoons by Romanian artists on the theme of violence against women in parliament at the initiative of the committee on equal opportunities of the Chamber of Deputies, chaired by Minodora Cliveti, 4 December 2007. It ended with the

45

presentation of diplomas to media and voluntary sector personalities for their action.

Round table on the theme “Stop domestic violence” organised by the Council of Europe information office and the Parliament, 10 December 2007.

Contribution by Cornelia Cazacu to the 9th awareness-raising cam-paign on combating family violence against women, 17 December 2007.

Translation and publication of the handbook for parliamentarians in Romanian.

San Marino

Session of the Grand and General Council and adoption by acclam-

ation of a solemn declaration against domestic violence against women, 24 November 2006.

Public hearing at Grand and General Council dedicated to the o>cial launch of the Council of Europe campaign against domestic violence against women, 29 November 2006.

Public hearing to present the proceedings of the Conference organ-ised on 15 May 2007 in the framework of the campaign, on the issue “protection of the child victim of violence”, 31 October 2007.

Public hearing, in the framework of the International Day to eliminate violence against women, to present the book “Simplex homo: evolu-tion of women’s consciousness in history”, 23 November 2007.

Organisation of a concert on the occasion of the International Day to eliminate violence against women, 25 November 2007.

Public hearing to present the proceedings of the Conference organised on 24 March 2007 on “Women victims of stalking”, 23 April 2008.

46

Adoption of the Law No. 97/2008 on Prevention and eradication of

violence against women and gender-based violence, 20 June 2008.

Serbia

Inauguration of the Council of Europe photo exhibition at the Sava Centre in Belgrade in May 2007 in the presence of René van der Linden, President of the PACE, Oliver Dulić, President of the National Assembly of Serbia, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe and Ambassador Sladjana Prica, Permanent Representative of Serbia to the Council of Europe. It was subsequently shown in Novi Sad.

Round table on parliament’s role in promoting gender equality and combating domestic violence organised by the Parliament and the PACE, 23 May 2007.

Inauguration by Gordana Čomić of the Council of Europe photo exhibition at the o>cial opening of the Palilula municipality’s o>ce for gender equality and psycho-social and legal aid to victims of violence, 21 September 2007.

Slovakia

Message from the Speaker of the Parliament to the leaders of the political groups calling upon them to help to ful"l the goals de"ned in the PACE Resolution 1512 (2006), October 2006

Adoption of a motion on domestic violence against women by the Committee on Human Rights, Nationalities and the Status of Women of the National Council, 7 December 2006.

47

Letter from the Chairman of the Committee on Human Rights, National Minorities and the Status of Women to the editors-in-chief of the main electronic and print media calling on them to pay the highest possible attention to the problem of violence against women, January 2007.

Debate in parliament on the government report evaluating the national action plan for the prevention and elimination of violence against women for the period 2005-2008, 21 September 2007.

Round table on “Combating domestic violence against women: men get involved” organised by the Parliament and PACE on 23 May 2007, in co-operation with the Ministry of Labour and Social and Family A#airs of the Slovak Republic and the Council of Europe information o>ce in Bratislava, 22 November 2007.

Adoption of a motion on the PACE Vienna Declaration by the Committee on Human Rights, National Minorities and the Status of Women declaring its support for the commitments listed in the Declaration, 4 September 2008.

Slovenia

Adoption of a solemn declaration on the basis of PACE Resolution 1512 (2006) supporting the launching conference of the Council of Europe campaign. On that occasion, campaign material and white ribbons were distributed to all parliamentarians (30 January 2007).

Public hearing of the committee on petitions, human rights and equal opportunities, on promoting the co-ordination of actions by public authorities, parliament and NGOs, precautionary measures and the role of men, 2 March 2007.

Round table on prevention of domestic violence, 25 May 2007.

48

Press conference by Majda Potrata, Chairperson of the committee on petitions, human rights and equal opportunities on the activities of her committee and parliament concerning the prevention of family violence against women, 23 November 2007.

Adoption of the Family Violence Prevention Act, 5 February 2008.

International conference on violence against women in Ljubljana, organised by the NGO SOS Helpline, Amnesty International and the committee on petitions, human rights and equal opportunities, 7 March 2008.

Translation and publication of the handbook for parliamentarians in Slovenian.

Spain

Creation of a Committee on prostitution in the Joint Committee on Women´s Issues and Equal Opportunities, 27 April 2006.

O#cial launch of the Council of Europe campaign in the Senate in Madrid, in the presence of Francisco Javier Rojo Garcia, President of the Senate and Lluís Maria de Puig, Head of the Spanish delegation to the PACE, 27 November 2006.

Adoption of the Constitutional Act for e#ective equality between women and men, 22 March 2007.

Institutional declaration and observation of one minute’s silence

in the plenary sitting of the Spanish Parliament and the sittings of the regional parliaments, 25 November 2007.

Inauguration of the cartoon exhibition loaned by Carmen Quintanilla, “Por una vida sin malos tratos” on the occasion of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly session in Strasbourg, 1 October 2007.

49

Creation of two special Committees on Equality, one in the Senate and one in the Congress of Deputies (responsible for the monitoring of governmental actions on equality), on 13 May 2008 and 6 May 2008 respectively.

Sweden

Launch of the Council of Europe campaign in the Riksdag, 22 November 2006 and distribution of the book “Men’s violence against women in close relationship” to all members of parliaments with a letter from Carina Olsson, Chairperson of the Swedish delegation to the PACE.

Contribution by Carina Hägg, contact parliamentarian, to the confer-ence “Stop men’s violence against women” organised by UNIFEM, 23 November 2006.

Publication in the press of a joint declaration by the Speaker of the Riksdag, Per Westerberg and Carina Hägg, 28 November 2006.

Distribution of the PACE white ribbons during the Saint Lucia’s Day celebrations in the Riksdag, 13 December 2006.

Tabling of a written question by Carina Hägg to the Minister for Integration and Gender Equality Nyamko Sabuni, 7 February 2007.

Parliamentary day of action on the occasion of the celebration of International Women’s Day, 8 March 2007. Oral question by Carina Hägg to the Minister for Integration and Gender Equality Nyamko Sabuni, 8 March 2007.

Organisation of an information desk in the hall of the parliament. Presentation of the Swedish version of the handbook for parliamen-tarians and the blueprint of the Council of Europe campaign.

Organisation of the seminar on men’s violence against women, 25 April 2007.

50

Decision of the parliament to support social services to women subject to violence, 25 April 2007 Organisation of the seminar on men’s violence against women and possibilities for improving current legislation, 30 May 2007.

Dispatch of a letter from Carina Hägg inviting all members of parlia-ment to visit the shelter in their constituency, 19 June 2007.

Public hearing of the parliamentary committee responsible for health on violence against the elderly, 19 September 2007.

Tabling of a written question to the government by Carina Hägg on the situation regarding violence against women with disabilities, 22 October 2007.

Parliamentary seminar of the network of male parliamentarians, 24 October 2007.

Projection of the "lm “To Love Someone” by Åke Sandgren in the Riksdag, 14 November 2007.

Oral question by Carina Hägg to Finance Minister Anders Borg on violence committed by men against women, 15 November 2007.

Parliamentary seminar on the cost of domestic violence to Swedish society, 22 November 2007.

Parliamentary seminar on the situation of Sami women, 5 December 2007.

Publication of an article by Carina Hägg in the local press.

Parliamentary seminar on violence in gender relations, 13 December 2007.

Parliamentary seminar with the Federation of Swedish Shelters, 11 January 2008.

Parliamentary seminar on “Treating sex o#enders to reduce the number of crimes: utopia or reality?”, 12 February 2008.

51

Parliamentary seminar on the situation of women with disabilities undergoing violence, 13 February 2008.

Parliamentary seminar on forced marriages, 14 February 2008.

Publication of The Parliamentary Library’s Newsletter nr. 8, focusing on violence against women, 18 February 2008.

Parliamentary seminar on the situation of women victims of vio-lence belonging to the Roma minority, 21 February 2008.

Parliamentary seminar on the protection of victims’ personal data in the national register, 21 February 2008.

Public hearing on violence committed by men against women, crimes committed in the name of honour, stalking and violence in same-sex couples, 4 March 2008.

Contribution by Kent Olsson, Chairperson of the sub-committee on tra>cking in women, to the “Mardi de l’Europe” organised by the Madariaga – College of Europe Foundation and the PACE in Brussels, 4 March 2008.

Inauguration of the Council of Europe photo exhibition in the pres-ence of the Speaker of the Riksdag, Per Westerberg and Carina Hägg, 5 March 2008.

Adoption by the Riksdag of the action plan on violence committed by men against women, crimes committed in the name of honour, stalking and violence in same-sex couples in the spring of 2008.

Public hearing by the foreign a#airs committee which on that occa-sion supported the possibility of a Council of Europe convention to combat violence against women, 5 June 2008.

Publication of a study on the cost of domestic violence in Sweden by the Riksdag, also in December 2006.

Publication of a study by the Riksdag on “The costs of the "ght to stop men’s violence against women in the Nordic and Baltic countries” in 2008.

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Publication of a study by the Riksdag on Swedish legislation against domestic violence.

Contribution by the network of male parliamentarians (formed in 2004) to the campaign.

Translation and publication of the handbook for parliamentarians in Swedish.

Switzerland

Contribution by Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold and moderation of the panel “Support and protection for victims of domestic violence: Services needed” at the Council of Europe seminar in Espoo on 9 October 2007.

“The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”

Press conference by Liljana Popovska, Chairperson of the parliamentary Committee on Equal Opportunities and contact par-liamentarian, at the launching of the Council of Europe campaign on 23 October 2006. On that occasion, presentation of the Council of Europe campaign material translated and circulated to theopponents of violence against women throughout the country. Ms Popovska took part in programmes on the national television channel MRTV and contributed to the talk-show programme Pyramid, where she presented and promoted the Council of Europe campaign.

Public hearing on a gender perspective in co-operation with the “Lobby of Macedonian Women”, followed by a visit to the shelters for women throughout the country on 7 November 2006.

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Adoption of a solemn declaration by Parliament on combating violence against women, including domestic violence, on 24 November 2006, followed by Liljana Popovska’s contribution to the programmes of the national channel MRTV.

Seminar on necessary objectives and initiatives for ensuring equal opportunities, 8 March 2007. On that occasion the participants dis-cussed the structure, budget, "nancing, goals and co-operation of NGOs.

Adoption of an amendment to the bill on games of chance. In Article 3, there was provision for setting up a fund to combat domes-tic violence in March 2007.

Contribution by Liljana Popovska, Chairperson of the equal oppor-tunities committee to the Council of Europe seminar on support to victims of domestic violence organised in co-operation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy in Skopje on 11 and 12 September 2007.

Participation of the Chairperson and the Members of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in the preparation of the national document – “Policies and strategies of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy in addressing domestic violence”, September 2007.

Decision of the parliament to reallocate "nancial resources (50 000 Euros) from the 2007 budget to fund shelters for victims of domestic violence, 19 December 2007.

Celebration of the 5th anniversary of the Women parliamentarians’ Club, March 2008.

Public hearing on the topic “Violence in the Family”, aimed at high-lighting the need for adoption of a new law on domestic violence, organised by the Women parliamentarians’ Club, in cooperation with NGOs working in the "eld of promoting women, 8 February 2008.

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Participation of Liljana Popovska, Chairperson, and of members of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in the documentary "lm on domestic violence, produced by the Union of Women’s Organizations, broadcast on 8 March 2008.

Round table on domestic violence in the country, June 2008.

Translation and publication of the handbook for parliamentarians into Macedonian.

Turkey

Special session of the Turkish Grand National Assembly on the occasion of International Women’s Day, 7 March 2007.

Series of meetings conducted by Gülsün Bilgehan, contact parlia-mentarian, in her constituency in order to raise public awareness about the Council of Europe campaign in the spring of 2007.

Public hearing on the "ght against domestic violence organised by the PACE Committee on Equal Opportunities in co-operation with the Turkish parliament in Istanbul, 7 December 2007.

Contribution by Gülsün Bilgehan, in the presence of the author Zülfü Livaneli, to the debate following the screening of the "lm Mutluluk at the Odyssée cinema in Strasbourg on 20 January 2008. On that occasion, presentation by Mr Tüzecan, Director of Communication of the Hürriyet Group, of the awareness campaign launched by the Turkish daily Hürriyet on violence against women.

Contribution by Nursuna Memecan to the “Mardi de l’Europe” organ-ised by the Madariaga – College of Europe Foundation and the PACE in Brussels, 4 March 2008.

Translation and publication of the handbook for parliamentarians in Turkish.

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Ukraine

Message of support from Oleksandr Moroz, President of the Parliament, at the launch of the Council of Europe campaign on 27 November 2006 in Madrid.

Session of parliament dedicated to the Council of Europe campaign, when two public hearings were held on the current situation and the importance of implementing preventive measures against gender-based violence, and on “Equal rights and equal opportunities in Ukraine: realities and development prospects” at the initiative of Olena Bondarenko, contact parliamentarian, 21 November 2006.

Round of regional hearings in Lviv and Zhitomyr in 2007 on the situation and the main objectives in eliminating gender-based vio-lence.

Adoption of the reform to the law on prevention of domestic vio-lence, 23 November 2007.

Seminar of gender focal points on the additional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and formation of a group of male parliamentarians involved in combating domestic violence, June 2008.

Establishment of a network of male parliamentarians.

Translation and publication of the handbook for parliamentarians in Ukrainian.

United Kingdom

Creation of an electronic forum on domestic violence by the Rt Hon Keith Vaz and Margaret Moran, members of the House of Commons Home A#airs Committee (January-February 2008).

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Contribution by John Austin, member of the UK delegation to the PACE, to the blog “End violence against women”, November 2007.

Canada

Message of support from Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate, at the launch of the Council of Europe campaign on 27 November 2006 in Madrid.

Statement by Lorna Milne, contact parliamentarian, in the Senate to announce the launch of the Council of Europe campaign, 28 November 2006.

Mexico

Presentation by Blanca Judith Diaz Delgado, Chairperson of the Senate gender equality committee, of the Mexican contribution to the Council of Europe campaign and particularly the general law on access for women to a life free of violence, passed on 1 February 2007, on the occasion of the public hearing held by the PACE Sub-Committee on Violence against Women on feminicides on 6 September 2007 in Paris.

Inter-parliamentary Union

Contribution by Maria Antonia Martinez Garcia, Member of the Spanish Senate, Co-Rapporteur of the IPU on “How parliaments can and must promote e#ective ways of combating violence against women in all fields” to the launching conference in Madrid

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(27 November 2006) and to the 2nd co-ordination meeting of contact parliamentarians (Strasbourg, 4 June 2007).

Presentation of the parliamentary dimension of the Council of Europe campaign by Fatma Pehlivan to the seminar of the Inter-Parliamentary Union on 5 December 2006 on “The role of parliamen-

tary committees in mainstreaming gender and promoting the status of

women”“ with the participation of leaders and members of the par-liamentary delegations in charge of gender equality.

Highlighting of the parliamentary dimension of the Campaign at the IPU side-event on “The role of parliaments in !nancing for gender

equality” by Carina Hägg (Sweden, SOC), Chairperson of the PACE Sub-committee on violence against women, in the margins of the Session of the UN Committee on the status of women (New-York, 27 February 2008).

European Parliament

Contribution by Anna Záborská, Chairperson of the European Parliament Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality and contact parliamentarian, to the launching Conference in Madrid (27 November 2006), to the Final Conference in Vienna (30 April 2008) and to several exchanges of views with the PACE Committee on equal opportunities.

Exchange of views by the European Parliament Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in Brussels on 11 April 2007 on the Council of Europe campaign, with the participation of Gülsün Bilgehan, Chairperson of the PACE Committee on Equality, and Carina Hägg, Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Violence against Women.

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Contribution by Raül Romeva, MEP, to the “Mardi de l’Europe” organ-ised by the European Foundation Madariaga for the College of Europe and the PACE in Brussels, 4 March 2008.

Nordic Council

Presentation of the parliamentary dimension of the Council of Europe campaign by Carina Hägg, Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Violence against Women, at the Nordic Council meeting in Helsinki dedicated to the campaign on 30 January 2007.

Adoption of a declaration on 25 September 2007 inviting the Nordic Council of Ministers to organise a regional conference in 2008 in the framework of the Council of Europe campaign.

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Appendix

The Contact Parliamentarians

In accordance with Resolution 1512 (2006), the national parliaments, parliaments enjoying observer status with the PACE were invited to appoint a contact parliamentarian “to act as point of contact between the national parliaments of each member state and the Assembly and to play a leading role in promoting the implementation of the Assembly campaign at national level”. International parliamentary assemblies were invited to appoint contact parliamentarians as well.

During the campaign, 56 contact parliamentarians were appointed. They set up the network of contact parliamentarians involved in the Council of Europe campaign. Their contribution has been crucial in ensuring the campaign’s implementation at the level of the national parliaments.

Albania Lajla PernaskaAndorra Maria Rosa Ferrer Obiols (since

5 September 2006) Maria Pilar Riba Font (since 5 November 2007)

Armenia Hranush HakobyanAzerbaijan Gular Ahmadova Austria Gisela WurmBelgium Colette Burgeon (Chamber)

Miet Smet (Senate) (since October 2007) Fatma Pehlivan (Senate)

Bosnia and Herzegovina Mirjana MalicBulgaria Darinka Stantcheva

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CroatiaCyprus Dina Akkelidou (since March 2008)

Sotiroulla Charalambous (June 2006 to March 2008)

Czech Republic Anna Čurdová Denmark Morten ØstergaardEstonia Mailis RepsFinland Jukka GustafssonFrance Jean-Guy Branger (Senate)

Claude Gre# (National Assembly)Georgia Ketevan MakarashviliGermany Marlene RupprechtGreece Maria KolliaHungary Klara Sandor Iceland Steingrímur J. SigfússunIreland Kathleen Lynch

Italy Titti De SimoneLatviaLiechtenstein Gebhard NegeleLithuania Marija Aušrinė PavilionienėLuxembourg Lydie ErrMalta Je#rey Pullicino OrlandoMoldova Eva GudumacMonaco Catherine Fautrier MontenegroNetherlands Marleen de Pater – van der MeerNorway Lise Christo#ersen

Poland Mirosława Nykiel (since January 2008) Urszula Gacek (from June 2006 to January 2008)

Portugal José Mendes BotaRomania Cornelia Cazacu

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Russia Vera Oskina (June 2006 to December 2007)

San Marino Nadia OttavianiSerbia Gordana ČomićSlovakia Martin KurucSlovenia Majda Potrata Spain Carmen QuintanillaSweden Carina HäggSwitzerland Doris Stump

(from December 2007 to June 2008) Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold (from June 2006 to December 2007)

“The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”

Ljljana Popovska

Turkey Nursuna Memecan (from January to June 2008)

Gülsün Bilgehan (from June 2006 to January 2008)

Ukraine Olena F. Bondarenko United Kingdom Christine Mc Ca#ertyCanada Lorna MilneIsrael Guideon Sa’arMexico Judith Díaz DelgadoEuropean Parliament Anna ZáborskáNordic Council Pehr Löv (2006/2007)

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The regional co-ordinators

Six regional groupings were set up in October 2006 in order to foster exchanges of information and experience between parliaments and enable contact parliamentarians to work at sub-regional level. The regional groups were animated by regional co-ordinators appointed by the contact parliamentarians.

Regional

grouping

Regional

co-ordinator Countries concerned

A Carina Hägg (Sweden, SOC)

Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden.

B Jean-Guy Branger (France, PPE/CD)

Belgium, France, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom.

C Carmen Quintanilla (Spain)

Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaïjan, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Turkey.

D Darinka Stantcheva (Bulgaria, ALDE)

Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”.

E Marlene Rupprecht (Germany, SOC)

Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Ukraine.

F Blanca Judith Díaz Delgado (Mexico)

Canada, Israel, Mexico.