23/01/2024 | 20:18:35 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) Honourable colleagues, I want to clarify the position of the Belgian progressive representatives on this report.Belgium has always advocated for peace, a sustainable solution and respect for human rights, including International Humanitarian Law. The Council of Europe is one of the platforms where we hope to achieve this. There is no greater threat to the peace and democracy in Europe, and the Middle-East, than a council that is divided on a... 23/01/2023 | 16:36:04 Thank you, Madam Chair. First of all, congratulations to the rapporteur for this comprehensive report on the issue of Daesh foreign fighters returning to the member states of this Council. The report addresses several important issues linked to complex topics. It's crucial that all member states take responsibility for their citizens, bring them to trial, and punish them for the atrocities they committed abroad. The report proves extensively that we cannot leave these Daesh fighters with... 11/10/2022 | 18:14:22 Thank you, Madam Chairman, hem.. woman, excuse me. Dear Rapporteur, Thank you so much for all your work, not only on this report but in the few years that we have been working together. It was a pleasure and an honour. Thank you so much, Malcolm. Dear Colleagues, My name is Fourat Ben Chikha, and I am a proud queer Muslim. As a queer person, I have always felt the support of the members of the Assembly in the fight for our rights and equality. As a Muslim, I hope that the members of this... 22/06/2022 | 18:58:12 Thank you, Mister President. Dear colleagues, We have just participated in a very intense and very dense debate on no less than three reports which were prepared in our Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination. I'll start by congratulating all three rapporteurs for having worked quickly and efficiently to respond to the urgent concern of the moment. It's another demonstration of the great capacity of reaction of our Assembly and of the Council of Europe itself. It's flexible in responding... 22/06/2022 | 16:10:35 Thank you, Mister President. Dear Colleagues, First, I want to thank the rapporteurs for their excellent work and a complimentary work. I think it's really important that we're having this joint debate today. Every child should easily be left in care of their parents regardless of their legal documents or the reason of fleeing. Family reunification should always be the priority. Unfortunately, in reality it's too often the last solution that is sought after. This causes a massive impact on... 22/06/2022 | 11:56:30 Dear President, Madam Petra BAYR, Madam Ute STEYER, Dear Colleagues, In the name of the members of the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination, I would like to congratulate our rapporteur Ms Petra BAYR for her work on this report and for her dedication. I would also like to thank Ms Ute STEYER for coming from Sweden to Strasbourg to address the Assembly and plenary. Thank you very much. The report is presented to you today as a result of several rounds of discussion; two hearings in the... 20/06/2022 | 16:56:19 Thank you, Madam President. Dear Colleagues, Racism and intolerance are enemies deeply rooted in our society and difficult to eradicate. It is often said that we must join forces to fight this scourge. This is what we have done in the Committee on Equality and Non‑Discrimination throughout the preparation of this report and the new Charter for a Non‑Racist and Inclusive Society. We have indeed co‑operated closely with a plurality of actors within and outside the Council of Europe in order to... 25/01/2022 | 10:59:19 Thank you Madam Chair. Thank you, dear colleagues for your intervention. Thank you for this vivid debate. Maybe some points as a response to Mr John HOWELL, who is apparently not among us any more. You can say that even in states where huge progress towards LGBTI+ equality has been achieved there are still many who suffer discrimination and violence. This is unfortunately the case of trans people in the UK today however hard they may be for some to understand. Just to be clear about the UK... 25/01/2022 | 09:10:49 Dear chair, dear colleagues, On the 18 September trans hairdresser Ivanna Angeline Macedo Silva was found stabbed to death in her apartment in Paris. This brutal murder is just a most recent among 14 tragic killings of trans people reported in our member States between November 2020 and 2021. As we pay our respect to Ivanna and to all those who have died in the past year, let us remember that still today LGBTI+ people face hate crimes, verbal and physical attacks, harassment, discrimination... 24/01/2022 | 19:40:37 Thank you Madam Chair. Dear colleagues, I would like firstly to thank the rapporteur for his report. Asylum seekers are human beings, not numbers. It's exactly the premise that the European pact on migration should build on. The Pact on Migration and Asylum was established in September 2020. Fast forward to more than a year later, and we have witnessed the painful shortcoming of the EU approach to asylum. It's imperative to ask ourselves whether each measure complies with human rights. There...