23/04/2026 | 11:34:31 Thank you very much. The current conflict in the Middle East is a direct result of President Donald TRUMP and Prime Minister Benjamin NETANYAHU's illegal war. Let there be no doubt that President Donald TRUMP is a warmonger. Since his second term, President Donald TRUMP has bombed seven countries, including bombing a girls' school in Iran, killing 175 people, most of them children. The bombing campaign has brought suffering to people across the Middle East, but we need to be clear that this... 23/04/2026 | 10:22:32 Thank you very much. And I want to thank the rapporteur for bringing forward this debate. This year, Ukraine enters its fourth consecutive year of bloodshed as a result of the crime of aggression. We've seen significant progress in establishing the legal framework for a special tribunal, and that is historic. It's a massive step in the right direction for accountability. We want to note that the International Criminal Court (ICC) remains the most suitable venue to prosecute these crimes... 22/04/2026 | 17:46:09 Thank you. I want to thank the rapporteur Ms Gala VELDHOEN for the comprehensive report. The abolition of the death penalty is a foundational principle of the Council of Europe. It's embedded in our commitment to human dignity, the rule of law, the absolute prohibition of inhumane and degrading treatment. Therefore, it's completely indefensible and inconceivable that Israel continues to retain observer status at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and indeed Venice Commission... 22/04/2026 | 16:12:45 Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner. You're obviously two years now into your mandate. In that time we've seen a very sharp deterioration in the protection of rights in a variety of ways: the violations that we've seen in Ukraine, intolerance towards migrants, effective funding reductions at the Council of Europe, poor rates of execution of judgments, and this talk of sort of rupture of international law, as if we're pulling away from international law instead of leaning into it. I suppose my... 22/04/2026 | 13:26:41 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) Violence against women is an epidemic. In Ireland, 35% of women have experienced psychological, physical or sexual abuse from an intimate partner. 25% of women have experienced sexual violence from a partner as an adult. This year on the island of Ireland, we have seen 4 women murdered: In the North: Amy Doherty - mother-of-two from Derry was killed. Ellie Flanagan A childcare worker was killed in March. In the South: Scarlett Faulkner was in... 01/10/2025 | 16:42:07 Thank you, Chair, And thank you, Ms Yevheniia KRAVCHUK, for this report. Often, when we speak about the role of youth in democracy, we're always framing it in terms of the future. But across Europe today we see young people, very much in the present, protesting and organising in defence of their political and their civil rights, and demanding transparency and accountability from their leaders, from their representatives, from us. And we see them protesting, whether that's climate change... 01/10/2025 | 13:28:17 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) I speak today to fully support this motion and report. The detention of Ukrainian journalists by Russia is a human rights issue and breach of international law. And as we sadly know, in the most horrific cases, it leads to death. The role journalists play in upholding democracy and calling for accountability is a cornerstone of a functioning system. Journalists are protected under international law – we need to remember tht they sacrifice... 30/09/2025 | 18:39:24 Thank you, Chair. As colleagues know, the Commissioner for Human Rights has sent several letters to the Hungarian National Assembly this year to warn against passing of laws that go against the values that we're supposed to share. The Commissioner’s calls to uphold human rights and take the pressure off civil society have been ignored, as the Hungarian government continues to silence independent voices. Journalists, activists and judges are branded "bugs" or "insects" by the Prime Minister... 08/04/2025 | 18:02:01 Thank you, Chair. As we've already heard today, we've seen deeply worrying trends regarding the use of excessive force and police violence, including the use of tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets, and, as we've heard from Amnesty International reports in Serbia, the unlawful use of sonic weapons against peaceful protesters. We need to be unequivocal in our opposition to the forceful dispersing of peaceful protesters, whether that be in the Western Balkan, Central Europe, or indeed... 08/04/2025 | 12:02:20 We have seen a plethora of examples of interference on social media platforms from a range of different actors, both from states, as we've heard already this morning, from states like Russia, but we've also seen it from social media companies who are farming our data and feeding off online outrage for clicks and ad revenue, and this has served to influence public debate and create distrust so that the truth is impossible to understand. This isn't new. We have known about this issue since the...