12/04/2019 | 11:20:39 Social media has in many ways transformed our societies in recent years, at such a fast pace in such a short span of time. Our way of communicating has changed so extensively and dramatically that many of us cannot imagine life without social media. Social media has many positive sides. It connects us in an easier way than before. We can find old schoolmates we have not seen in ages and family members we did not even know existed. Social media can also be an effective tool to increase... 11/04/2019 | 15:56:09 I welcome the report on money laundromats and congratulate the rapporteur and secretariat for their work on it. Money laundering is probably one of the biggest threats to democratic values and principles. It involves large sums of money from wealthy businessmen, organised criminals and high-level officials. It is also a staple of organised criminal networks, corrupt officials, and terrorism. The siphoning-off of taxpayers’ money weakens the State apparatus and systems that rely heavily on tax... 10/04/2019 | 19:18:11 I thank Mr Tiny KOX for putting forward his report as a means to solve the ongoing crisis that we have struggled with for the past two years. We certainly stand at a crossroads here today, as the report’s title suggests. We cannot emphasise enough the importance of the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly to protecting human rights, the rule of law and democracy. This institution, with all its glorious history and achievement, is worth fighting for and preserving. The future of... 10/04/2019 | 16:54:40 Does anyone object? That is not the case. As there is no objection, I declare that the amendment to the draft resolution has been agreed upon. We will now proceed to vote on the draft resolution on “The role and responsibilities of political leaders in combating hate speech and intolerance”, as amended. The vote is open. The draft resolution in Document 14845, as amended, is adopted, with 105 votes for, 3 against and 1 abstention. We shall now consider the report titled “Stop hate speech and... 10/04/2019 | 16:53:34 Thank you, Miss Bayr. The debate is closed. May I gently remind you, the members, to leave your badge in the slot for electronic voting until I close each vote? If you remove your card before I close the vote, your vote may not be counted by the system. We shall first consider the report titled: “The role and responsibilities of political leaders in combating hate speech and intolerance”, Document 14845. The Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination has presented a draft resolution to... 10/04/2019 | 15:37:12 The sitting is open. Our next business is to consider the proposed change in the membership of committees. This is set out in Document Commissions (2019) 04 Add. 3. Is the proposed change in the membership of the Assembly’s committees agreed to? It is agreed to. The first item on the agenda is the continuation of the joint debate on the reports titled “The role and responsibilities of political leaders in combating hate speech and intolerance”, Document 14845, and “Stop hate speech and acts... 10/04/2019 | 10:19:41 First, I would like to thank the rapporteurs for their excellent reports. I will focus my speech on the role and responsibilities of political leaders in combating hate speech and intolerance. As Ms Elvira KOVÁCS's report states, hate speech has sadly been on the rise in recent years, and the rise of populist movements in many European countries has led to more hate speech against diverse targets – minority groups, women, LGBT people, and fragile social groups. Nationalist and xenophobic... 09/04/2019 | 19:01:01 I welcome this report on sexual harassment as an ongoing response to not only the #MeToo movement but the shocking and horrendous findings of a recent joint report of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Council of Europe. The report proved the amount and scale of sexism, sexual harassment and sexual violence towards women in politics. Its scope is so widespread that we can talk about an epidemic – as we witnessed when the #MeToo movement began. When we have an epidemic, we react fast and in... 08/04/2019 | 15:54:50 Thank you, Mr SOINI, for the active, solutions-based approach that you have taken to the Assembly crisis during your presidency. I want to raise my growing concern about the role of the Nordic States in immigration and refugee issues. The Nordic states have widely been regarded as human rights role models. However, with the growing anti-immigration rhetoric of Nordic political parties, such as the Danish People’s Party, the Sweden Democrats, the True Finns and the Norwegian Progress Party... 24/01/2019 | 17:02:01 I rise to speak on behalf of my political group, but also as the chair of the Icelandic delegation, given that the periodic review is of Iceland’s obligations. I welcome all the suggestions in the report, including the suggestion that Iceland reform its democratic institutions by rekindling the constitutional reform process. That process has sadly been drawn into political fights and years-long delays, driven by political parties’ political and economic interests. The democratic will of the...