Anne Brasseur: Difference between revisions

On a 2014 visit to [[Azerbaijan]], a member country of the Council of Europe, Brasseur criticized that "[i]n certain areas, such as [[freedom of expression]], [[freedom of association]] and [[freedom of assembly]], the situation appears to have deteriorated and this has to be addressed urgently."<ref name="reuters.com">Nailia Bagirova (May 23, 2014), [https://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/23/us-azerbaijan-rights-idUSBREA4M0EK20140523 Council of Europe raps Azerbaijan over rights record] ''[[Reuters]]''.</ref><ref>[[Arzu Geybullayeva]] (June 25, 2014), [http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/06/azerbaijan-human-rights-2014622101156758659.html Azerbaijan: A country of amputated spirits] ''[[Al Jazeera]]''.</ref> In particular, she expressed her hope that Azeri human rights activist [[Ilgar Mammadov]] would soon be released, after the [[European Court of Human Rights]] had earlier described his imprisonment as an "unjustified restriction of freedom".<ref name="reuters.com"/>

In June 2007, the Council of Europe's Committee on Culture, Science and Education released a report entitled "The Dangers of Creationism in Education." According to Brasseur, who served as co-author of the report, its goal was to firmly anchor the theory of evolution in school curricula.<ref name="spiegel.de">Jens Lubbadeh (February 25, 2009), [http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/contesting-evolution-european-creationists-take-on-darwin-a-609712.html Contesting Evolution: European Creationists Take On Darwin] ''[[Spiegel Online]]''.</ref> However, she was later pressured to shorten references in the resolution to "evolution by natural selection" to "evolution" because some members had misunderstood the reference to natural selection to be an attack on their religious beliefs.<ref>Tom Heneghan (September 25, 2007), [https://www.reuters.com/article/2007/09/25/us-europe-creationism-idUSL2576540220070925 Council of Europe to vote on creationism next week] ''[[Reuters]]''.</ref> The council ultimately approved the report's recommendations, with 48 votes in favor and 25 against.<ref name="spiegel.de"/><ref>Stephen Castle (October 4, 2007), [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/world/europe/04iht-schools.4.7755476.html European lawmakers condemn efforts to teach creationism] ''[[International Herald Tribune]]''.</ref>