25/06/2019 | 16:23:43 Thank you very much, Madam President, Dear colleagues, I would like to thank our colleagues, Zita GURMAI and Elvira KOVÁCS, for their so important reports. Unfortunately, we have already heard several times that there is still so much to be done with regard to violence against women and gender equality, and that we are far from where we need to be. Also in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights. Zita GURMAI Report meticulously evaluates the most important studies on violence... 10/04/2019 | 10:29:24 Since the founding of the No Hate Parliamentary Alliance, the Assembly has produced more and more reports that describe the way in which intolerance, hate speech, and threats are becoming more and more common. There are verbal assaults on the Internet, but also in direct communication. These are often described as an opinion, and of course, everyone is entitled to an opinion. The reports describe hate speech and possible measures to combat it in sport and politics. On behalf of my group, I... 09/04/2019 | 18:30:05 Thank you, Ms Thorhildur Sunna ÆVARSDÓTTIR, for the relevant and topical report. Talking about sexism in parliament is long overdue; it concerns us all – men and women – possibly far more than we may realise. Women members of parliament and parliamentary staff know only too well the situations that are described in the report, but very often we keep these things to ourselves. Few women have the courage to report sexual assault or harassment, to lodge complaints or even to go public. Sexual... 23/01/2019 | 11:40:04 I thank both rapporteurs for the clear and important reports that have been submitted to us today. The tone of our media has become much coarser, partly as a result of social media. Facts and opinions are widely thrown about, leaving a trail of disinformation in their wake, and comments are full of hate. Such important elements of dealing with complex subjects – in other words, carrying out clear research and making a key distinction between facts and opinions – are falling by the wayside as... 22/01/2019 | 17:09:48 Developments in human rights policies often deal with the issue of impunity, and for good reason: rapists in Africa, Islamic State terrorists in Syria and criminals in Latin America all too often go unpunished or are protected from punishment by corrupt regimes or officials. I wish to thank my colleague Lord Donald ANDERSON for his important report, because it shows that impunity is, unfortunately, also an issue for the member States of the Council of Europe. This report struck a chord with...