10/04/2019 | 10:23:01 I welcome the opportunity to discuss this extremely important issue on this pan-European platform. This debate will help to raise awareness about hate speech at a political level and elsewhere, which I welcome. Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights talks about “the right to freedom of expression”, but far-right and extremist movements cannot abuse that right. Politicians cannot use that as an excuse to use hateful language about individuals or groups; that can never be... 22/01/2019 | 19:21:55 I have read Mr Gutiérrez’s report very carefully indeed, and I support the view that, in the field of human rights, there is no room for exceptions on religious or cultural grounds. However, I am also of the opinion that the report’s intention to build bridges of understanding will unfortunately fail. There is no need to discuss the compatibility of Sharia Law with the European Convention on Human Rights, since, unlike the non-binding Cairo Declaration, the Convention is binding and is... 21/01/2019 | 12:47:54 Dear President, I congratulate you on your election as President. I wish you and all my colleagues a successful year. There will be significant challenges facing the values of this august body, the Council of Europe. I would like to touch briefly on some of them. An important topic in the coming year is the election of the new Secretary General. The election of the Secretary General should reflect the wishes and desires of the people of Europe. The non-participation of the Russian delegation...