28/06/2024 | 10:20:42 Thank you, Mister Chairperson. On behalf of the Group of the Unified European Left, I want to congratulate the rapporteur on an excellent report on a topic that deserves a much higher billing on this week's schedule. The key theme of safeguarding human rights for future generations has never been more important given the global threats of war, climate change and the political drift to tooth-and-claw capitalism and authoritarian right-wing governments across so much of Europe. There are two... 27/06/2024 | 20:02:03 Chair, I'm very grateful to you, thank you very much. This is an issue that's close to my heart as an Irish Republican. For decades, during the years of conflict in the north of my country, Sinn Féin representatives, including elected representatives, were banned from the airwaves of all broadcast media in the south of Ireland. From 1988 to 1994, they were banned from British media airwaves as well. Under section 31 of the Republic of Ireland's Broadcasting Act, it was forbidden to broadcast... 27/06/2024 | 18:23:32 Thank you, Mister President. On behalf of the Group of the Unified European Left I will begin with a quotation from a courageous Jewish academic, one of many. His name is Prof Amos Goldberg, a Holocaust and Genocide Researcher at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He said, “It is so difficult and painful to admit it, but Jewish history will henceforth be stained with the mark of Cain for the most horrible of crimes which cannot be erased. Yes, it is genocide.” Here we are, nine months into a... 27/06/2024 | 17:36:09 Thank you very much, Mister Chairperson. I want to begin by congratulating the rapporteur on an excellent piece of work and a very timely report. I want to give particular mention to mister Mr Domagoj HAJDUKOVIĆ, who was a fine member of this Assembly and a particularly active member of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons. He deserves great credit for the work on this report. It may be important to point out that the key themes of this report apply to a number of... 26/06/2024 | 10:54:42 Thank you, Mr President. I want to congratulate all three rapporteurs. As the last speaker said, it's very difficult to actually respond to all three reports in just three minutes. I'm probably going to focus on the the report on sanctions because I have a particular interest in that issue. Just to be clear, first and foremost, Russia's war on Ukraine is a blatant breach of international law and a full-scale aggression of the Russian military against the people of Ukraine and it has to be... 25/06/2024 | 18:13:47 Thank you, Mister chairperson. I want to warmly congratulate the rapporteur on a very timely and important Report on asylum procedures. I agree with her when she asks, "Is Europe legalising a race to the bottom when it comes to incorporating human rights into asylum procedures?". It’s important to stress the background against which this debate is taking place. It’s one of continuing mass drowning of human beings in the Mediterranean, in which tens of thousands have already perished. It’s the... 18/04/2024 | 17:11:31 Thank you, Mr President. I want to begin with a quotation from the UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese, from her latest report. She tells us that over 30 000 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 13 000 children, over 12 000 are presumed dead, and 71 000 injured. She says "thousands of families have been wiped out. Many could not bury and mourn their relatives, forced instead to leave their bodies decomposing in homes, in the streets, or under the rubble." Ms... 17/04/2024 | 16:27:00 Thank you, Mister President. I want to very much thank the last speaker for the absolutely powerful oration. On behalf of the Group of the Unified European Left, I want to commend the rapporteurs for these important reports. I want to speak first about the report on Alexei Navalny's death. I think the essence of the report is captured in paragraph four, which states that "the Assembly considers that the Russian state bears full responsibility for the killing of Alexei Navalny, who was... 24/01/2024 | 19:18:47 Thank you, Madam President. I want to commend the rapporteur for a truly excellent report and especially the many detailed recommendations for all member states to adopt. Torture and ill treatment continue today to be present in places of detention throughout the world including in Council of Europe member states. There is a clear gap between the absolute prohibition of this egregious practice and the reality on the ground. In the short time available, I want to focus on three issues. The... 24/01/2024 | 17:49:30 Thank you, Mister President, On behalf of the Group of the Unified European Left, I want to endorse the recommendation not to ratify the credentials of the Azerbaijan delegation. This is undoubtedly a sad day for the Assembly. It is never good to lose the representation of a member state, but it is an absolutely necessary action. It is a necessary action, because the substantive grounds set out in the resolution are of such a magnitude that this action has to be taken. The Azerbaijani...