28/06/2019 | 11:49:02 If there are no other speakers willing to speak then I will answer. I would like to thank everyone who intervened and also thank the kind words, of course, for our cooperation. I really look forward to meeting you again and keep on cooperating with you. But I'd also like to thank you for the large support for my report. I think that the absence of amendments, the absence of more speakers on the list also implies that it is broadly supported and that Members in the Parliamentary Assembly... 28/06/2019 | 11:23:29 Dear chair, dear colleagues, This meeting is very special to me, as it will be the last time that I address the plenary here as a Member of Parliamentary Assembly. Where my colleague Petra De SUTTER left with a big bang this week, I slip away through the backdoor on a very quiet Friday morning. So I'm very grateful for the speakers on the list today. My first PACE meeting was in January 2008, and since then I've seen many people come and go. Of different countries and with different views and... 25/01/2019 | 12:01:20 I thank the rapporteur for addressing the role of parliamentarians in improving the follow-up of the CPT recommendations. The CPT is one of the most precious bodies in the Council of Europe as it supervises the situation of people in vulnerable situations because of their deprivation of liberty. The total control of States over these persons puts a large responsibility on governments to not abuse their power and to respect human rights, as established, inter alia, by Article 5 of the... 25/01/2019 | 11:12:52 I thank my colleagues in the Assembly for their broad support for the concerns around this issue. We all share the concerns about the growing threat of terrorism in our societies, and we are aware that we need to protect our citizens against attacks. We should take our responsibility on the international level because United Nations Security Council Resolution 2178 obliges us to contribute to the prevention and prosecution of terrorist offences at the international level. The bottom line is... 25/01/2019 | 10:07:40 Since the millennium, many member States have faced acts of terrorism or the threat of terrorism. Such attacks cause deep wounds in our societies, and the fear of terrorism also pollutes societies. It is therefore understandable that governments are looking at all possible means of preventing such attacks. The Council of Europe must ensure that those measures are effective and comply with human rights, as we cannot defend our liberal societies by undermining the rule of law. For this report... 24/01/2019 | 16:04:59 I thank the rapporteurs for this honest report and necessary resolution. The situation in Turkey in respect of human rights, democracy and the rule of law has deteriorated in recent years through the concentration of power and the oppression of groups and civilians who contest that power or simply disagree with the positions and policies of the government. Unfortunately, this has not changed with the lifting of the state of emergency. The rule of law is seriously flawed: people have no access...