09/04/2019 | 15:56:56 At the heart of this debate is the need for the Council of Europe to show that in the fields of democracy, the rule of law, and human rights it is the pre-eminent Organisation in Europe. I believe it sits above the European Union in this respect. The European Union looks after 27 or 28 members, but this Council looks after 47 or 48 members. The European Union has assumed a role in some areas over its own members, but it has not done so over this Council. The European Convention on Human... 09/04/2019 | 10:58:46 I thank the rapporteurs for an absolutely fascinating report. One of the most important things it does is to stress the need to involve all stakeholders in the process. This is not just a question of the involvement of central governments or organisations such as the Council of Europe; it is necessary to bring in a whole range of others. As a result of reading the reports, I am inspired to try to create a debate in my own parliament so that we can help to provide some scrutiny of the issues... 25/01/2019 | 10:24:14 I understand what the report is getting at. However, we all face a major problem, which we have addressed on numerous occasions in the Assembly in the past few years: terrorism. It is a major issue facing us all. The report makes the valid point that we should not sacrifice our values because of terrorism. I agree, but some values that we need to admire include a determination to address the problem and offer suitable protection to our citizens and, indeed, ourselves. Having read the report... 24/01/2019 | 17:52:38 I, too, congratulate my colleague Sir Roger GALE on his excellent report. I am pleased to speak in the debate, because the form of the activity that the report sets out is valuable and goes to the heart of the Assembly’s values. I know Iceland and Italy quite well, so it is interesting to see the recommendations that are set out. I have an enormous amount of sympathy for Italy and its role in the migration crisis. Of course, human rights must be upheld, but Italy has suffered a great influx... 24/01/2019 | 10:10:37 On reading this report, I rather got the feeling that the rapporteur had tried too hard to be too diplomatic in his handling of the issue. For example, the calls for both sides to observe the treaty around the Sea of Azov cannot hide the fact that this is another example of Russian aggression in Ukraine. True, the report goes on to call for the release of Ukrainian servicemen and upholds the integrity of Ukraine’s sovereignty, but I am worried that this may apparently give succour to the... 23/01/2019 | 17:16:50 I, too, acknowledge the importance of this report. In fact, earlier this afternoon I sat down with Mr Martin WHITFIELD in an exercise in cross-party working and we agreed quite a lot of the contents of our contributions. I agree that the Internet is a common good. It is difficult to see how society can function without an open, free and completely secure Internet. Like many, I use it to shift information and for general communications. Businesses use it as an essential part of trade. The... 23/01/2019 | 11:29:13 There is a sense of déjà vu about the debate. Many issues that we discussed yesterday in the context of the debate on referendums are coming up again. In my role in that debate, I was struck by how speaker after speaker made the same point that their referendum had been the subject of fake news. I appreciate that one of the reports wants to abolish the term “fake news”, but it is part of our language, and it would be difficult to abolish. When so many speakers bitterly complain about fake... 22/01/2019 | 19:10:54 I think already in this debate we have heard some excellent speeches. The two that I would single out are the very well-balanced speeches from Lord Donald ANDERSON and Baroness Doreen MASSEY. The report raises some fundamental questions about how human rights are seen in Islamic countries. I know these questions are difficult and I know these questions have to be handled sensitively, but the influence of Sharia Law makes it very difficult to see how these issues can be reconciled. We already... 22/01/2019 | 17:03:52 I start by saying that Lord Donald ANDERSON has produced a very good report. I am glad to see that there is near unanimity in support of him, although, sadly, one group has already fallen out over this. Four out of five is a very good start, however. Despite the differences in our legal systems, there is a common theme here that can transcend those legal systems to maintain a very strong point. Lord Donald ANDERSON has raised a very important subject and I congratulate him on bringing it... 22/01/2019 | 11:58:39 This has been a good debate and I thank all the participants who have contributed. I have been struck by the kindness of the comments and by the cross-party agreement to the report. It has been particularly good that participants from Switzerland have commented on it. When Mr Gianni BUQUICCHIO began, he said that the Venice Commission had been critical of most referendums, and we have heard from speakers who have been equally critical of most referendums. I hope that my United Kingdom...