23/06/2021 | 12:47:23 Thank you, Mr President. It is a real pleasure to see you all again jn person, especially you, President. What a sad anniversary it is, for us to mark these ten years of the Istanbul Convention, when we see that Turkey is withdrawing from it, and to see that Hungary and Poland also seem to be moving in the same direction, questioning the role of a multilateral approach in combating violence against women. What a sad tenth anniversary, when we know full well that the Istanbul Convention was... 29/01/2020 | 11:10:59 Thank you, Mr President, Freedom of opinion, freedom of conscience and freedom of expression are enshrined in the constitution of my country, Belgium. At the heart of these fundamental freedoms is the non-derogable right to adhere or not to adhere to a non-denominational religion or philosophy, enshrined in provisions that leave no room for doubt. And with this knowledge, which is dear to me, I read your report with great interest. I would therefore like to remind you that secularism is a... 26/06/2019 | 17:09:33 Thank you, Madam President. Ostracism in Ancient Greece was aimed at banning citizens deemed dangerous for various reasons for a certain period of time, and in turn everything had to be redone. Russia's reintegration here, after a long period of reflection and a compromise that is difficult to reach, will leave traces, pain and sores that are still vivid, particularly among some delegations, whose emotions I can fully understand. But this difficult compromise must not be seen as being made on... 11/04/2019 | 16:37:57 Thank you, Mr Mart van de VEN. A Frenchman who once died for a cause said that courage consists in seeking out truth and speaking truth. Today, through this report, you are speaking truth because you are persistent and stubborn. You have worked together with the services and staff of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to speak out in the name of democracy, the rule of law and public authority. A number of elements stand out in your report and a number of colleagues have... 09/04/2019 | 11:16:03 This report rightly criticises parliamentarians’ lack of awareness of the 2030 Agenda, but in fact the problem goes much further, extending to all society, whether elected representatives or not. I wanted to speak in this debate to share my local experience and the synergies that we can and must find among the different levels of power, in order to achieve these essential goals. Previously, the Millennium Goals resulted in a lot of success. We can all read in the resolution that the success... 23/01/2019 | 17:33:01 We cannot deny the importance of the Internet and its exponential development. The world is in constant flux. Artificial intelligence is omnipresent and has created new social, economic, legal and ethical challenges. I had the opportunity to start a debate in the Belgian Senate on the smart digital society, and we are about to complete our work. It is urgent that Europe takes its place again in the digital world. When confronted with countries such as the United States and China, Europe must... 21/01/2019 | 18:00:50 I would first remind the Chamber that Chechnya is part of the Russian Federation. In Chechnya a climate of fear has been created against many parts of society, including women. The news has shown us that there are no limits to the horror. I thank my colleagues who have worked on this issue and who have had a resolution adopted by the Assembly to condemn all types of persecution, hate speech, and harassment. The resolution exhorted the Russian Federation to carry out an impartial investigation...