28/01/2025 | 17:30:35 Thank you, Mister President. And I want to thank Ms Saskia KLUIT for her report and all the work that has gone into it. And I've listened carefully to the words from Mr Bernard SABELLA and from Ms Meirav BEN ARI. And Mr SABELLA has asked that we look forward and that we work together. And that is hugely, hugely important. We often hear the Irish poet, Seamus HEANEY's words quoted at political gatherings. And hope and history rhyme. The beginning of that particular piece of poetry starts with... 25/06/2024 | 11:16:30 Thank you, chair. And I want to commend the rapporteurs for their excellent work on this really really important topic, because the fire within the heart of our youth certainly can be the catalyst for positive change within society and within all of the communities that we represent. And indeed the power of youth can be a common wealth, and a common good for the entire Europe. We need the idealism, we need the enthusiasm, we need the exuberance of young people. With the Reykjavík declaration... 16/04/2024 | 18:56:35 Thank you, Mister President. During our proposed progress report yesterday, I took the opportunity to say that one of our priorities this week should be the adoption of a very clear and unequivocal position on Kosovo's request for membership in the Council of Europe. In Kosovo, they have been working on this for 16 years through adversity and difficult times. And Ms Saranda BOGUJEVCI and Mr Arben GASHI are testament to that. As it stands, Kosovo's citizens lack a fundamental tool to protect... 15/04/2024 | 12:56:07 Thank you very much, Mister President, and good afternoon to you, Madam Secretary General, colleagues, Of course, Madam Despina CHATZIVASSILIOU-TSOVILIS, we were dismayed when we heard about your accident. We're very pleased to see you and wish you well, and full recovery and recuperation. There's a number of points that I wish to raise today. Firstly, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. As we know, on 2 April, the Register of Damages for Ukraine opened for the submission of claims... 23/01/2024 | 17:29:21 Thank you, Chair. When I was a young girl, one of the first books that I have a very strong memory of and left a lasting impact on me was Anne Frank's diary. I could not understand or comprehend such cruelty, such a horrific example of man's inhumanity to man. Years later, I visited Dachau, Auschwitz and Belsen, and again, I was horrified as to what happened. It was explained by everybody I knew by people saying, "we didn't know", "the world didn't know what was happening", "we're ashamed and... 10/10/2023 | 19:48:44 That's fine. Thank you very much, Chair. And can I thank all of those who contributed to debate. And just to emphasise that at all times that we, myself and Ms Yelyzaveta YASKO, behaved in an absolutely professional way in terms of listening, engaging, and fact checking in terms of the information that is in the report. I'll just respond to a few of the comments. This report has been almost two years in the making. So for Sir Edward LEIGH to try to bring this in context with the atrocities... 10/10/2023 | 18:47:24 Thank you very much, Chair, Preparing a monitoring report on the host state of our organisation is certainly not an easy task. As we speak here in Strasbourg, or indeed where we have our Committee meetings in Paris, it would be easy for any observer unaccustomed to our Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee) to wonder why of all countries, should France be submitted to such a scrutiny. France of course is an... 21/06/2023 | 19:51:05 Thank you, Chair. Today, for many reasons is significant, in that the British government's Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill is being heard at report stage in the House of Lords. This Bill proposes an effective amnesty for those accused of killing or maiming people during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. While some amendments were made on the 8th of this month, the substance of the Bill remains intact. I wish to express my very grave concerns about this Bill, which... 20/06/2023 | 19:19:05 Thank you, Chair. I think this is a very, very timely report and I really want to congratulate the rapporteur. As we are emerging from the brutal trauma that was Covid, and we deal with new and emerging crises ever since, it's vitally important that we collaborate our respective and our collective learnings and experiences. And, of course, evaluate shortcomings that were there, and to help build a really strong and resilient health system and implement measures that will curb health... 25/04/2023 | 15:42:12 Thank you Mister President, What an honour and privilege it is for me as an Irish person, as an Irish woman, to address President Síofra O'Leary as the very first Irish person, and indeed the very first woman, to hold this prestigious post as President of the European Court of Human Rights. So dear President, President of the Commission of Ministers, President of the European Court of Human Rights, Madam Secretary General, ambassadors, and of course colleagues, The Russian Federation is...