20/04/2026 | 11:37:14 May I invite you to take your seats, please. I declare the Second Part-Session of the 2026 Ordinary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe open. Dear Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General, Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly, Honourable Ambassadors, Dear colleagues, It is an honour to open this part-session for the first time as your President. Three months ago, you placed your trust in me. I have not forgotten the gravitas of that moment. And I... 30/01/2026 | 11:07:31 The final business today is to constitute the Standing Committee. The membership of the Standing Committee is determined by Rule 17.3, as follows: the President of the Assembly; the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly; the Leaders of the political groups; the Chairpersons of national delegations; and the Chairpersons of the general committees. A full list of members is set out in Document Commissions (2026)03. The Standing Committee is accordingly constituted. We have now come to the end of our... 30/01/2026 | 11:06:13 The next item on today’s agenda is the continuation of the debate on the Progress Report of the Bureau and the Standing Committee in Document 16323 Addendum 4. The Bureau has proposed several references to committees, set out in Addendum 4. These references must be submitted for ratification by the Assembly in accordance with Rule 26.3. Any objections successfully raised mean those references will be referred back to the Bureau. Are there any objections to these references? I don't see any... 29/01/2026 | 12:50:13 Indeed, I have been informed that Mr Piero FASSINO wishes to propose an oral sub-amendment as follows. In Amendment 4, delete the words "under the command of Mohammad AL-JOLANI", in brackets Ahmad AL SAHAR. The amendment, as amended, would read, "the Assembly expresses deep concern that Kobane, where ISIS was first defeated in 2015, is once again under siege after 11 years, this time by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), ISIS elements etc." In my opinion, the oral sub-amendment is in order under our... 29/01/2026 | 12:45:47 Thank you for the clarification. Okay, I will continue. So the amendment was rejected by the Committee. I put the amendment to the vote now. The vote is open. The vote is closed. I ask to display the results: The amendment is not carried. We now move to Amendment 1. I understand that Ms Azadeh ROJHAN wishes to withdraw Amendment 1 in favour of an oral amendment. Is this so, Ms Azadeh ROJHAN? I don't see her. Does anybody else wish to move this oral amendment? If this is not the case, we don... 29/01/2026 | 12:40:16 Thank you very much. The debate is closed. The Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy has presented a draft resolution, Document 16336, to which seven amendments have been tabled. They will be taken in the order in which they appear in the compendium. I remind you that speeches on amendments are limited to 30 seconds. I understand that the Chairperson of this Committee wishes to propose to the Assembly that Amendment 2 to the draft resolution, which was unanimously approved by the... 29/01/2026 | 11:25:00 The next item of business this morning is a debate under urgent procedure on Political crisis in the broader Middle East: the need to protect human rights and the rights of all minority groups, Document 16336, presented by Mr Piero FASSINO on behalf of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy. In order to finish by 12:55 p.m., I will interrupt the list of speakers at about 12:45 p.m. to allow time for reply and to vote. I call Mr Piero FASSINO. We will need a minute until everything... 29/01/2026 | 10:13:40 I wish you all a very good morning. The sitting is open. I remind members that, in order to be registered for the sitting, you should insert your badge when you take your seat, and keep it inserted for at least 30 seconds. You should also insert your badge in order to speak or vote. To request the floor, please press the "request" button. But please just press it once. I also remind the Assembly that Members who have not submitted an annual declaration of interest are required to start any... 28/01/2026 | 15:43:51 Good afternoon, dear colleagues, The sitting is open. I remind members that in order to be registered for this sitting, you should insert your badge when you take a seat and keep it inserted for at least 30 seconds. You should also insert your badge in order to speak or vote. To request the floor, please press the "request" button once, just once. It's important. I also remind the Assembly that members who have not submitted an annual declaration, and the email, by the way, came yesterday... 28/01/2026 | 12:01:45 Dear colleagues, It's my great pleasure to welcome among us Mr Ararat MIRZOYAN, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Armenia. Dear Minister, It is my pleasure to welcome you here in the hemicycle. You are no stranger to parliamentary life, have served as a Member of Parliament from 2019 to 2021, as President of the National Assembly of Armenia, and since 2021, you have held the office of Minister for Foreign affairs. Your time as Minister comes at a pivotal moment, following the conclusion – in...