22/04/2026 | 18:26:48 Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to begin with thanking Ms Barbara LOCHBIHLER and Ms Antoinette CHAHINE for their informative and impressive, brave and deeply moving contributions. Their words underline the importance of our shared fight against the death penalty. I'm grateful to all my colleagues for an interesting and passionate debate. Also, I want to thank the Secretariat for their excellent work. Some colleagues stated that the report focuses more explicitly on Israel than on other... 22/04/2026 | 16:34:00 Dear President, Dear colleagues, Fifteen years after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's last resolution focused on the death penalty, this report aims to contribute to the next World Congress Against the Death Penalty to be held in Paris on 26 June. Over the years, the Assembly has significantly contributed to making the Council of Europe's geographical and legal space a death penalty-free zone. In the 1990s, the Assembly made the commitment to abolish a precondition for... 26/01/2026 | 17:54:07 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) The international legal order exists to ensure that the gravest crimes are subject to law rather than power. Courts, treaties and legal institutions were created to guarantee accountability even when it is politically inconvenient. Today, that foundation is under serious pressure. The United States’ sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) are a direct assault on the rule of law. By sanctioning ICC officials for performing... 01/10/2025 | 17:39:03 Thank you, Chair. Dear colleagues, The draft convention before us is a landmark step in restoring justice. It ensures that the massive damage caused by Russia’s act of aggression will not remain uncompensated. By anchoring the Commission within the Council of Europe through an open convention, it guarantees both independence and legitimacy. Importantly, the Convention provides continuity: the Commission will take over the work of the Register of Damage, transforming documentation into... 26/06/2025 | 10:38:48 Thank you, Mister President, Dear colleagues, First, I want to thank my dear colleague and friend Mr Paulo PISCO for his important report. His work is meaningful to me. As someone who is half Dutch and half Vietnamese/Somalian, and whose family members came to Europe as refugees in the 1970s, I know that behind every statistic is a story – a person. A family, a life full of hope and fear. Without the solidarity and protection they received back then, we would not be the beautiful and strong... 24/06/2025 | 11:01:40 Thank you, Mister President. Colleagues, the recent joint statement by the 9 EU and Council of Europe member states is a dangerous attack on the rule of law and democracy. Under the guise of border control and public safety, it questions the Court's interpretation of the Convention, which undermines the rule of law and separation of powers. The Court exists to protect individuals against the arbitrary use of state power. Its role is to interpret the Convention, an agreement designed to... 28/01/2025 | 20:01:39 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) Ladies and gentlemen, Since the end of the Second World War, the international community has built a comprehensive legal framework to govern war and military occupations, ensuring that civilians are protected from unnecessary death and suffering. Three key branches of international law apply to this conflict: · International humanitarian law, which prioritizes the protection of civilians, establishes critical principles of distinction...