PACE to elect Deputy Secretary General of CoE

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will elect the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe on Tuesday, June 26. Among the highlights of PACE summer session, to take place in Strasbourg from 25 to 29 June 2007, are debates on intercultural and inter-religious dialogue, and on secret detentions in Europe. The Federal Chancellor of Austria, Alfred Gusenbauer, and the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pottering, will be addressing the Assembly on Monday, June 25. On Tuesday, the Minister of Justice of Italy, Clemente Mastella, will deliver a speech concerning the commitment of the CoE member countries to promote a moratorium on capital punishment. Other subjects on the agenda include combating anti-Semitism in Europe, Euro-Mediterranean agricultural and rural policy, and the image of women in advertising, etc. On Wednesday, June 27, PACE President Rene van der Linden will make an award to the non-governmental organisation Human Rights Watch for helping to lift the veil of secrecy in the investigation into alleged secret detentions and illegal transfers of prisoners. Other officials to address the Assembly will be Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Jean Lemierre, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Rabbi Arthur Schneier, Founder and Chairperson of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, and Antonio Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.