27/06/2024 | 19:15:49 Dear President, Dear colleagues, The situation in Gaza has deteriorated from horrific to unspeakably dire since the last time we convened in this Assembly. Israel bombed Rafah 60 times in 48 hours following the order of the International Court of Justice to halt the Rafah offensive. On 26 May 2024, Israel slaughtered civilians taking shelter in Rafah. We have seen horrific images of beheaded babies, and women and children burning alive. The death toll is now exceeding 37 000 including 15 000... 18/04/2024 | 19:24:32 Dear President, Dear Colleagues, Israel transformed Gaza from an open-air prison to a mass grave for civilians, killing over 33 000 people, including 14 000 children, 10 000 women, hundreds of journalists, aid workers, and doctors, wounding 75 000 and displacing 1.7 million people, and destroying 70% of civilian infrastructure in Gaza. Israel continues to deliberately block humanitarian aid into Gaza. As stated by the vice president of the European Commission Josep Borell: “Israel is... 10/10/2023 | 18:14:45 Dear Chairman, dear colleagues, I would like to start by saying that I strongly support the resolution. I would like to thank the rapporteur for his excellent work on this important subject, considering the fact that far-right extremism has gained very disturbing momentum in Europe in recent years. I would like to emphasise that political leaders and public figures have a responsibility to denounce far-right extremism unequivocally at all times. Hate speech and extremist ideologies should not... 26/01/2023 | 19:46:05 Dear president, dear colleagues, We are all aware of the importance of ensuring freedom and security of movement along the Lachin Corridor for humanitarian reasons, especially the transfer of medical aid, food and essential goods. The Azerbaijani authorities reject the allegations of the blockade of the corridor, referring to the daily use of the corridor by tens of vehicles of the peacekeeping contingent and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The Azerbaijani authorities... 24/01/2023 | 10:49:50 Dear President, Dear Colleagues, It is very timely for our Assembly to reconsider this issue in the face of horrific reports from Ukraine on the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Despite the progress made in several countries to put in place legal measures, impunity for wartime sexual violence, unfortunately, remains the norm, and accountability is the rare exception. I congratulate the rapporteur for drafting a comprehensive resolution not only focusing on supporting the survivors... 28/04/2022 | 12:38:27 Dear President, Dear Colleagues, I would like to thank the rapporteur for this comprehensive report. We are all horrified by the shocking reports of violations of human rights in Ukraine, such as summary executions, abductions, torture and sexual violence by Russian troops, which may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. All of these atrocities traumatise the entire generations of Ukrainians by adding new levels of horror to this war. There must be no impunity for international... 15/03/2022 | 15:25:29 Dear President, Dear colleagues, I would like to start by expressing my solidarity with the Ukrainian people and my support for Ukraine's territorial integrity. I condemn Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine which gravely violates the fundamental principles of international law and jeopardises the security and stability of our region and the world. Since the attacks continue, and the lost of civilian lives are increasing, the priority should be to facilitate a ceasefire and establish... 24/06/2021 | 09:44:12 Dear president, dear colleagues, I would like to congratulate the rapporteur for highlighting the positive contribution of diaspora communities to the society and presenting solid policy proposals for better integrating and empowering diaspora communities at the countries of destination. Diaspora communities constitute a significant portion of the society in most of the Council of Europe member States. As underlined in the report, we have to figure out ways that would enable active... 23/06/2021 | 19:06:15 Dear Chairman, Dear Colleagues, I would like to thank the Rapporteur for preparing this comprehensive report addressing the violations of international humanitarian law in Crimea. In the seventh year of the illegal annexation of Crimea, we unfortunately witnessed the considerable worsening of the situation of Crimean Tatars. The activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people are still banned and the Tatar leader and the members of parliament are persecuted and banned from entering... 19/04/2021 | 19:39:19 Dear President, Dear Colleagues, I would like to thank the rapporteur for this excellent work. Respecting the linguistic, ethnic and cultural diversity of national minorities is key for preserving pluralistic and inclusive democracies. I would like to elaborate on some of the emerging and existing challenges in this respect. First of all, as stated in the report, some European nations started a process of re-securitisation of minority rights, which leads to the emergence of a pattern of...